United Expands in Asia with New Nonstop Flights to Manila

United Airlines has added more flights to the Asia-Pacific region set to begin service this fall. With new flights, the U.S. carrier is further positioning itself as the largest U.S. carrier in the South Pacific. 

This fall, the airline will be the first U.S. airline to offer direct flights to the Philippines, specifically to Manila. Additionally, United has included more nonstop flights to Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Taipei. All new flights from the airline’s Los Angeles and San Francisco hubs will commence in October.

Photo: Manila, Philippinew. Courtesy of Sean Yoro / Unsplash

“United offers more flights to more destinations across the Pacific than all other U.S. airlines combined,” says Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances.

“United is the flag carrier of the U.S., and we are excited to bring this new service to Manila while expanding access to Hong Kong, Taipei, and Tokyo.” 

New Flights to the Philippines 

Beginning October 29, United will launch nonstop transpacific flights from San Francisco to Manila. Currently, the carrier is the only U.S. airline to service Gaum and Palau, and this new flight route will further expand the airline’s network in the region.

Photo: United Airlines, Boeing 777-300ER. Courtesy of Ramapasha Laksono / Unsplash

According to United, the new route will operate daily on a Boeing 777-300ER, the airline’s largest aircraft. 

Increased South Pacific Routes 

With the expansion into Asia, United plans to increase its regional presence with new daily direct flights from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Currently, United is the only U.S. carrier with nonstop services to the city from San Francisco. 

Photo: Hong Kong. Courtesy of Simon Zhu / Unsplash

The new addition will upp the carrier’s services to three daily flights from the U.S. to Hong Kong. In addition, United will resume daily direct service operations from Los Angeles to Tokyo/Narita. Both services will begin on October 28. 

Starting on October 29, United plans to increase its daily flights to Taipei from San Francisco to two. The aircraft used for this service will be a Boeing 777-200ER.

Winter South Pacific Expansion 

At the start of this year, United revealed its biggest expansion of South Pacific routes to take place during winter. The airline will run 66 weekly flights between the United States and Australia/New Zealand.

Photo: Auckland, New Zealand. Courtesy of Sulthan Auliya / Unsplash

The expansion will add nonstop service from San Francisco to Christchurch, New Zealand, into the airline’s network. It will also include increased flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Domestic Updates  

The airline has recently announced the first update to their domestic first class seats since 2015. All the new seats will have bigger seatback screens, privacy panels, Bluetooth connectivity, and wireless charging. 

Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

The new seats will debut on one of the airline’s Boeing 737s this month and will continue to roll out to others this summer. The airline expects the new seats to be on 200 domestic planes by 2026. 

A couple of months ago, the North American carrier also launched a bevy of upgrades to its iPhone app. The airline became the first to utilize Live Activities for iPhone, which allows passengers real-time access to their boarding pass, gate, seat number, and more.