United now flying longest route of any U.S. airline

SAN FRANCISCO – United Airlines is now flying the longest flight operated by any U.S. airline and the longest in the world to be flown on a Boeing 787 “Dreamliner.”
United took those titles Wednesday evening as it launched nonstop service to Singapore from its hub in San Francisco. The 8,446-mile flight – the first-ever regularly scheduled service to connect those cities nonstop – is the third-longest flight by distance of any carrier in the world, according to airline data provider OAG.

United Flight 1 – the westbound flight from San Francisco to Singapore – has a scheduled flying time of 16 hours, 20 minutes. The return – United Flight 2 – is scheduled for 15 hours, 30 minutes.
“This is a special time for all of us at United,” Jim Compton – United’s chief revenue officer – said during a gateside ceremony for the inaugural S.F.-Singapore flight. “By using this flight, our customers are going to save up to four hours compared to connecting options on other airlines.”
Additionally, Compton said the new San Francisco route adds a one-stop option to Singapore from 26 U.S. cities that previously required two or more stops to get to that city.

The Singapore service comes amid a sizable international expansion for United at its San Francisco hub. United also has recently launched new routes to destinations in mainland China as well as Tel Aviv, Israel. Later this summer, United will begin nonstop service to Auckland, New Zealand.

“San Francisco is a powerhouse hub, the best anywhere on the West Coast,” Mike Hannah, United’s VP of Operations – San Francisco, said at the gate for the inaugural Singapore flight.

Many of United’s new international routes from San Francisco are being operated with the carrier’s Dreamliners, which “have revolutionized flying for United,” according to Compton, the carrier’s revenue chief.

Fittingly, one of Boeing’s top executives was on hand for United’s Singapore launch. Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s VP of marketing, said it was gratifying to see Boeing’s Dreamliners opening up new routes between cities that were impractical to connect with the larger widebodies that preceded the Dreamliner.
The Deamliner’s modest size and seating capacity – at least relative to other widebody planes – makes it well-suited for long “thin” routes where larger aircraft would have too many seats to fill.
“When we launched this aircraft, we talked about how it would open new markets,” he said, pointing to Austin and San Jose as other U.S. cities seeing new international routes launched on Dreamliners. “It’s exceeded our expectations.”

Tinseth joined other passengers onboard the inaugural flight to Singapore, where he said he planned to take a few days to be a tourist in the city.
Among the others boarding United’s inaugural San Francisco-Singapore flight were Meeta Lulla and Clay Autrey. The Los Angeles couple was connecting in San Francisco en route to Singapore so Lulla could attend her sister’s graduation from medical school there.
It was a coincidence, however, that they booked the inaugural flight.
“We didn’t know what the whole fuss was for,” Lulla said about the gate celebration that included a Singaporean-style “ribbon dance,” free food and speeches by airline and city officials.

Usa today