United Airlines has announced that new flights between Washington DC and Lagos in Nigeria will begin in the month of November 2021.
Starting 29th November 2021, United will operate 3-weekly flights between Washington DC’s Dulles International Airport and Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The flights will run with the following schedule:
- Washington DC-Lagos
- Departure time: 18:30
- Arrival time: 10:40 (the next day)
- Flight time: 10 hours and 10 minutes
- Flight number: UA612
- Frequency: Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays
- Lagos-Washington DC
- Departure time: 23:50
- Arrival time: 06:00 (the next day)
- Flight time: 12 hours and 10 minutes
- Flight number: UA613
- Frequency: Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays
The airline will operate this route with a Boeing B787 Dreamliner featuring 28 United Polaris business class lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, 21 United Premium Plus premium economy seats in a 2-3-2 configuration , 36 Economy Plus seats and 158 standard economy seats in a 3-3-3 layout.
Patrick Quayle, Vice President of International Network and Alliances, United Airlines, said:
This new flight to Lagos has been highly anticipated by our customers and offers the first ever nonstop service between Washington, D.C. and Nigeria, as well as convenient, one-stop connections to over 80 destinations throughout the Americas including Houston and Chicago. On behalf of all of United we’d like to offer our sincere thanks to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and U.S. Department of Transportation for supporting our plans to provide this service.
United states that Lagos, capital and largest city in Nigeria, is also the top Western African destination for U.S-based travellers.
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Carl Schultz, Acting Vice President of Airline Business Development at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said:
We are honored to work with our partners at United Airlines to welcome their second nonstop connection from Dulles International to the African continent. Lagos joins nearly 50 other nonstop international destinations currently served by the National Capital Region’s gateway to the world.
This new route builds on United’s expansion into Africaand solidifies its position to Africa from the D.C. metro area. Also, the airline provides more flights to the continent than any other airline from Washington DC. Just recently, United launched new nonstop flights between New York and Johannesburg & also between Washington DC and Accra, Ghana. And this December and January, the Chicago-based carrier will increase its service to Accra from three weekly flights to daily flights. United will also be resuming its service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Cape Town International Airport on 1st December 2021. The schedule for these flights is:
- New York-Cape Town
- Departure time: 20:30
- Arrival time: 18:00 (the next day)
- Flight time: 14 hours and 30 minutes
- Flight number: UA1122
- Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
- Cape Town-New York
- Departure time: 20:50
- Arrival time: 05:50 (the next day)
- Flight time: 16 hours
- Flight number: UA1123
- Frequency: Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Meanwhile, United is heavily investing on Carbon-Free aircraft. The airline recently announced that it will buy up to 50 Supersonic aircraft from BOOM Aerospace. The Chicago-based carrier is also investing in airplanes that have lower carbon emissions. It includes the airline’s recent order of 200 Boeing B737MAX and 70 Airbus A321neo aircraft. It is also eyeing flying electric aircraft by 2026.
The airline recently added nearly 150 flights to Warm-Weather cities for Winter season, has added 74 flights targeted at Football fans and three brand-new Transcontinental routes. United is now also offering the option to pre-order snacks and beverages including to Economy class passengers. It is also offering more than 40 weekly flights between United States and London in anticipation of high travel demand as the United Kingdom has scraped the mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated Americans. United has partnered with Walmart and Albertson Companies for easier COVID-19 testing and will operate flights between Orange County and Aspen this winter. The airline will add three new short-haul International routes this winter.
Featured image by United Airlines
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