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United boosts Asia Pacific service

United Airlines is strengthening its service to the Asia Pacific region by adding 40 more weekly, year-round flights and additional cargo capacity to its schedule during the next nine months. This move solidifies United’s position as the world’s largest transpacific passenger carrier, placing United’s assets where they will provide the greatest return for United and its customers while leveraging the company’s strengths - its customer base, hub airports and Asia Pacific network.

United’s international network optimization plan will result in the following changes to its schedule:

* Launch of United’s first-ever service between Asia Pacific (Tokyo) and its Washington Dulles hub

* Reinstatement of United’s daily San Francisco-Taipei service

* Expansion of United’s San Francisco-Seoul service from seasonal to year round

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* Addition of three more weekly flights between San Francisco and Hong Kong.

“By focusing on the strength of our hub network, United and our customers will benefit from our increased Asia Pacific service, including our first-ever Asia Pacific service from Washington Dulles,” says John Tague, executive vice president and chief revenue officer.

“As we improve our financial performance, we must make certain that we take full advantage of our network strength and fly routes that provide the best revenue opportunities for United and the greatest benefits to our customers.”

United’s new service between Washington Dulles and Tokyo Narita replaces its Tokyo service from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). From Washington Dulles, flyers can connect to 49 destinations via 137 flights on United and United Express. The new service, which will be on a Boeing 777, begins on Oct. 28, 2006.

United’s reinstatement of its service between San Francisco and Taipei, which will be on a Boeing 747, begins on April 1, 2007.The expansion of United’s San Francisco-Seoul service from seasonal to year-round begins in October and United’s increase of three additional weekly flights between San Francisco and Hong Kong begins on April 1, 2007.

New services will be available for sale next week and the year-round San Francisco-Seoul service is now available for sale.

Related to this schedule change, United will sell its New York-London route authority to Delta Air Lines subject to U.S.

Department of Transportation approval and certain other closing conditions. Delta will use this route authority to fly between JFK and London’s Gatwick Airport. This route authority sale will result in United discontinuing its JFK-London Heathrow service at the end of October.
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