United Airlines to offer non-stop Chengdu-San Francisco service

United Airlines is to offer a non-stop service between Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and San Francisco of the United States from June 11 next year. The U.S. airline will offer three round trips per week between the two cities, James Mueller, vice president of United Airlines Atlantic and Pacific Sales, told a briefing in Chengdu on Thursday. The air carrier will use the Boeing-787 dreamliner for the flights and a trip will take about 14 hours, Mueller said. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport currently offers no non-stop services to U.S. cities and therefore passengers who travel to the United States from there have to transfer in other cities. A single trip could take up to 50 hours. About 100,000 people traveled to the United States last year from Chengdu, according to official data. The huge passenger number was a factor for the launch of the new non-stop service.