United Announces Its First Six Boeing 787 International Routes

United Airlines has announced the first six international routes it will operate with its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, the first of which it is due to receive at the end of September.

In addition to the Boeing 787 service which United Airlines has already announced from its Denver hub to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, starting on March 31, the airline will operate non-stop 787 service five days a week between its hub at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport and Lagos in Nigeria, from January 7.

United Airlines was due to receive its first Boeing 787-8 at the end of September 2012

United will also operate daily, non-stop Boeing 787 service between its Los Angeles International Airport hub and Narita, from January 3; and between Los Angeles and Shanghai, beginning March 30.

The carrier will also operate daily, non-stop Dreamliner service from Houston to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and London Heathrow on a temporary basis. Houston-Amsterdam service begins on December 4, while Houston-London Heathrow service starts on February 4,.

“The 787 is the right aircraft for these routes because of its many passenger-friendly amenities and superior operating economics,” says Greg Hart, United’s senior vice president of network. “With 50 787s on order, we look forward to the many new route opportunities that will become available to United and our customers in the future.”

For its fleet of Boeing 787s, United Airlines modified its regular livery to include a swooping, curved gold line along the fuselage, to honor Boeing’s house liveries for its flight-test aircraft

The Boeing 787 will display for sale for these routes on united.com and other distribution channels beginning on August 25. The airline’s Denver-Narita 787 service is already available for booking.

United Airlines says that in the near future it will announce plans for initial domestic flying for the 787, which will precede its launch of international Dreamliner service.

The carrier is configuring its Boeing 787-8s with 36 seats in United BusinessFirst, 72 seats in United Economy Plus and 111 seats in United Economy.