If you’re a fan of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners, United has a treat for you: it’s assigning some of its newest planes, the stretched 787-10, to domestic routes between New York/Newark and California.
The Los Angeles route will get one of the planes starting January 7, and San Francisco in February. United flies 12 EWR-LAX round trips; two of them will be on the 787-10. There are 15 round trips to SFO, but so far only one is assigned to the new planes. United has also ordered nine more 787-9s and will use them as part of its plan to replace its aging 767s.
In other route and equipment news
- Delta will fly Boston to Lisbon next summer, from May 23 to Sept. 3, using a 757. But its 767-based summer service from Atlanta to Lisbon, started last May, won’t return next summer.
- Japan Airlines is returning to Seattle for the first time in over 35 years with a daily non-stop to Tokyo Narita on a 787-8, starting March 31, pending approval. The route will put it in direct competition with ANA and Delta. Seattle is presently the #5 U.S. market for travel to Japan. The flight will codeshare with American and with Alaska Airlines.
- Alaska Airlines, meanwhile, continues its own expansion by adding El Paso as a destination, with service to Seattle and San Diego. The flights will be operated, at least at first, with 76-seat E175s. Alaska, since its acquisition of Virgin America and its growing competition at Seattle with Delta, has been adding more West Coast, and especially Seattle routes. It recently added Columbus, OH.
- JetBlue is increasing its cross-country schedule to Palm Springs, California, with a new year-round non-stop from Boston, and an extension of its seasonal route from New York JFK. Palm Springs is JetBlue’s 70th non-stop destination from Boston, making it #1 on that score in Boston.
