United will add a second daily San Francisco-Shanghai flight with a 787-9. (Image: United)
In international route news, United will increase Shanghai service but drop Vietnam; Singapore Airlines will reroute its eastbound Houston to Singapore flight; Delta will increase its Caribbean presence via code-sharing; American will trim its LAX-Brazil schedule; Airberlin will add more U.S. flights and expand code-sharing with American; LATAM adds a new Miami market; and Mexico’s Volaris plans two new U.S. routes.
According to Routesonline.com, United Airlines plans to add a second daily flight between San Francisco and Shanghai Pudong, and has already opened it up for reservations. The second frequency is due to begin on October 14, using a 787-9 Dreamliner, although the carrier is expected to replace that with a 787-8 next spring. Meanwhile, United also plans to discontinue service to Vietnam at the end of October when it terminates its current Hong Kong-Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) route, which it serves with a 737-800. A United spokesman tells TravelSkills that the carrier is working with its joint venture partner ANA to offer a greater number of new connections to Ho Chi Minh City via Tokyo Narita than United currently offers through Hong Kong.
Effective October 30, Singapore Airlines will make a big change in its eastbound flight from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Singapore, which currently operates via a stop in Moscow. After October, the carrier will drop Moscow from that route, replacing it with a stop in Manchester, England. The five-days-a-week service will depart Houston at 8:15 p.m., arriving in Manchester at 10:05 a.m. and eventually in Singapore at 8:20 a.m.
Delta will add Caribbean destinations via code-sharing with Seaborne Airlines. (Image: Delta)
Delta has filed for Transportation Department approval to begin code-sharing with San Juan-based regional carrier Seaborne Airlines. The planned code-sharing would put Delta flight numbers onto Seaborne flights from San Juan to five destinations not currently served by Delta: Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands; Dominica; Nevis; Anguilla; and La Romana in the Dominican Republic. The code-sharing would also increase Delta-coded flights from San Juan to destinations already served by the Atlanta-based carrier, including St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
American Airlines plans to reduce frequencies between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil from seven flights a week to five effective December 1, and will also change planes on the route from a 787-8 to a 777-200ER.
Airberlin will boost U.S. schedules this winter. (Image: Airberlin)
In Europe, meanwhile, American has added more code-share routes with partner Airberlin, putting its code onto the latter’s flights from Dusseldorf to Bologna, Florence, Stockholm and Venice; Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca; and Munich to Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Meanwhile, effective with its winter schedule starting in November, Airberlin will increase Miami-Berlin service from two flights a week to four, and New York-Dusseldorf service from seven flights a week to eight. The carrier is also adding a new daily New York-Berlin flight, and extending its Los Angeles-Dusseldorf service from seasonal to year-round. Airberlin will also boost Chicago-Berlin frequencies from four flights a week to five, and Ft. Myers-Dusseldorf from three a week to four.
LATAM Airlines Brazil has set a September 24 start for new once-a-week service on Saturdays between Miami and Recife, Brazil, using a two-class 767.
Mexico’s low-cost Volaris Airlines has added a couple of more U.S. routes, launching service three times a week from Seattle to its Guadalajara hub, and twice a week from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Monterrey. Both routes use A320s.
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Interesting to see United help ANA out by trying to resuscitate Narita.
Looks like the major benefit would be connections to India, not Vietnam.
That new UA flight to PVG is interesting in that it has a red-eye flight back (PVG-SFO). Red-eye flights to/from China to US gateways are sorely needed, especially from SFO!
Thanks! We updated the post.
Confused on United post – lead says increased Singapore service, but detail talks about 2nd daily Shanghai route, not Singapore. I’m all for more capacity on nonstop SFO-SIN route.