United Airlines (UAL) unveiled plans to inaugurate a new nonstop service between Hong Kong (HKG) and Los Angeles (LAX), effective from October 29, 2023, subject to government approval. This move forms part of a broader strategy by United to expand its Asia-Pacific footprint and further reinforce its presence in the transpacific market.
United’s latest route will offer an array of choices to travellers in Hong Kong and southern China, connecting them to more locations across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The launch of this service complements the existing twice-daily Hong Kong-San Francisco flights, positioning United as a leader in transpacific air travel.
Walter Dias, United’s Regional Director of Sales for Greater China, Korea, and Southeast Asia Sales, commented on the new service. He expressed the company’s excitement to “offer the new Hong Kong-Los Angeles service to meet strong requests from our customers.” He went on to note that the new route, in conjunction with the twice-daily Hong Kong-San Francisco service, would offer passengers easy and smooth connections to over 70 locations in the mainland U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Popular cities like Cancun, Chicago, Mexico City, New York, and Washington D.C. will now be more accessible via United’s hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The new flight, UA802, is slated to leave HKG every evening and arrive at LAX on the afternoon of the same day, beginning on October 29, 2023. The return flight, UA801, will start operations on October 28, 2023, leaving LAX every morning and arriving in HKG the following evening. United will deploy its B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on this route, offering a variety of cabin options – 48 seats in the United Polaris business cabin, 21 seats in the United Premium Plus cabin, and 188 seats in the United Economy cabin.
Dias further outlined United’s strategy amidst the pandemic, which involved maintaining all widebody fleet and retaining pilots to ensure swift recovery post-pandemic. “The launch of the Hong Kong-Los Angeles service is an excellent example of our successful strategy,” Dias added.
As part of its long-standing commitment to Los Angeles, United has been serving the city for over half a century, with more than 100 daily flights from LAX to around 60 global destinations. United’s $573 million investment to rejuvenate Terminal 7 and Concourse 8 at LAX underscores this commitment. The upgraded terminal features a 20,000 square foot United Club lounge with gourmet food and beverage offerings, conducive work and lounge areas, and panoramic views of the Hollywood Hills and the Los Angeles skyline.
United’s transpacific connectivity further expands this winter with direct flights from its Los Angeles hub to seven Asia-Pacific locations, including Hong Kong, Haneda/Tokyo, Narita/Tokyo, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Auckland.
Today’s announcement also highlighted new daily services between Manila and San Francisco, Tokyo/Narita and Los Angeles, and a second daily flight between Taipei and San Francisco. As a result, United’s transpacific service from the continental U.S. will be 50% larger than its major U.S. competitors combined this winter, firmly establishing United as the No.1 Over the Pacific.
