United Applies for Newark to Cape Town Route

In preparation for the upcoming seasonal offering, United applied with the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to begin new service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Cape Town International Airport on Monday. United plans to operate nonstop three-times weekly flights to South Africa’s oldest city, starting in December 2019.

“We are always looking at ways to expand our industry-leading international route network to offer our customers more convenient options. We’re thrilled to announce the addition of Africa to our global route offering,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network in a press release. “This new flight will provide customers with the only nonstop service between the United States and Cape Town.”

If approved, United’s service between Newark and Cape Town will be operated with Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 48 seats in United Polaris business class, 88 seats in United Economy Plus and 116 seats in United Economy. It is unclear if the airline plans to retrofit the 787-9 with the new Polaris seating by this date.

In addition to several summer routes that are being offered like Naples or Prague, and the announced growth of Tokyo service from the carrier’s six hubs, United is pushing forward with an aggressive expansion plan for both domestic and international routes. “Today we are offering our customers more destinations than ever before, both here in the United States and overseas,” Quayle added.

Beginning this May, United will be the only airline to operate service between Washington-Dulles and Tel Aviv, Israel, and between Newark and Naples.

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Pablo Diaz

Since a little kid, Pablo set his passions in order: aviation, soccer, and everything else. He has traveled to various destinations throughout South America, Asia, and Europe.

Technology and systems expert, occasional spotter, not-so-dynamic midfielder, blogger, husband, father of three cats; he believes that Latin America's aviation industry past, present, and future offer a lot of stories to be told.

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