Company teased upcoming route announcement planned for Wednesday

"We're announcing a new international route tomorrow - our 13th of the year! Any guesses on where our #B787 might take you?

https://twitter.com/united/status/940719242214821888

SFO-PPT will be announced

787 so EWR and ORD are out.

777-500er wrote:

SFO-PPT will be announced

So, not the "new old route" from LAX mentioned in another thread? Of course, that route could be announced later.

777-500er wrote:

SFO-PPT will be announced

Seems the most likely, but I am going out a (very long) limb and guessing SFO-BKK.

I'd be surprised if this is at LAX. 8 new long-haul aircrafts coming on board in the next 7 months. I also see a couple more announcements in the next few months.

I’m going with LAX-CDG or LAX-HKG

A DEN-Australia nonstop would be nice...

SmithAir747

I'm thinking [read: wishing] something from IAD. IAD-TXL; IAD-WAW. But I wouldn't be surprised if it's something SFO based like SFO-BKK; SFO-Manila or SFO-Vietnam.

At LAX base meeting crews were told to expect an addition long haul route "next summer"

From what I gather there are likely multiple 2018 routes in the pipeline so this may or not be LAX related.

Asia given that the customer event on the 18th in IAH is held at the Asia Society Texas center

Of course they could also announce Europe, but don't think so...

It will be from SFO, according to the teaser they put in their instagram account.

Its good to be back at work after a vacation and a health scare, I've been off work for the past 2+ months I have no idea what the new route will be but Willis Tower is definitely buzzing with people trying to figure out what this new route. The past few international routes UA has announce they kept quite (LAX-SIN, IAH-SYD) however one day back at work and I have already heard about LAX and the international expansion that will take place there in 2018 but I'm not sure if this new route they will announce tomorrow will be from LAX, SFO, IAH, or IAD. But since it is a 789 as others have said I think it is safe to assume ORD, and EWR are out, it may take me some time to get caught up but it is good to be back and I can't wait for tomorrows announcement. Wish I had more insider information but I don't.

Personally I would love to see ORD-TLV, or ORD-BOM but I think it is highly likely the new route will probably be from LAX or SFO to either an Asian or European destination.

shaq wrote:

It will be from SFO, according to the teaser they put in their instagram account.

I'd place my bets on either SFO-PPT as has been the rumor, SFO-BNE or CNS or for something totally off the wall, BKK or MNL.

Perhaps SFO-KIX for a long shot.Depending on schedule UA'S SFO hub would offer a lot of connection possibilities

panam330 wrote:

shaq wrote:

It will be from SFO, according to the teaser they put in their instagram account.

I'd place my bets on either SFO-PPT as has been the rumor, SFO-BNE or CNS or for something totally off the wall, BKK or MNL.

If its was a route from SFO to Australia MEL would be more likely. From BNE a service to LAX would be better.

georgiabill wrote:

Perhaps SFO-KIX for a long shot.Depending on schedule UA'S SFO hub would offer a lot of connection possibilities

UA already flies that.

My guess would be LAX-HKG or TPE.

Based on some intel and United’s Instagram feed, my money is on SFOPPT with less-than-daily service. This has been in the works for a little while.

Also independent of the new LAX longhaul.

Their instagram story says it's a 787 from SFO. The clues they give make it sound like a tropical destination.

codc10 wrote:

Based on some intel and United’s Instagram feed, my money is on SFOPPT with less-than-daily service. This has been in the works for a little while.

Also independent of the new LAX longhaul.

What is the rumored LAX route?

I wish we'd see MNL, BKK, or even KUL for Asia. I'd love PRG, BUD, and VIE open for Europe. New destinations!

codc10 wrote:

Based on some intel and United’s Instagram feed, my money is on SFOPPT with less-than-daily service. This has been in the works for a little while.

Also independent of the new LAX longhaul.

Isn't PPT heavily subsidized by France?

I think It might be Tahiti... But I wouldn’t be surprised with TNCM (SXM) and announce it for late Summer/Fall.

Balloonchaser wrote:

I think It might be Tahiti... But I wouldn’t be surprised with TNCM (SXM) and announce it for late Summer/Fall.

Keep in mind this is confirmed to be a 787-9. I think that is a little big for SFO-TNCM, especially after the total destruction of SXM late his summer. However, I could see a 757 working great on that route.

