United Airlinesis set to boost its flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in California to Faaʼa International Airport (PPT) in Papeete, Tahiti, next summer. Operated by Boeing 787-9 widebody twinjets from the Dreamliner family, these services will go from five times a week to being operated daily.
This marks an interesting vote of confidence from United Airlines in a route that has gone from strength to strength since its launch seven years ago. Indeed, the Chicago-headquartered US ‘big three’ legacy carrier and Star Alliance founding member initially only launched the route seasonally, before switching to year-round flights.
Daily Flights To Tahiti
According to recent reporting by Aero Routes, United Airlines is planning to add an extra two weekly flights between San Francisco and Papeete next summer, with its frequency on this route rising from five flights a week to seven. These daily services will be operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, a popular widebody twinjet.
According to Forbes, United Airlines first flew from San Francisco to Papeete in October 2018, marking the first time that a US carrier had flown to Tahiti from the mainland since Continental Airlines. Initially, this route was slated to operate on a seasonal basis three times a week, but, by March 2019, United Airlines had opted to extend its presence on the corridor to all year round, with Janet Lamkin explaining that:
“We are thrilled to extend this exciting flight to a year-round schedule. For Californians and our customers connecting through San Francisco, this route offers an escape to a little corner of paradise.”
United Markets Tahiti As A Destination For Connecting Passengers
Coverage by Aero Routes of United Airlines’ new plans to serve Tahiti on a daily basis from San Francisco notes that the additional flights, which appeared following a schedule update on September 11, remain subject to government approval. If successful, the daily rotations will begin on June 29 of next year.
As noted in the table below, the timings of the flights are convenient for both those starting their journeys in San Francisco and those connecting from further afield, with UA115 not leaving the West Coast hub until early afternoon. Likewise, the early morning arrival in San Francisco sets passengers up for onward flights.
This is something that United Airlines has always been keen to leverage with its flights from San Francisco to Tahiti. Indeed, at the time of the route’s launch, Forbes quoted Patrick Quayle, United’s VP of International Network, as saying that “We will allow connectivity via the San Francisco hub [for] passengers from Western Europe and Tel Aviv.”
Who Flies From The US To Tahiti?
This month, according to data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, United Airlines is one of five carriers operating non-stop flights between the US and Tahiti. The Boeing 787-9s that it uses to serve Papeete from San Francisco have 257 seats onboard, with aeroLOPA showing that this figure comprises 48 Polaris business class seats, 21 in premium economy, and 188 in economy.
United Airlines’ only direct rival between San Francisco and Papeete is French bee, whose high-density Airbus A350-900s serve the route three times a week. Elsewhere in California, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) sees non-stop flights to Tahiti from both Air France’s A350s and Air Tahiti Nui’s 787s. The former airline serves the route five times a week, compared to ten for the latter carrier.
As it happens, Los Angeles isn’t the only US West Coast destination that Air Tahiti Nui’s 294-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners serve on a non-stop basis from Papeete. Indeed, these twinjets also fly directly to Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), albeit only twice a week. Hawaiian Airlines is the fifth and final airline flying between the US and Tahiti, with weekly services from Honolulu (HNL) using A330-200s.