United to fly direct from US to Singapore

United Airlines has announced plans to launch direct flights between San Francisco and Singapore.

Commencing on 1 June 2016, the new service will operate daily using United’s new 252-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which offers 48 seats in business class, 88 in premium economy and 116 in economy. Passengers in all cabins will be offered Wi-Fi and in-seat power outlets.

When it launches, the new service will be the only direct flight between the US and Singapore, and United will become the first US carrier ever to have flown direct to the Lion City. The route will also become the longest scheduled flight operated by any US carrier, at 13,592km.

The outbound flight, UA1, will depart San Francisco daily at 2325, arriving in Singapore at 0645 two days later, having crossed the International Date Line. The return flight, UA2, will leave Changi Airport at 0845, arriving back at San Francisco International Airport at 0915 the same day.

The flight times will be approximately 15 hours 30 minutes eastbound and 16 hours 20 minutes westbound.

“We are very excited about introducing non-stop flights between San Francisco and Singapore,” said Marcel Fuchs, United’s vice president of Atlantic & Pacific sales. “This long-awaited service has been made possible by the newest version of our… Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and will offer unique benefits to customers travelling between our West Coast hub at San Francisco and Singapore. Customers arriving to San Francisco will have dozens of options to connect to other cities across the Americas.”

With the launch of this direct service, United will terminate its flights between Singapore and Tokyo Narita effective 2 June 2016. The airline also operates a daily service from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Changi Airport Group said it is “delighted” with the new service, which will “potentially bring more US tourists to Singapore”.