United Airlines will become the first U.S. airline to offer flights between the continental U.S. and the Philippines in October.
The new route from San Francisco to Manila is part of the airline's efforts to expand its trans-Pacific network, with three routes set to be added or resumed next winter.
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United Airlines currently operates flights to Manila from the U.S. territory of Guam and the Micronesian nation of Palau. Daily service from San Francisco begins October 29 using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
United will compete on the route with Philippine Airlines, which also flies from Manila to U.S. destinations in Los Angeles, New York JFK, Honolulu and Guam.
Patrick Quayle, United's senior vice president of global network, said the airline has been trying to add routes from the U.S. mainland to Manila for years but has struggled to secure arrival and departure slots at the Manila airport.
United has already implemented significant expansion across the Pacific this year, and excluding China, its trans-Pacific network will be 40% larger next winter than in 2019, Quayle said. United’s China operations are a fraction of their pre-COVID levels due to strict government restrictions.
In addition to San Francisco-Manila, United will add two other Asian routes ahead of the winter: Los Angeles-Hong Kong and Los Angeles-Tokyo Narita. The Hong Kong route will expand United’s San Francisco-Hong Kong route, while Narita will be the second Tokyo-airport United service from Los Angeles, after Haneda.
Quail said demand was strong across the Pacific, excluding China.
“Overall, the Pacific is as powerful as the Atlantic today, if not more so,” he said.
