United Airlines increases San Francisco-Tahiti flights to daily service

Flight schedules show that UA115 will depart San Francisco at 13:25 and arrive in Papeete at 18:55. The return flight, UA114, is scheduled to leave Papeete at 21:10 and reach San Francisco at 08:20 the following day. These timings are designed for both local travelers and those making connections through United’s West Coast hub.

Patrick Quayle, United's Vice President of International Network, said at the time of the route's launch: "We will allow connectivity via the San Francisco hub [for] passengers from Western Europe and Tel Aviv."

Currently, United Airlines is one of five carriers offering non-stop flights between the US and Tahiti. Its Boeing 787-9s serving this route have a total of 257 seats across three classes—48 Polaris business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 188 economy seats. French bee operates as United’s only direct competitor on the same route from San Francisco with Airbus A350-900s flying three times per week.

Other airlines also connect California with Tahiti. Air France operates five weekly flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) using A350s; Air Tahiti Nui flies ten times per week from LAX with Boeing 787s; it also runs twice-weekly non-stop services between Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Papeete using its own Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners; Hawaiian Airlines provides weekly service from Honolulu (HNL) using A330-200 aircraft.

The planned expansion by United comes amid ongoing competition among several carriers linking various US cities with Tahiti.