United Airlines opens direct US- Manila flights

On Monday, 30 October, at around 5:50 a.m., United Airlines flight UA 191 from San Francisco, California, USA, touched down at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 for the second time with 325 passengers on board a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

United Airlines' first direct flight from San Francisco to Manila (UA191) was given a warm welcome with a water cannon salute. The arriving passengers were greeted by United Airlines executives and US and Philippine government officials as they celebrated the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the airport departure gate.

Present were United Airlines regional director for APAC Walter Dias; country manager for Sales—Philippines Pam Navarro; managing director for International Sales Marcel Fuchs; US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson; Department of Transportation Undersecretary Roberto Lim; Department of Tourism Regional Director Sharlene Batin; American Chamber of Commerce executive director Ebb Hinchliffe; and general manager for Airport Operations—Guam Samuel Shinohara.

With the opening of the United States route, passengers travelling between the Philippines and the continental US now have more choices of airlines to fly with. Carlson said United's flight would be the "first of many more air links between our countries."

United Airlines today began its new nonstop service between Manila and San Francisco, the airline's first trans-Pacific service between the Philippines and the continental US.

"The San Francisco-Manila flight is indeed the first time a US airline has flown between the US mainland and the Philippines, Manila. So, we are just really, really pleased to be high in the air and to be leading this new service," Marcel Fuchs, United's managing director of international sales, told reporters on Monday.

United Airlines has more than 40 years of history in Manila dating back to 1982, and currently operates nonstop service to Guam and Palau. With this new Manila-San Francisco daily nonstop service, UAL will be the first and only US airline connecting Manila and the continental U.S.

United Airlines halted its operations between Manila and the US in 2019 due to system-wide issues, but relaunched the service after four years of absence.

|Here is the flight schedule for United Airlines:
▪︎ For departure flight – UA190 from Manila (9:55 am) to San Francisco (6:20am)
▪︎ For Arrival flight – UA191 from San Francisco (11:35 p.m.) to Manila (6:50am)

The daily nonstop flights will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER, the airline's largest aircraft. The plane has 60 seats in the United Polaris business cabin, 24 seats in the United Premium Plus cabin and 266 seats in the United Economy cabin. Passengers on the 15-hour flight will also be served Filipino-inspired meals.

"The Filipino team created the menu for this flight so customers can expect a good meal," UAL country manager for Philippine sales Pam Navarro said.

"We have to make Manila-San Francisco work. Everything we see — from the support of the travel, trade and business communities — would suggest that we're going to be successful in this market," she added.

The US hosts one of the largest communities of overseas Filipinos, with remittances from the country accounting for 41.2 percent of all cash remittances. Filipinos who have permanently migrated to the US and those who work there temporarily often travel between the Philippines and the US.