United Airlines is extending its footprint in Australia with the introduction of nonstop Los Angeles-Melbourne flights later this year.
The carrier will operate on the route every day except Tuesdays for the 15-hour flight and will use new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on an international flight for the first time.
The service will begin on October 26, subject to government approval.
The new flights are timed to connect easily with United’s North American network from its Los Angeles hub, offering convenient onward connections to over 30 US cities every day, according to the carrier’s vice chairman Jim Compton.
United has been operating to Australia for 35 years and has more flights Down Under than any other US airline.
With this new flight, the airline will discontinue its Australian domestic feeder flights between Sydney and Melbourne.
At the same time, United will also retime its daily departures from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sydney.
The carrier also operates a twice-weekly service from the island of Guam to Cairns.
