United’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner (Photo: United Airlines)
The ongoing technical issues and grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are having multiple repercussions for Bay Area Travelers (BATs).
In addition to the cancellation of ANA’s flights between San Jose and Tokyo (currently through at least May 31), United is having to alter its plans to add new transoceanic nonstops from San Francisco International (SFO) this spring due to the grounding of its six 787s.
Last year, United announced that it would add new nonstop flights between SFO and both Paris and Taipei this spring. Initially, its Boeing 777-200ER nonstops to Taipei were to have started on April 9. Nonstops to Paris (using a 767-300ER) were to have started April 11.
Since the aircraft United was planning to use on those routes are being used to plug holes in its flight schedule due to the 787 grounding, those dates have been pushed back to April 26 for Paris, and June 6 for Taipei.
In a statement to The BAT, United said, “While the grounding of Boeing 787 aircraft worldwide is delaying the launch of United’s service from San Francisco to Paris and Taipei as we reallocate aircraft, we remain committed to that service and believe they will both be successful when they launch on April 26 and June 6, respectively. We will work to offer alternate flight options to ticketed customers.”
Currently, the period to take advantage of United’s 50%-100% Mileage Plus bonus offers on these new flights reflects the original start dates…United has not yet made any changes to effective dates on the promotional pages, but told The BAT: ”We will be adjusting the promotions and will accommodate those that have already registered accordingly.” Keep an eye on that here: Paris bonus page. Taipei bonus page.
We also asked United if the start dates for this service could be pushed back again if the 787 is still not flying by late April or May– so far, no response.
Have you been inconvenienced by the grounding of the 787 yet? Please leave your experiences or comments below!
–Chris McGinnis
