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United Airlines launches Washington - Cape Town, its 3rd route between the US and South Africa United Airlines launches Washington - Cape Town, its 3rd route between the US and South Africa

At the end of 2021, United Airlines reopened its route between New York and Cape Town (a seasonal route launched in 2019, and becoming permanent in 2022), after opening a new service between New York and Johannesburg. The American airline confirms the reach of the South African market, by opening a new corridor.

United Airlines is strengthening its presence in South Africa. From 17 November 2022, the US carrier will connect Washington-Dulles to Cape Town with three weekly flights (subject to South African government approval).

The service, which has been available for booking since Thursday 28 July (the date of its announcement), will be operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with a capacity of 257 seats (48 reclining seats in business class, 21 in premium plus and 188 in economy class).

United will have a monopoly on this route, which will become its third between the US and South Africa. Currently, the company connects New York-Newark to Johannesburg eight times a week, and Cape Town three times a week. "Together they will provide an almost daily service from the US to Cape Town, as well as connectivity to the wider region through our partnership with Airlink," says Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of United Global Network Planning and Alliances.

As a reminder, the codeshare agreement with Airlink allows United to offer one-stop service to 45 destinations in Southern Africa. United's new route will also connect Cape Town to 55 US cities, accounting for over 92% of US travel demand.

In addition, with its new corridor, the airline will soon offer a total of 19 weekly flights to Africa, with service to Accra (Ghana) and Lagos (Nigeria) starting in 2021.

Source: newsaero