Balloonchaser wrote:

I think It might be Tahiti... But I wouldn’t be surprised with TNCM (SXM) and announce it for late Summer/Fall.

This has to be a joke. That does not make any sense on any level.

panam330 wrote:

shaq wrote:

It will be from SFO, according to the teaser they put in their instagram account.

I'd place my bets on either SFO-PPT as has been the rumor, SFO-BNE or CNS or for something totally off the wall, BKK or MNL.

For the second time in a week, airlineroute noted French Blue was going to do ORY-SFO-PPT. The first announcement was that it was a one off. The later called it as 2x weekly, with SFO as a "technical stop" (haven't heard that phrase in awhile). Their website shows PPT as a destination, but no mention of SFO.

Should be interesting if UA did this route, but I couldn't imagine it more that 3x weekly, if that.

AVENSAB727 wrote:

IAH-PVG?

No frequencies available. I don't think were getting this one...

ual763 wrote:

Balloonchaser wrote:

I think It might be Tahiti... But I wouldn’t be surprised with TNCM (SXM) and announce it for late Summer/Fall.

Keep in mind this is confirmed to be a 787-9. I think that is a little big for SFO-TNCM, especially after the total destruction of SXM late his summer. However, I could see a 757 working great on that route.

It’s actually not to big. TUI has been operating B787s to TNCM aswell as the B747s and A343s

EWR or ORD to ICN? I can also see LAX-HKG.

My pipedream is IAH-HKG.

Balloonchaser wrote:

ual763 wrote:

Balloonchaser wrote:

I think It might be Tahiti... But I wouldn’t be surprised with TNCM (SXM) and announce it for late Summer/Fall.

Keep in mind this is confirmed to be a 787-9. I think that is a little big for SFO-TNCM, especially after the total destruction of SXM late his summer. However, I could see a 757 working great on that route.

It’s actually not to big. TUI has been operating B787s to TNCM aswell as the B747s and A343s

Market-wise, not size-wise.

People could guess various characteristics of the destination. They knew it would be a 787 route from SFO. The choices then were:
East or West from SFO
Skiing or Swimming Destination
Pandas or Turtles

My money is on BKK, MEL, or PPT.

Rumors from way back, it here goes.. SFO-EZE?

I'm going to put my money on PPT, reason being is because as SFO's largest carrier they can protect if from French Blue who is scheduled to do SFO-PPT. It's a defensive market and UA thinks they can win the battle against French Blue. That seems more likely than LAX-PPT to compete against Air France.

It's probably not going to be LAX-HKG, given so much competition on that route, but HKG is one of the few places in the world with skyscrapers, mountains, and beaches...

I'm 100% in the SFO-PPT guess, no doubts any longer, nothing to substantiate my guess, but I think I heard this happening not too long ago.

Once again, it was announced that the flight is from SFO. Maybe the mods can add SFO to the title?

Sure seems like UA is very aggressive on new routes. Much more than the other 2 guys. Does anyone know how many routes AA and DL have opened this year?

So if French Blue is using SFO as a "technical stop", and has no mention of it on their website, they will not capture any American originating traffic. I would believe this is why United would still go ahead with this route. Not to mention, United can still compete head to head with French Blue for the French market as well, since United flies LFPG-SFO. With United's European route network from SFO, United will also be able to capture many more European markets than French Blue can, most notably the Germans.

French Blue is listing SFO as a technical stop as they await the US to approve their application. Their intent is to carry US pax on both legs.

It is a "new" UA "old" CO route to PPT.

As expected 788 non daily. Starts Oct 30 2018

Am I missing something?

United historically likes to connect the dots to business destinations. Isn’t PPT a VFR, leisure-centric market? Personally I think PPT is a great add...I just would’ve expected an India or Vietnam link from SFO rather than Tahiti...

jayunited wrote:

Its good to be back at work after a vacation and a health scare, I've been off work for the past 2+ months I have no idea what the new route will be but Willis Tower is definitely buzzing with people trying to figure out what this new route. The past few international routes UA has announce they kept quite (LAX-SIN, IAH-SYD) however one day back at work and I have already heard about LAX and the international expansion that will take place there in 2018 but I'm not sure if this new route they will announce tomorrow will be from LAX, SFO, IAH, or IAD. But since it is a 789 as others have said I think it is safe to assume ORD, and EWR are out, it may take me some time to get caught up but it is good to be back and I can't wait for tomorrows announcement. Wish I had more insider information but I don't.

