United moves to make Shanghai a top Chinese destination

United Friday made another aggressive move to help cement its position as the leading US-based carrier serving the rapidly-growing Chinese travel market. United said it will launch a second daily flight between San Francisco International Airport and Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on Oct. 14, 2016. United intends to upgrade the flying experience for passengers flying between the two cities with the introduction of Boeing 787-9 aircraft on both of those daily flights as of October. The newest stretch version of the Dreamliner, the 787-9 seats 252 passengers in two cabins — 48 in United BusinessFirst and 204 in United economy, including 88 economy plus seats with added legroom. United's 787-9 seats about 30 more than the first iteration of the Dreamliner, the 787-8. Noted Marcel Fuchs, United's VP of Atlantic and Pacific sales: "Our customers tell us they rest better and feel refreshed after a long flight on the 787." United also said it has looked at research and feedback from business travellers and found that these high-margin customers put considerable importance on convenient flight arrival and departure times. United took that info into consideration when putting its second San Francisco-Shanghai flight in the system. One of the two daily departures will leave San Francisco at 3:55 p.m. and arrive in Shanghai the following day at 8:15 p.m. The return flight from Shanghai will depart at 12:05 a.m., allowing for a full day of work in the Chinese metropolis before boarding the flight, which will arrive in San Francisco at 8:50 p.m. the previous day, due to the time change.<br/>