United arrives in Ghana, new daily South Africa flight launches soon
United just added another popular African city to its long-haul route map!
On Friday, the carrier began year-round service between Washington, D.C. (IAD) and Accra, Ghana (ACC). United 996 departs IAD at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, returning at 11:45 p.m. as United 997 the following day.
It's the first of two routes the airline plans to launch this spring to fill a gap left by South African Airways, which has long struggled to turn a profit and was forced to begin scaling back its global operations even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
United vice president of international network planning and alliances Patrick Quayle was among the passengers on Friday's first flight to ACC, which was operated by a 787-8 Dreamliner with 28 Polaris business seats, 21 Premium Plus seats, 36 in Economy Plus and 158 seats in coach.
The aircraft was met with a ceremonial water cannon salute after touching down just after 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning in Ghana.
On June 3, United is scheduled to begin daily service between Newark (EWR) and Johannesburg (JNB), its second nonstop flight to South Africa from the New York City area. United began seasonal service to Cape Town (CPT) in December 2019 — as of now, that flight is scheduled to return on Oct. 31, 2021.
United's Accra and Johannesburg flights are both guaranteed to be operated by the carrier's updated 787 Dreamliners, offering extra-private Polaris business-class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, along with dedicated Premium Plus cabins.
While South African's exit is likely a disappointment to some, United acted quickly to help bridge a gap in service, offering a superior product, to boot.
There's more to come on the Africa front as well, with another IAD flight expected to begin later this year. United is scheduled to fly between Washington, D.C. and Lagos, Nigeria (LOS) sometime in 2021, though the airline has yet to begin selling seats, or confirm a launch date.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
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- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month