United Will Soon Fly From Washington, DC, to Tel Aviv
Well this one really came out of left field. United Airlines just announced plans to begin nonstop service from its Dulles hub in Washington, DC (IAD) to Tel Aviv (TLV), launching May 22, 2019.
The new flight will be operated by a 777-200ER with the following schedule:
- UA72 Washington, DC (IAD) 10:30pm Departure → Tel Aviv (TLV) 4:30pm (+1) Arrival (Wed, Fri, Sun)
- UA73 Tel Aviv (TLV) 12:20am Departure → Washington, DC (IAD) 5:50am Arrival (Tues, Fri, Sun)
IAD-TLV is now available to book, with paid economy fares starting at $875 round-trip, and business class available from $3,640.
Award availability is outstanding as well — saver economy appears to be wide open on every date, and business-class saver awards are available on every flight but the May 22 inaugural.
Currently, the flight is assigned to a three-cabin 777-200ER with United's least desirable 2-4-2 business class, but roomy 3-3-3 seating in economy.
The first-class cabin is not available to book, and hopefully the airline will shift to a retrofitted 777-200 with the new 1-2-1 Polaris seating before the inaugural in May.
Economy passengers should hope for the old arrangement, though, given that United's retrofitted planes have 3-4-3 seating in coach.
This new route joins United's existing Tel Aviv flights, departing twice daily from Newark (EWR) and once a day from the airline's West Coast hub in San Francisco (SFO). United's also planning to open a Polaris Lounge at Dulles, though a date has not yet been confirmed.
For more on United's retrofitted 777-200, see:
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