United to push Texas hub

UNITED Airlines will focus on the connectivity offered by its key Houston hub as it promotes the launch of direct daily services to the Texan city from Sydney.

From 20 Jan, the carrier will offer non-stop flights aboard Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft ( TD Fri), adding to its existing Sydney-Los Angeles, Sydney- San Francisco and Melbourne- Los Angeles daily routes, also operated by 787s.

In Australia to discuss the route with industry partners, United’s managing director of Japan and Asia Pacific sales Alison Espley told TD the carrier would promote both Houston as a destination and the easier connections offered through its George Bush Int’l Airport (IAH).

“The hub concept is very much a core strength of United - we have our North America hubs geographically positioned to cross the US and Houston is one of those,” Espley said.

The SYD-IAH services would cut UA’s flight times to Texas by more than three hours and would allow faster and easier connections to east coast destinations such as New York and Boston, Espley said.

“There are also places like Memphis and Atlanta, which you used to have to do in two stops from the west coast, and now we’ll be able to do with one stop and get there literally by lunchtime,” she said.

Agent famils and sales missions would be held in the Aust market to support the launch, she said.