United Airlines will add a daily San Francisco-Dublin flight beginning next summer, joining Aer Lingus on a route linking tech centers on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The flights, to be operated on a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner, will be United’s fourth direct connection between North America and the Irish capital. The Chicago-based carrier already operates flights to Dublin from Chicago, Washington Dulles and Newark International airports. United also offers seasonal service to Shannon, on Ireland’s west coast, from Newark.
“Dublin and the Silicon Valley are two regions synonymous with big tech,” Patrick Quayle, United’s vice-president of international network, says in a statement on 18 December. “Many global tech companies have a major footprint in both regions, and they need a carrier with an extensive worldwide network to help conveniently connect their business.”
United will operate the route from 5 June 2020.
Aer Lingus already operates daily between San Francisco and Dublin, having served the route since 2014, and previously between 2007 and 2009, according to Cirium schedules data.
Earlier this month United ordered 50 Airbus A321XLRs, a long-range narrowbody that the carrier says it will eventually use to replace older models and to expand on transatlantic routes. United expects to acquire the first of the 50 new A321XLRs in 2024 and to begin international service with the type the following year.
Also earlier in December, the airline deferred orders for 45 A350-900s to 2027 in order to “better align” with its operational needs.
San Francisco is one of United’s seven US mainland hubs. The airline already offers direct flights from San Francisco to seven major European cities including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich.
Story corrected on 19 December to note that Aer Lingus also flies the Dublin-San Francisco route.
