United Airlines expects to add Boeing 787 pilots to its base at Los Angeles International Airport, flying website Flight Global reported.
"Our 2014 international schedule has the 787 flying many routes to Asia," Howard Attarian, United senior vice president of flight operations, wrote in a September letter Flight Global reported. "In August, we told you that we believe this amount of flying warrants a west coast 787 base to reliably support our network. We have decided that LAX is the right location for this 787 base."
The annoucement is part of Boeing's plan to introduce the new dreamliner aircraft on routes to Asia. As part of the plan, captains and first officers from United's sister airline, Continental will fly the aircraft when the base officially opens. A timeline has not been set.
The dreamliner will also allow United staff to quickly grow its line of 787's to Asia-Pacific, which currently flies from Los Angeles to Shanghai, Pudong, Tokyo, Narita, and Denver to Tokyo Flight Global reported.
In February, the company is expected to use the aircraft on flights from Seattle to Tokyo. A route from San Francisco to Osaka will be added in April and a flight from San Francisco and Chengdu, China will be started in June. Aside from Asia, the airline operates the dreamliner between Houston and Lagos, Nigeria. To make the trips, United has seven 787's, and orders in for another 13 Flight Global reported.
According to Flight Global's Ascend Online Database, the airline has 25 787-9s, 20 787-10's, and 50 787-8's. The base at LAX also houses pilots for the Airbus A319, and A320, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, and Boeing 777. The base will be the airline's first for the Dreamliner outside of Houston Intercontinental Airport since it began flying the plane in November.
