United is behind the largest South Pacific expansion we’ve ever seen, which is great news for Velocity members.
United Airlines has announced it will add new direct flights from to Australia, with Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney part of the carrier’s move to add 40% more flights to Australia and New Zealand.
Velocity members can take advantage of United’s vast network, using their points to access more than 50 domestic connections in the US.
Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances said the expansion is a win for Virgin Australia customers.
“Our strong partnerships with Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia provide unparalleled connectivity, and with our historic expansion across five destinations in New Zealand and Australia, United is the clear choice for customers’ travel to the region,” Mr Quayle said.
Here’s what the new flights will look like:
Sydney – San Francisco
The American airline will bump up its popular Sydney-San Francisco service to twice daily at the end of October, offering more flights to Sydney from the U.S. than any other carrier.
Flight UA830 on the airline’s largest Boeing 777-300ER jet will take off from Sydney at 12.10pm, arriving in San Francisco at 8am.
The direct flight gives Velocity members the chance to use their points to secure a seat in United’s comfortable Polaris business class.
Melbourne – San Francisco
United will also be deploying its largest airplane on flights between San Francisco-Melbourne by the end of October, when the 777-300ER will add nearly 100 daily seats to each departure, offering 65% more seats between the two destinations.
Brisbane – San Francisco
Also starting October 28, United will offer daily flights between San Francisco and Brisbane on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
This will see nearly triple the number of customers to Brisbane from the U.S. than in 2022 – great news for Virgin Australia customers looking to use their Velocity Points!
Brisbane – Los Angeles
Come December 1, United will be the largest carrier between the U.S. and Brisbane as it adds to the existing Los Angles-Brisbane service with thrice-weekly flights on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
More flights
United is also set to be the only airline to offer direct flights between the U.S. and New Zealand, with the first direct San Francisco-Christchurch service kicking off at the beginning of December.
Auckland will be in on the action too, with four weekly flights to Los Angeles beginning at the end of October this year.
Summing up
By the end of this year, Australia’s East Coast will have more ways to connect to the U.S. than ever before.
United already flies to more destinations in Australia and New Zealand than all other U.S. carriers combined, and now will have more flights and serve more destinations in the region from the U.S. than any other carrier in the world.
With connections all throughout the U.S., as well as Central America and South America, the United and Virgin Australia partnership is an important one for Velocity members who can now use their points to book more flights than ever.
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