United Airlines Plans 11 Nonstop Summer Asia Routes From West Coast Hub: Full List Now

Published Aug 30, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for history and regional aviation, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft. He has visited OEM facilities as far and wide as Bristol, Toulouse, and Seattle, and recently enjoyed the milestone of flying his 150th sector as a passenger. Based in Norfolk, UK. Earlier this week, United Airlines made headlines with the announcement of a raft of exciting additions to its long-haul route network for the summer of 2027. While most of these concerned transatlantic travel to Europe from United's main hubs on the East Coast, flyers at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) can also look forward to a new service of their own. This will link the Bay Area with Okinawa, with United set to become the only US carrier to operate nonstop flights to this city when these services commence next March. United's New Asian Route From SFO Credit: Shutterstock Okinawa will be United's sixth Japanese destination, with the carrier's inaugural flight there from San Francisco set to depart on Saturday, March 27, 2027. These flights will operate three times a week, with the Boeing 777-200ER widebody twinjet as United's jet of choice on its new route across the Pacific to Japan. Departing from SFO, the flights will run on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. According to AeroRoutes, flight 833 departs at 10:35 AM. After crossing the International Date Line, it will reach Okinawa at 3:50 PM the next day. After a two-hour turnaround, UA834 will leave Okinawa at 5:50 PM and reach SFO at 12:50 PM local time on the same day. Patrick Quayle, United's SVP of Global Network Planning & Alliances, commented on the carrier's growth, saying that: "We've added flights to nearly 60 new international cities in the last decade, building a global network with the breadth and reach to set travel trends and inspire even the most discerning travelers to discover somewhere new." A Busy Summer Out Of SFO Credit: Shutterstock According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, United is set to operate 11 nonstop transpacific routes to cities in eastern Asia next summer from SFO. As far as the existing services go, the most frequently served destinations are Hong Kong, Manila, Seoul Incheon, Singapore , and Taipei. Loading map… Drag to explore Indeed, all of these routes will see two flights a day from San Francisco next summer. The route to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) is particularly special, as United Airlines used this corridor to launch its premium-heavy 'Elevated' layout on select Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner widebody twinjets earlier this year. This setup has 222 seats: 64 in business, 35 in premium economy, and 123 in economy. Elsewhere in Asia, United will serve five additional destinations daily from its San Francisco hub next summer. These are Beijing, Shanghai, Osaka, Tokyo Haneda, and Tokyo Narita. Passengers on the latter route can also continue to Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH) in Taiwan, though with an aircraft swap at NRT. United Will Also Serve A New Seasonal Winter Route Credit: Shutterstock As it happens, Osaka and Okinawa are not the only Asian destinations to which United Airlines has recently announced that it will be launching nonstop flights from San Francisco. Indeed, the carrier also revealed back in May of this year that, starting on December 11, it will fly three times a week from the Bay Area to New Chitose Airport (CTS). This facility serves the Japanese city of Sapporo. United Airlines' Asian Destinations From SFO Country Airport(s) China Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong Hong Kong Hong Kong Japan Okinawa, Osaka, Sapporo (seasonal), Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita Philippines Manila South Korea Seoul Incheon Singapore Singapore Changi Taiwan Kaohsiung (via NRT), Taipei Crucially, this route will not appear in the airline's 2027 summer schedule, as it will operate only seasonally. However, this is a deliberate quirk of the route, given that it is explicitly aimed at winter sports enthusiasts looking to sample, as the carrier put it, "fresh powder for world-class skiing." United is eyeing the 787 for this route and notes that flyers can connect at SFO from 80 US cities.