United Airlines has opened bookings for a newly announced direct flight route, connecting San Francisco with Adelaide, Australia. The inaugural flight is scheduled to commence on December 11, utilizing a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Flights will run three times a week on this seasonal route. Flight UA207 will take off from San Francisco at 23:05 local time, landing in Adelaide at 9:30 two days later. The return flight, UA208, will depart Adelaide on December 13 at 14:55 and arrive back in San Francisco at 11:15 on the same day.
This route marks a significant development as it could become the first direct connection from Adelaide to the United States, according to data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning tool. Previously, passengers had to use one or two-stop itineraries to reach Adelaide. Major routes included those from Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco, with additional travelers from locations such as New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The announcement came after United’s social media teaser on April 1, where United Airlines hinted at new destinations but stated, “This is no joke. Tomorrow we’re adding three new dots to our route map." Along with Adelaide, United plans to introduce routes to Bangkok, served from Los Angeles, and flights to Ho Chi Minh City from San Francisco, beginning October 26 via Hong Kong. These routes are still pending government approval.