United Airlines will launch new direct service between Washington D.C. and Cape Town, becoming the first carrier to provide nonstop service between the U.S. capital and South Africa. The airline will offer three weekly flights on the route from November 17, 2022.
On Thursday (July 28, 2022), United Airlines announced the launch of new nonstop service between Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), becoming the first carrier to directly link the U.S. capital and South Africa. Starting November 17, 2022, subject to approval by South Africa’s Government, the route will be operated three times weekly. United launched seasonal service between New York/Newark (EWR) in 2019, which was expanded to year-round service in 2022. Soon, the carrier will offer a total of 19 weekly flights to Africa, including service from Newark to Johannesburg and between Washington D.C. and Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria, which launched in 2021.
In Thursday’s announcement, United Airlines’ SVP – Global Network Planning and Alliances, Patrick Quayle, said,
“We are thrilled to further expand our Africa offering with this first-ever direct link between Washington DC and Cape Town. These new flights build upon our existing year-round New York/Newark to Cape Town service – together they'll provide a near-daily pattern from the U.S. to Cape Town along with connectivity to the broader region through our Airlink partnership.”
United’s new Cape Town route will be operated with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 48 lie-flat United Polaris® Business Class seats, 21 United Premium Plus® seats and 188 Economy Class seats. All seats are equipped with seatback on-demand inflight entertainment, allowing guests to pass the time and relax during their journey.
The route between Washington D.C. and Cape Town was the largest route between the U.S. and South Africa without nonstop service prior to the launch of United’s new service. Washington D.C. is also home to the fifth largest South African-born population. United’s new service will connect Cape Town to 55 U.S. cities through Dulles, representing over 92 percent of U.S. travel demand.
United Airlines’ shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated over 1.7 million flights carrying over 162 million guests. United Airlines operates the most comprehensive network among North American carriers with mainland U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Shares in the company’s parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., are publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol ‘UAL.’
Source: United Airlines / PRNewswire
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