Personally I would love to see ORD-TLV, or ORD-BOM but I think it is highly likely the new route will probably be from LAX or SFO to either an Asian or European destination.

Welcome back!!!!!! Great to hear you’re back at work and on the mend. I had a run-in with the big C earlier this year and was out for 5 months. So glad to be back in the skies again with our teammates. Wishing you GREAT health and happiness

I'm gonna go outside the box and say they open up another TATL flight from SFO such as FCO, MAD, or BCN although I wouldn't be surprised is it ends up being a TPAC route.

My $.02 is that the announcement will be SFO-PPT.

As others have said above, UA's instagram story give several "hints".

First "hint" from the story is "will you be able to ski or swim?" The second "hint" is "will you be able to see pandas or turtles" (specifically a sea turtle, from the picture).

The ability to see pandas (outside of a zoo) would limit the possibility to somewhere in Mainland China. While I'm sure there are plenty of places to ski in China, the country doesn't strike me as a global hotspot for the sport/pastime enough that your casual viewer (social media follower) would link skiing and China together. Assuming the point of putting up an interactive story and asking for people to guess is geared toward your average follower.

Lastly, seeing as UA just announced the termination of SFO-XIY it seems unlikely they would turn around and announce another Mainland China route 2 days later.

These hints point to a tropical destination. SFO-PPT has been strongly rumored. We've seen several route additions from UA in direct response to competitor announcements (i.e. DEN-LHR) so with BF just announcing it would make sense from that perspective.

Of course SFO-BNE/NAN or hell even NOU/GUM would fit the tropic bill.
I guess we'll know in a few hours.

77H

KLMatSJC wrote:

Balloonchaser wrote:

ual763 wrote:

Keep in mind this is confirmed to be a 787-9. I think that is a little big for SFO-TNCM, especially after the total destruction of SXM late his summer. However, I could see a 757 working great on that route.

It’s actually not to big. TUI has been operating B787s to TNCM aswell as the B747s and A343s

Market-wise, not size-wise.

People could guess various characteristics of the destination. They knew it would be a 787 route from SFO. The choices then were:
East or West from SFO
Skiing or Swimming Destination
Pandas or Turtles

My money is on BKK, MEL, or PPT.

I agree, MEL, PPT, BKK in that order for me. For a wild guess, I guess BNE could work, given that only LAX has service. With the recovering Brazilian economy and JV with Avianca, maybe GRU could work as well.

qf789 wrote:

panam330 wrote:

shaq wrote:

It will be from SFO, according to the teaser they put in their instagram account.

I'd place my bets on either SFO-PPT as has been the rumor, SFO-BNE or CNS or for something totally off the wall, BKK or MNL.

If its was a route from SFO to Australia MEL would be more likely. From BNE a service to LAX would be better.

UA also has no feed on the BNE end & would have to rely entirely on O&D, and I would say it also depends what QF is going to do to address the upcoming capacity drop on BNE-LAX when they switch over from the 744 to the premium heavy 789.

For example, if QF were to go 10x BNE-LAX and 4x BNE-DFW/ORD, then it pretty much locks out any potential third competitor on the BNE-LAX.
If QF maintains the status quo of daily BNE-LAX-JFK and introduce daily BNE-ORD/DFW, it may leave UA (should they enter BNE-LAX) to pick up the low yielding VFR/Tourist traffic on the BNE-LAX route through QF's capacity downgauge.

IMO, if UA are to return to BNE with their own metal, SFO-BNE would be more likely where they can feed people through SFO on both ends of the route.

I'd say good money would be on SFO-NAN given the huge US tourism interest in the country and UA have been talked about returning to Fiji for some time.

Only FJ flies from NAN-California (LAX/SFO) and they partner with QF, NZ and AA on the routes so no chance United can get anyone to Fiji without its own metal.

I don’t know whether they have already mentioned something previously but I think SFO-ZRH will be one of those new ones.

SFO - MEL, BKK or GUM and SEA - SIN could all be possible, or a long-shot SFO - BCN.