United Airlines to start San Francisco to Dublin in 2020

There will be a second non-stop flight between San Francisco and Dublin from summer 2020, with United Airlines announcing the beginning of services. This will be in direct competition with the Aer Lingus service on the route.

This is not really too surprising, considering the popularity of the route. San Francisco is the home of many tech companies, while Dublin is often their European base of operations.

United on San Francisco to Dublin

For the San Francisco to Dublin route, United will use the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The flight schedule is planned to depart San Francisco at 3:55pm, arriving in Dublin 9:45am the next day. Return flights leave Dublin at 11:50am, landing back on the West Coast at 2:20pm.

By contrast, Aer Lingus operate the Airbus A330-300, with flights leaving the US at 5:30pm, landing in Ireland at 11:45am the next day. Heading from Europe to North America, flights leave at 12:35pm, arriving at 3:35pm.

Who Will Prove More Popular?

The reason the route is working so well for Aer Lingus is the fact they are the only option on the route. Business class fares are routinely over US$4,000 return. This does get you the famed Irish service and all seats are lie-flat. However, economy class is not quite as good as what United will be offering, especially when it comes to alcoholic drinks.

United also has a massive frequent flyer base in the United States, which should help attract business. That being said, I am sure Aer Lingus has corporate contracts on the Irish end to lock in the business, so I guess it’s a case of let the games begin! I do think United may have an edge here though, with a more modern on board product. Both airlines will use the 51st and Green lounge in Dublin so there will be no difference there.

Overall Thoughts

United’s daily services on San Francisco to Dublin will be in direct competition with the Aer Lingus daily services. What is also interesting is that United and Aer Lingus still have a joint business relationship, so I am guessing the days of this must also be numbered.

Considering Aer Lingus has applied to join the transatlantic joint venture with British Airways, American Airlines and others, the United partnership probably has to go. Either way, the new United route will bring much needed competition to this sector, and this should benefit consumers.

What do you think of this announcement? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by lasta29 via Wikimedia Commons.
Aer Lingus image by Nicoli OZ Mathews via Flickr.