GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Airlines announced today that its San Francisco - Guangzhou service will begin on June 18, 2008. United is the first U.S. carrier to offer daily, nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou. The flight is now open for sale.

With the launch of the Guangzhou service, United will serve 3 cities in China and 14 in the Asia-Pacific region with 160 weekly departures from the U.S. to Asia and Australia, continuing to make United the largest trans-Pacific carrier.

"United Airlines is honored to be selected as the first U.S. carrier to provide nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou, two important cities in the world economy," said Glenn Tilton, United chairman, president and CEO. "United's successful bid for this route authority would not have been possible without the broad base of support from officials, customers and our employees who understand the economic importance of this route."

"The new Guangzhou service will be United's sixth daily nonstop service between China and the U.S.," said Sidney Kwok, General Manager, China, United Airlines. "We are pleased to expand our route network and provide another destination in Asia for our customers."

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded a new direct route to United in October. Effective June 18, 2008, the flight is scheduled as follows:

 

    From Guangzhou (CAN) to San Francisco (SFO):* (1)

    Flight Number   Route     Departure Time    Arrival Time   Flight Time
    UA868           CAN-SFO   11:00             09:00          13:00 hrs


    From San Francisco (SFO) to Guangzhou (CAN):*

    Flight Number    Route     Departure Time   Arrival Time   Flight Time
    UA865            SFO-CAN   12:35            18:00          14:25 hrs
                                               (next day)

     *  Schedule is subject to change
    (1) Service from Guangzhou begins June 20, 2008

United will operate combined passenger and cargo service between San Francisco and Guangzhou using a Boeing 777 aircraft configured with 10 United First Suite® seats, 45 United Business seats and 198 United Economy® class seats, including 84 Economy Plus® seats that offer up to five more inches of legroom.

The route is expected to provide approximately 15 tons of cargo capacity per flight. Commodities carried from Guangzhou are expected to include electronic components, integrated circuits, printers, machinery and machine tools, and apparel. Other items include time-sensitive cargo such as perishables, pharmaceuticals and temperature-controlled products.

Travelers to and from China will also benefit from United's code share partnership with Air China and Shanghai Airlines, both of which will join Star Alliance later this year.

In San Francisco, travelers can enjoy easy onward connections to more than 165 U.S. cities. San Francisco is one of United's five hubs in the U.S. United also offers daily flights from San Francisco to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

United's daily, nonstop service between the United States and China includes daily flights to Beijing from San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.; and daily nonstop flights to Shanghai from Chicago and San Francisco.