United Announces Washington Dulles-Honolulu Service and New Seasonal Flights

United Airlines is launching daily year-round service between Washington Dulles International Airport and Honolulu on June 7, the only non-stop service between the two points.

The carrier will operate the service using Boeing 767-400ERs inherited from Continental Airlines in the merger of the two carriers.

United Airlines, which says it is the largest carrier between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii, connects the Aloha State with eight mainland cities, as well as Tokyo, Guam and Majuro, offering non-stop service in 23 city pairs.

Continental Airlines brought a huge, all-Boeing fleet to its merger with United Airlines under the United name. The former Continental fleet included 16 long-haul 767-400ERs (one is pictured here), as well as 20 777-200ERs, 10 767-200ERs and 41 757-200ERs. Each of Continental's 767-400ERs was configured to seat 35 in BusinessFirst and 200 in economy class, but the aircraft have subsequently been reconfigured to include United's Economy Plus premium-economy seats

From its Washington Dulles hub, United also offers more domestic and international service from the U.S. capital than any other airline.

United Airlines is also adding seasonal service to several popular summer travel destinations. In Alaska, United is offering new daily service between Denver and Fairbanks (IATA code FAI) from June 7 through August 27, using ex-Continental Boeing 737-800s.

Fairbanks offers access to Denali National Park, one of Alaska’s most-visited destinations. The flights complement United’s existing Alaska service to Anchorage from hubs in Denver, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, as well as Seattle.

Meanwhile, United Express will offer daily seasonal service from June 7 to August 27 between Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport and Rapid City (RAP), South Dakota, which is the gateway to the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore and the Badlands National Park.

ExpressJet will operate the flights using 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets. United currently serves Rapid City from its Denver and Chicago hubs.

In Wyoming, United will add summer-season flights between its Houston and San Francisco hubs and Jackson Hole (JAC), which attracts millions of summer visitors to nearby Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

The Houston flights will operate twice-weekly from June 8 through August 27, 2012, using Boeing 757-200s. The San Francisco flights will operate daily from July 1 through August 27, with United Express service flown by SkyWest Airlines using Bombardier CRJ700s. These flights are in addition to United’s existing service to Jackson Hole from hubs in Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.

In addition, previously announced new service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Buenos Aires, and services linking Washington Dulles with Manchester in the UK and Dublin in Ireland will begin this spring.

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