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The new service will allow the airline to re-time its Sydney-LA and Sydney-San Francisco flights to allow better connections through its west coast hubs on to New York and other US central and east coast destinations.

“We are excited about using the newest version of the game-changing Dreamliner, the 787-9, to provide non-stop trans-Pacific service from Melbourne for the first time,” Jim Compton, United’s vice chairman and chief revenue officer said in announcing the changes.

“Our Melbourne customers will enjoy faster journeys to Los Angeles and beyond, as well as improved inflight comfort and amenities, and at the same time we will seek to make changes to our Sydney schedule which will enable faster connections via our San Francisco and Los Angeles hubs to destinationsthroughout the Americas.

”“It’s going have at least 20 per cent better fuel efficiency compared to a like-sized aircraft,” United’s managing director for Japan and Pacific sales, Matt Miller told Australian Aviation.

“Certainly with the -9, that’s comparing it to a 777-200, the economics certainly makes it viable and helps us get into the longer thinner markets.

It has the range as well, which for an aircraft of that size, having the range and the efficiency, it’s something we may not have been able to serve using a 777.

The 787 allows us to launch new routes like this, but also to get into existing markets where we benefit from the economics of the aircraft.

”The 787-9s will be configured with 48 BusinessFirst, 63 Economy Plus and 141 standard economy class seats.

United is the North American launch customer and operator for the 787, and currently has nine 787-8s in service.

It has a further 56 787s on order including 20 of the double-stretched 787-10 which the airline announced in June last year, while it also converted 10 of its existing 787 orders to the -10.

“We’re actually taking delivery of the first -9 in July and we’ll take the second one shortly thereafter,” said Miller.

“We’ll be flying them around on our domestic system for the months leading up to their international debut.

There will be some unique training aspects on the ground and in the air for the flight attendants simply because it is a larger version of the -8,” Miller added.

“But it is the same certification, the same pilot base, the same cockpit, just in a larger version.

We’ll continue to operate those in the hubs in Houston and LA particularly, and in the markets where we have the -8 today so there’s a centre of excellence.

We really think the ramp up for the -9 will be relatively easy being on the coat-tails of the -8.

The two -9s we’re getting this year will be pretty much exclusive on the Melbourne route as it takes two aircraft to do the route given the flight times.

” United will take additional aircraft in 2015, but Miller said the schedule is still a ‘work in progress” as Boeing continues to ramp up its 787 production.

Melbourne will be the second Australian port to receive 787-9 services, after Air New Zealand which is planning Auckland-Perth flights from mid-October.

United’s 787-9 interior configuration will be a relatively low density one compared to other airlines, some of whom are cramming 300 or more seats into even the shorter -8. “For us with the -9, the key components of this, being a long-haul thin aircraft for us is having 48 flat bed BusinessFirst seats which is really important for

The 787 allows us to launch new routes like this. MATT MILLER

our business customers on a 15-plus hour flight,” said Miller. “We also have 63 Economy Plus seats which give extra leg room, so that provides a little bit lower density. It’s a good healthy balance of having the great product but still having enough seats to compete. ” The BusinessFirst seats are arranged in a 2+2+2 ‘herringbone’ arrangement, whereas economy plus and economy seats are in 3+3+3 configuration. “The BusinessFirst seat is the same product we have on our current 787-8s today plus we have put it on about 23 of our newest 777s and have retrofitted it to our long-haul 767 services,” said Miller. “It’s the newest design of our flat bed seat. ” In the meantime, United is due to replace the 747-400 with 777-200ERs on its current services to Sydney and Melbourne from March 29. While the airline has a couple of different configurations for its 777, the 267-seat configuration to be used on the Australian services will have 50 BusinessFirst, 72 Economy Plus and 145 standard economy seats, compared to the current 374-seat 747-400 which has 12 Global First, 52 BusinessFirst, 88 Economy Plus, and 222 standard economy seats.

“This is part of an entire package,” said Miller. “We announced back in August that we would swap the 747 for the 777 knowing that we were planning to do this with Melbourne-LA. With the three non-stop services from the US to Australia, we’ll actually be going up in capacity slightly. We introduced the 777 really to improve the product, and knowing that we had the 787 coming, it was all part of that business plan. ” “The re-timed services out of Sydney are yet to be finalised, but what we’re going to aim to do is depart one of the flights from Sydney a little earlier in the day to get you into the US and onwards to the east coast before dinner time,” he added. “Our arrival times in Sydney will be the same as they are today, but obviously we’re not constrained by that Melbourne service in that we can turn the aircraft and go straight back to the US. The other service we may stagger a little later in the day to give schedule flexibility so people who don’t want to leave on the morning flight can leave a little later. ” And the venerable 747s will remain in service for a few years yet, with these aircraft to be re-deployed on higher capacity services such as those from the west coast to Japan and China.

Interestingly, Continental, pre-dating its merger with United, had planned to operate the 787-8 on direct service between Houston and Auckland. But despite these plans being dropped by the newly merged airline in mid-2012 as part of a disagreement over the expansion of Houston’s second airport to allow international flights, Miller hinted it may make a comeback in the future.

“It’s on hold for now, and certainly with United we have a very large customer base in Auckland,” he said. “Certainly the dynamics since our merger with these now three trans-Pacific services going forward, we’ve got a tremendous ability to serve the NZ market via Sydney. But never say never – Houston is a really important hub for us, and certainly NZ and our partner there in the Star Alliance is still a really important market for us, but for now the three trans-Pacifics from Australia are how we plan to serve the NZ market. ” After emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and merging with Continental Airlines in 2012, United has embarked on a massive fleet recapitalisation plan which will see most of its short-haul and long-haul fleets substantially replaced inthe next decade. By the end of 2014, United fleet plans show it will have a widebody fleet of 23 747-400s, 74 777-200ERs, 14 787-8/9s and 50 767-300/400ERs. The airline’s narrowbody fleet will comprise 94 757-200/300s, 284 737NGs and 152 Airbus A319/320s, while its regional fleet of Bombardier and Embraer turboprops and jets will total some 565 aircraft.

In July 2012 the newly formed United Continental Holdings announced an order for 150 Boeing 737s comprising 50 737-900ERs to replace most of the transcontinental 757 fleet, and 100 re-engined 737 MAX 9s. Deliveries of the -900ERs started last year and will roll through to when production switches to the MAX series in 2017, while the MAX 9s will be delivered through to 2022. The 737-900ERs are being delivered in spacious configurations with 20 BusinessFirst, 51 Economy Plus and 96 economy standard seats.

And in June 2013, just two days after announcing its 787-10 order, United also announced an order for 10 Airbus A350-1000s and that it was converting its existing order for 25 A350-900s to the larger -1000 model. The A350s will replace the remaining 747s and some of the older 777s in United’s fleet from 2018.

The airline is also not resting on its laurels with its existing fleet. In February United made the first commercial flight from Houston to Los Angeles of one of its 737-800s with new split scimitar winglets designed by Aviation Partners Boeing. Designed to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency by two per cent over the existing 737NG winglet design, the split scimitar replaces the current aluminium winglet with a new aerodynamically re-shaped scimitar winglet tip cap and a downward facing ventral strake in a design similar to that earmarked for the re-engined 737 MAX.