United Airlines has officially announced that tickets are now available for the first-ever nonstop service between New York and Cape Town and the service is expected to take flight in December this year.

“Our new service between New York and Cape Town will enable our business and leisure customers to choose a more convenient and seamless way to travel between the United States and South Africa,” said Jake Cefolia, United’s senior vice president of Worldwide Sales. “We look forward to offering our customers easier access to South Africa’s growing tourism industry and enabling business opportunities between the United States and the Western Cape’s technology sector.”

The US carrier will begin the service three times a week from December 15 2019 but it is still subject to government approval.

United’s service between New York/Newark and Cape Town will decrease the current travel time by more than four hours and provide customers from more than 80 US cities with easy, one-stop access to Cape Town.

The United States is one of the Western Cape’s key tourism markets and United’s new service will significantly contribute towards growing our tourism sector as we welcome new visitors,” said Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities Beverley Schäfer. “The Western Cape is a global hub for technology and finance and United Airlines will enable new economic opportunities for Cape Town and New York.”

Travellers making use of the service will fly on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 48 seats in United Polaris business class, 88 seats in Economy Plus and 116 seats in United Economy.

A United Airlines plane

Tickets are now available here and will cost travellers a varied amount depending on how late you book your ticket or how far in advance you plan. Economy starts at around R12 500 and at around R45 000 for Polaris Business Class.

Ticket are selling out fast however and there are only a few left for the first week of the new route.

 

Picture: United Airlines

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