United Airlines is bullish about the scheduled nonstop daily service from Manila to San Francisco as passenger traffic between the points has “exploded” in recent months.
“We are seeing demand for US travel exploding as far as international demand is concerned and we’re very confident that the flights will be well,” Walter Dias, sale regional director for Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asia, said in a briefing.
“The Philippines is fantastic destination for our customers in the US,” he added.
United Airline’s first westbound flight from SFO to Manila would depart on 29 October this year.
All flights will use the wide-bodied B777-300ER aircraft offering 60 seats in the United Polaris business cabin, 24 seats in the United Premium Plus cabin, and 266 seats in the United Economy cabin.
Dias expressed confidence the seat sale of the Manila to San Francisco leg will rise on the basis of strong travel demand.
Data from the Department of Tourism show US tourists visiting the Philippines totaling 505,089 in 2022 or 19 percent of total tourist arrivals.
In the first seven months, travelers from the US number 550,579 or 18.35 percent of a total three million tourists visiting the Philippines during the period.
At present, United Airlines flies twice daily flights between Manila and Palau and daily flights from Manila to Guam.
San Francisco is United Airline’s largest hub on the U.S. West Coast and a gateway to Asia-Pacific. United dispatches more than 200 daily departures from San Francisco International Airport, taking customers to more than 100 destinations around the globe in flights to 31 different international cities.
This winter, the hub will offer direct flights to 15 Asia-Pacific destinations including Manila (Philippines), Auckland and Christchurch (New Zealand), Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), Haneda/Tokyo, Narita/Tokyo, and Osaka (Japan), Incheon/Seoul (South Korea), Papeete/Tahiti, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei.
