Wow: United Airlines Will Fly To Adelaide, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City

Yesterday, United Airlines teased that it would announce new routes today. Well, the details have now been revealed, and there are some very cool additions… however, they’re not all from the US.

United boosts Pacific network with new routes

United will be launching flights to three new destinations in Asia and Australia. Specifically, Adelaide, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City. Let’s cover all the details.

United will fly from San Francisco to Adelaide

As of December 11, 2025, United will add 3x weekly flights between San Francisco (SFO) and Adelaide (ADL), on a seasonal basis. The new 8,070-mile flight will operate with the following schedule:

UA207 San Francisco to Adelaide departing 11:05PM arriving 9:30AM (+2 days)
UA208 Adelaide to San Francisco departing 2:55PM arriving 11:15AM

The westbound flight is blocked at 15hr50min and will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, while the eastbound flight is blocked at 14hr50min and will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

United intends to use a a Boeing 787-9 for the route, featuring a total of 257 seats. This includes 48 Polaris seats (business class), 21 Premium Plus seats (premium economy), 39 Economy Plus seats (extra legroom economy), and 149 economy class seats.

This will be United’s fourth destination in Australia, after Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), and Brisbane (BNE). This will be United’s second longest route to Australia, after the carrier’s Houston (IAH) to Sydney route, which covers a distance of 8,596 miles. United will also be the only airline flying between Adelaide and North America.

United will fly from Hong Kong to Bangkok

As of October 26, 2025, United will add daily flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and Bangkok (BKK). As you can see, this isn’t a nonstop route from the United States, but instead, this will allow one-stop service from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Bangkok. The schedule for the route hasn’t yet been published, but the intent is that the 787 will do a direct turn in Bangkok, between transpacific flights. United will operate the 1,049-mile route with a Boeing 787-9.

United last served Bangkok out of Tokyo Narita (NRT), and that route was cut in 2014.

United will fly from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City

As of October 26, 2025, United will add daily flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN). Much like the Bangkok service, this is a continuation of United’s flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Hong Kong. The schedule for the route hasn’t yet been published, but the intent is that the 787 will do a direct turn in Bangkok, between transpacific flights. United will operate the route with a Boeing 787-9. United will operate the 925-mile route with a Boeing 787-9.

United served this exact route several years back, though it was cut in 2016.

My take on United’s Pacific expansion

What a cool expansion. A few thoughts…

First of all, the Adelaide route is interesting. Obviously United needs more places to send its wide body aircraft in winter, to balance the summer seasonal flights to Europe. United has tried to expand rapidly in the South Pacific, with mixed success. So it’s interesting to see the airline now targeting a new destination, which hasn’t ever seen nonstop service to the United States.

Regarding Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, those are both destinations that have been rumored for United, though I guess we got a “light” version of these routes, given that they operate via Hong Kong. Having some access to Thailand and Vietnam with a US carrier is cool, though admittedly this doesn’t do much compared to other one-stop options that are available.

As an aviation geek, I can’t help but love the concept of these fifth freedom flights. The only thing that’s surprising, perhaps, is that these flights aren’t out of Tokyo, where is continuing to build up a presence. United also has a lot more transpacific capacity there. Then again, it’s a much shorter journey from Hong Kong to these destinations.

Bottom line

United has announced a Pacific expansion, whereby we’ll see the airline fly from San Francisco to Adelaide, as well as from Hong Kong to both Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Adelaide will be United’s fourth destination in Australia, while United will be the only US carrier to fly to Thailand and Vietnam.

It’s cool to see this expansion, and I’m curious to see how it works out. Perhaps this is the first step to a nonstop flight from San Francisco to Bangkok.

What do you make of United’s Pacific expansion?