United challenges Qantas for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane flyers

United Airlines is throwing down the gauntlet at an already-battered Qantas with boosts to its flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Of course, United is not just a direct competitor to Qantas but a partner of Virgin Australia - and these additional flights will only serve to add value to the alliance, especially when it comes to earning and burning Velocity points on UA flights.

“Our enhanced network will make United the largest carrier between the US and Brisbane and provide unparalleled access and connectivity for travellers," said Patrick Quayle, United Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances.

United flies to both its US west coast hubs of Los Angeles and San Francisco from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, making it the largest US carrier in Australian skies.

“From Australia to anywhere in North America, Los Angeles is the largest destination, the largest terminating point in the United States,” Quayle has previously told Executive Traveller. “In San Francisco, the local market is a lot smaller, but the size of the hub is a lot larger.”

All of United’s Australian flights feature its lie-flat Polaris business class suites – which Executive Traveller has reviewed as “easily among the best from a US carrier” for a winning triple-play of “comfort, privacy and service” – along with a Premium Plus premium economy cabin.

Polaris business class passengers enjoy access to Star Alliance lounges at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – typically a choice between the lounges of Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines – plus of course United’s dedicated ‘business class only’ Polaris lounges at Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Although there’s no Australian lounge access for Virgin’s frequent flyers, Velocity Platinums and Golds can pull up a chair at the United Club lounges at LAX and SFO before heading home.

So what’s the shape of United Airlines’ Australian push?

Brisbane-Los Angeles is a fresh route, with three Boeing 787 flights per week starting December 1; and while Qantas enjoys a daily service, its passengers don’t seem to enjoy the dated red-tailed Airbus A330 which makes this 13+ hour trans-Pacific trek.

Brisbane-San Francisco steps up from three flights to a daily service from October 30, making it easier for travellers to plan their business trip or holiday. United remains the sole airline on this route, with Qantas yet to restart its suspended Brisbane-San Francisco route.

Sydney-San Francisco moves to double-daily flights as of October 30, while Qantas remains pegged at three flights a week. United’s second direct connection between the Harbour City and Fog City departs Sydney at 11.10am (UA830), followed by the long-standing 1pm departure of UA870; both flights are on a Boeing 777.

Sydney-Houston returns to the skies on October 31 at three flights per week for the Boeing 787, before confidently shifting to a daily service on December 2. This flight delivers travellers to United’s massive Houston hub, and serves a similar purpose as Qantas’ flights from Sydney and Melbourne to the Dallas/ Fort Worth home of American Airlines.

Finally, Melbourne-Los Angeles ramps up from three flights a week to a daily timetable from October 30.

United and Virgin status matches

United currently offers a status match against Qantas Silver, Gold and Platinum frequent flyers (although Qantas doesn’t appear on the “partial list” of airlines it matches against, it appears on the complete list on United’s MileagePlus Premier Status Match Challenge form.)

The United status match includes 120 days of MileagePlus Premier Silver, Premier Gold or Premier Platinum status, which can be extended for a full year – although that requires completing a set number of what United terms Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) as well as earning Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) within those 120 days.