United to operate Boeing 777-300ER on San Francisco-Auckland.

United Airlines will fly its San Francisco-Auckland seasonal service from October 31 with six flights a week using a bigger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft equipped with its Polaris business seat. The airline will fly the route six days a week until December 17 when it will boost services to daily until March 24. The Boeing 777-300ER replaces a Boeing 787 used last New Zealand summer. United, a Star Alliance partner with Air New Zealand, announced earlier this year that it would not fly between April and October because of slower demand during those months. “Starting this spring in New Zealand we will resume our popular Auckland-San Francisco service with a larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft,” Australia and New Zealand sales director Julie Reid said in a statement. “Over the years we have seen an overwhelming demand during this popular summer season and we are excited to offer not just the new United Polaris business class but also an increased capacity.” United’s 777-300ERs come with 204 seats in economy, 102 in economy plus and 60 Polaris seats. This compares with 113 economy, 70 economy plus and 36 Polaris seats on its Boeing 787-8. Flights leave San Francisco at 10:45pm and arrive two days later at 8:55am Auckland time after a journey of just over 13 hours. Those heading north will leave Auckland at 3:30pm and arrive in San Francisco at 6:50am the same day. United’s Polaris business offering was launched late last year and the airline has labelled the suite its most significant product transformation in more than a decade. In addition to with revamped service and new amenity kits,  it features direct aisle access and a generous lie-flat seat with good storage, multiple work surfaces, USB ports and a 16-inch high-definition video screen. A marble-topped bar unit offers customers in business class a place to grab a mid-flight drink or snack. Rival American Airlines flies to Auckland and also plans to operate a seasonal schedule between October and March. Read also: United goes ultra long-haul to Singapore.