United Airlines Touches Down in Cape Town From New York

United Airlines has commenced its year-round service of three weekly flights between Cape Town International Airport and its New York/Newark hub, marking the route’s expansion from a summer seasonal operation.

The three-weekly service will be operated using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 257 seats in four classes.

In addition to connecting Cape Town and South Africa’s Western Cape with the greater New York / New Jersey region, the new schedule provides customers flying from Cape Town with easy and convenient connections, through United’s New York/Newark hub, to more than 85 U.S. cities, including Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

United’s code-share partnership with South Africa-based Airlink also provides additional travel options for customers travelling from other Southern African destinations connecting onto United’s nonstop long-haul services to the U.S.

This service creates economic opportunities, reunites families and friends, facilitates educational exchanges and further strengthens US robust relationship and partnership with the Western Cape.

United first launched flights from Cape Town in December 2019, and it quickly became one of the airline’s flagship international routes. The airline later built upon this success in Africa with the launch of flights between Johannesburg and New York/Newark in June 2021, new service between Accra and Washington D.C. in May 2021 and between Lagos and Washington D.C. in November 2021.

United has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for authority to operate year-round service between Washington D.C. and Cape Town this coming November. The application is pending review under the DOT’s route proceeding allocation.

United’s Cape Town service supports the Cape Town Air Access initiative led by Wesgro, the region’s economic and tourism development agency, in partnership with Airports Company South Africa, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Provincial Government, South African Tourism and private-sector corporates in diverse sectors.

The United Travel Experience

United’s service from Cape Town to New York/Newark is operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring a total of 257 seats – 48 all-aisle-access flat bed seats in United PolarisSM business class, 21 United Premium PlusSM and 188 in economy, including 39 Economy PlusSM seats with added legroom and increased personal space.

The revolutionary design of the Dreamliner offers customers many features for increased comfort such as large windows, spacious overhead storage and modern LED lighting to simulate a full day, helping passengers adjust their internal clock on the long-haul flight.

In addition, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and smoother ride help customers feel rested on arrival.

United Polaris business class is a premium travel experience that prioritises relaxation and comfort, featuring quality inflight dining, premium amenity kits and full flat-bed seats.

United began serving South Africa in 2019. In addition to the three-times weekly nonstop service from Cape Town to New York/Newark, United offers customers from South Africa non-stop flights between Johannesburg and New York/Newark.

Flights are conveniently timed to connect at United’s New York/Newark hub with an extensive network of services to destinations throughout the Americas.

Customers can book their flights on united.com or by contacting the United Reservations on 0214268058 or their travel agent.