United becomes first U.S. carrier to launch flights to Xi’an

United Airlines has become the first U.S. carrier to launch nonstop flights from San Francisco to Xi’an. The airline’s first ever flight on trans-Pacific route started operating from May 8, 2016. The new service on the route will be operated with the help of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

A spokesperson of United Airlines said that the two destinations would be served with thrice weekly service during peak travel period. The outbound flights from San Francisco to Xi’an would be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays per week, while the return flights would be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flight duration from either destination would be around 12 to 13 hours.

Marcel Fuchs, United Airlines’ Vice President of Atlantic and Pacific Sales, said, “United Airlines is presently celebrating the 30th anniversary of its service providing connectivity to the United States and China. The airline thought that it couldn’t be a better way than to launch nonstop trans-Pacific flights services to Xi’an.”

United Airlines is currently operating the highest number of nonstop flights to China from the United States. The airline first started operating its nonstop service to China in 1986. The airline has ever since been offering 96 weekly nonstop flights services to mainland China. The airline is now serving Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Chengdu with direct flights from its hubs in San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Newark Liberty and New York JFK. The airline is also planning to add another route with the launch of flights to Hangzhou from San Francisco in July 2016.

A recent statistics released by China National Tourism Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce said that nearly 2.1 million Americans visited China in 2015, while above 2.56 million Chinese people visited the United States during the same year. Moreover, the relaxed visa policies by the U.S. government is going to further boost the prospects and result in the increase of travelers from China to the U.S. in coming years.