United targets Hong Kong-San Francisco route for new aircraft and business class

In a bid to take on the “challenging” Asian market, United has designated its Hong Kong-San Francisco route as the first international course for a new aircraft and business class product, a company senior official has said. Walter Dias, United Airlines managing director for Greater China and Korea, said the sector saw plenty of new capacity flowing in last year. He added that in the battle for premium services, the airline would focus on a new business class for the route, called Polaris, and the first class service would be phased out. The airline showcased its new Boeing 777 aircraft Monday. Dias said: “Hong Kong is a matured and sophisticated market, which is not growing fast. This year, Asia also remains a challenging market, that’s why we are bringing Polaris first to Hong Kong.” He said the newly purchased 14-strong fleet of long-range, wide-body Boeing 777-300ER planes will be entirely fitted with Polaris. Improvements include a 180-degree bed and associated premium lounges at key airports such as Hong Kong, London’s Heathrow, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The airline will also offer three daily flights into San Francisco.<br/>