United Airlines is expanding its global reach with three new nonstop routes from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand; Xi’an, China; and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Have you ever thought about visiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, the boiling hot spring spas in Auckland, or the old port of Jaffa in Tel Aviv? There’s never been a better time to stop thinking and start planning your trip.
United will begin service from San Francisco to Tel Aviv on March 30, 2016; to Xi’an on May 8, 2016; and to Auckland on July 1, 2016. At launch, all three routes will have three weekly flights, and flights to Auckland will become daily in October 2016.
All of these flights are available to book now.
The flight from San Francisco to Tel Aviv will be 14 hours for eastbound flights and 15 hours for westbound flights. It will take 13 hours to get to Auckland, and about 12-and-a-half hours to get back. Flight times to Xi’an are not yet available.
The world’s No. 2 airline by traffic intends to operate these new Middle East, Asian and Pacific routes with the unrivaled Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The new 787-9 improves upon its predecessor, the 787-8, in several ways: Its fuselage is 20 feet longer, it has a longer range of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles and it seats about 40 more passengers.
The new Dreamliner includes all of its predecessor’s enhanced features, designed to improve passenger comfort. It has the industry’s largest baggage bins, dynamic LED mood lighting, a smoother ride and an air system that reduces dehydration and the effects of jet lag. The windows are also bigger, and they dim at the push of a button, which means no more prodding from seatmates to pull down the window shades.