United Airlines is placing a renewed emphasis on its San Francisco Airport hub.
In an announcement timed around a Thursday media event at the airport, the carrier said that it will grow 20% in San Francisco this year, reflecting a long-term strategy to re-establish the airport's status as a leading global gateway.
The announcement follows news from United that it will launch service in December between San Francisco and Adelaide, Australia, becoming the first airline to connect the U.S. and Adelaide. And, United in October will add a second daily flight between San Francisco and Manila, Philippines.
United also will begin daily service in October from Hong Kong to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with the flights optimized for connecting flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
United picks up the pace in San Francisco
Prior to 2025, United had built back San Francisco's post-pandemic capacity at a slower rate than its other hubs. In 2024, United flew just 1% more seats out of San Francisco than it did in 2019, Cirium flight-schedule data shows, a much slower growth rate than at Denver, Chicago O'Hare, Newark and Houston Bush Intercontinental.
United said that this year it will fly to 111 cities from San Francisco, including eight in Europe and 17 in the Asia-Pacific region. The airline also said it intends to continue growth in San Francisco in the coming years, buoyed by an ongoing $2.6 billion renovation and expansion of Terminal 3 West, from which United operates domestic flights. The renovation is slated for completion in 2027.