United Airlines Applies for San Francisco - Chengdu Flights

United Airlines has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to begin nonstop services linking the airline’s San Francisco hub with Chengdu, China, the fourth-largest Chinese city, effective 9 June 2014.

United intends to use its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft to operate the three-times-weekly service to Chengdu.

If approved, Chengdu will be the ninth destination United serves in the Asia Pacific region nonstop from San Francisco.

The proposed flights will depart San Francisco International Airport at 13:35 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and arrive at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 18:50 the following day (all times local).

Service from Chengdu will depart at 10:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and arrive at San Francisco International Airport at 08:50 the same day.

Flying times will be approximately 14 hours, 15 minutes westbound and 13 hours, 50 minutes eastbound.

This new nonstop flight will shave nearly four hours off the typical travel time between the two cities.

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China, is the country’s fourth largest city, with a population of approximately 14 million in the urban area. In recent years, Chengdu has been one of the country’s fastest-developing cities economically, and more than 200 Fortune 500 companies have a presence in the city. Sichuan is famous as the natural habitat of the giant panda and home to one of China’s most popular cuisines.