United Airlines continues to expand its network in China with the launch of new non-stop flights from San Francisco to Xi’an, allowing business travellers the chance to fly between the financial centre of Northern California and the capital of Shaanxi province in China.

United Airlines is the first airline to offer travellers direct trans-Pacific service to Xi’an. Operating on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft from now until October 27, 2016, the new outbound flight departs San Francisco International Airport at 13:25 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and arrives in Xi’an at 17:30 the following day. The return flight leaves Xi’an’s Xianyang International Airport at 09:30 and arrives in San Francisco at 06:35 the same day. Flying times are approximately 13 hours and five minutes westbound; and 12 hours and five minutes eastbound.

“United is celebrating our 30th anniversary of service linking the US and China this year and there couldn’t be a better way to honor our proud and long-standing relationship than by being the first airline to offer customers non-stop trans-Pacific service to Xi’an,” says Marcel Fuchs, United’s vice president of Atlantic and Pacific sales. “United operates more non-stop US-China flights, and to more cities in China, than any other airline and we expect the addition of flights to Xi’an to continue to create opportunities for trade and collaboration between our two countries throughout the US-China Tourism Year and long into the future.” www.united.com