Are You Interested In United's New Long-Haul Flights?

United Airlines recently announced the addition of several long-haul flights to areas in Africa, India, and Hawaii. In this article, we take an in-depth look at these flights and explore what it means to fly long-haul.

Long-Haul Flights

Unlike standard airfare, long-haul flights are usually non-stop routes that take upwards of 12-hours to complete. Anything beyond this threshold is considered to be an extra or ultra long-haul flight. Both regular and extra long haul routes are only scheduled to occur on aircraft that are capable of handling the journey.

For commercial airline pilots, long-haul flights can be tiring due to the extended work hours. Multiple pilots are required to be on board in order to accommodate for rest periods. Long-haul pilots may also experience longer downtime and more days off, but the compensation may be higher because of the different nature of the work.

United Airlines Ramps Up Long-Haul

These extended flights are not as common, but United has recently announced a increase their long-haul capabilities. Despite the ongoing pandemic, United is confident that travel will open up.

According to the airline’s Vice President of International Network and Alliance, Patrick Quayl:

“Now is the right time to take a bold step in evolving our global network to help our customers reconnect with friends, family and colleagues around the world. These new nonstop routes provide shorter travel times and convenient one-stop connections from across the United States, demonstrating United’s continued innovative and forward-looking approach to rebuilding our network to meet the travel needs of our customers.”

Areas the New Flights Connect

Going in order from planned launch date, the first long-haul flight to be initialized is to India at the end of the year. To accomplish this by winter 2020, United is establishing flights from Chicago O’Hare to New Delhi. Pilots hoping to take on these flights may be able to do so if they are familiar with operating the Boeing 787-9s.

Once these routes are in place, United United will add an additional route between the United States and India connecting San Francisco to Bangladesh in spring 2021. Additionally, United aims to initialize three non stop flights to Africa.

United then plans to connect Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria, flights to the Washington-Dulles airport. Each of these routes are planned to take off three times a week on Boeing 787-8s.

As for the last long-haul flight addition, it is set to connect Newark to Johannesburg on a daily basis. United pilots trained to operate 787-9s may be interested in flying these new routes.

Once all of the above flights are added, United plans on establishing a non-stop route to Hawaii, specifically Kahului, Maui. The island route is scheduled to occur four times a week on Boeing 787-8s.