United will begin flying between Houston and Sydney on Jan.
18.
The daily flight will be the only nonstop Australia service
from Houston and will be United's third U.S. gateway to Sydney, joining Los
Angeles and San Francisco.
At 8,596 miles, the flight will be United's second-longest
route, behind its Los Angeles-Singapore service, which is set to launch in
October.
United will operate the flight on a Boeing 787-9 with a
total of 252 seats -- 48 in Polaris business class, 63 in Economy Plus
and 141 in economy.