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Yesterday, I wrote about how United Airlines is going to announce some new routes today at 8:00 AM EST. The news just dropped. In addition to the route I just wrote about (San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to/from Adelaide Airport (ADL); more here), United will be adding Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and Ho Chi Minh City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (SGN). United is the only US carrier serving these routes and with these additions now flies to 32 cities across the Pacific.
While many speculated that the two new routes to Manila and Thailand would see flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO), United is instead launching flights from within Asia. The airline used to offer flights to Ho Chi Minh City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (SGN) from Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) years ago (these ended in 2016 and 2014, respectively). Both cities (Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City) will now be flown to/from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). I love these Fifth Freedom routes. This return is welcome news for many travelers. Both routes will begin on October 26th and run daily using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. These offer 48 Polaris (Business Class), 21 Premium Plus, 39 Economy Plus®, and 149 Economy Class seats. Both of the new routes will offer one-stop connectivity to/from the United States as United connects both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
In addition to these new routes, United will also add a second-daily flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL). This kicks off on October 25th and will use Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with 60 Polaris (Business Class), 24 Premium Plus, 62 Economy Plus®, and 204 Economy Class seats.
We’re officially checking in… and adding 3️⃣ new dots to our map in the Pacific. Please welcome:
Bangkok, Thailand
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Adelaide, AustraliaPLUS, we’re adding a 2nd daily flight from San Francisco to Manila, Philippines.https://t.co/jFM0b7KMki pic.twitter.com/uuOqboYce8
— United Airlines (@united) April 2, 2025
Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President, Global Network Planning and Alliances at United, said:
At United, we’re changing the way people think about where they travel – by offering the greatest access to see and explore the world, whether it’s for relaxation, adventure or business. We offer more than the best schedule and travel options – we connect customers to sought after destinations and opportunities to explore new, vibrant cities.”
Anthony’s Take: I’m excited for these new flights. United just keeps giving me more places to fly. I love that there are more Fifth Freedom flights being added and hope that United continues to grow its presence in Asia and the Pacific.
(Image Credits: United Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
2 comments
United will operate Bkk and Sgn nonstop between Hkg and Bkk/ Sgn. Your headline missed the salient points of this 5th freedom route announcement.
Thanks for reading and the comment. A sentence got deleted as I was rushing to post this while boarding a plane in Montenegro. I fixed it.