United Airlines to Fly Denver-Tokyo Nonstop With Boeing 787
By: Darren Booth
United Airlines on Tuesday announced the launch of a daily nonstop flight from Denver International Airport to Narita International Airport in Tokyo. Service begins March 31, 2013.
Both airports are hubs for United and the airline will operate the service with a new, state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to be delivered in the third quarter in 2012. The flight will be the city's first nonstop service to Asia.
"Our customers will enjoy the direct, nonstop service on our new Boeing Dreamliner aircraft," says Jeff Smisek, United's president and chief executive officer in a press release.
United flight 123 will depart Denver daily at 11:55 a.m. and arrive in Tokyo at 3:00 p.m. the next day. Flight 122 will depart Tokyo at 4:40 p.m. and arrive in Denver at 12:30 p.m. the same day.
United will be the first U.S. airline to operate the 787.
The Boeing 787 offers many passenger-friendly features, including improved lighting, bigger windows, large overhead bins, lower cabin pressure altitude and enhanced ventilation systems.
United will offer 36 flat-bed seats in the "BusinessFirst" cabin and 183 in economy, including 63 "Economy Plus" seats, which offer up to 5 inches of additional legroom. BusinessFirst will offer 6 rows in a 2-2-2 layout (pairs of seats separated by an aisle or situated next to the windows). Economy (including Economy Plus) will have nine-abreast seating in a 3-3-3 layout.
The flight is now available for booking. Roundtrip fares on the route start at $979.90 for a restrictive economy class ticket. Fully refundable BusinessFirst tickets run $13,264, according to the airline's website.
