United Airlines launches new Monterrey-San Francisco direct flight

October 3, 2024

A United Airlines plan on the ground on an airport runway — The new United route is the only direct commercial flight between San Francisco, California, and Monterrey, Nuevo León, in operation. (Wenjie Zheng/Shutterstock)

United Airlines will launch nonstop service from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Monterrey, Nuevo León, offering two flights daily beginning on Oct. 27.

United will be the only airline offering direct flights between these two cities, boosting Monterrey’s status as the principal air hub in northern Mexico. United Express partner Skywest will operate the service using Embraer EMB-175 aircraft. Tickets for these flights are already available.

The new flights, which could make travel between Monterrey and Asian cities easier, via San Francisco, come as good news for the northern Mexico state, whose governor actively courts companies from Asia to set up shop in Monterrey. (Daniel Escobedo)

Rolf Meyer, United’s director general of sales in Mexico and the Caribbean, said “We are proud to add this new route to our extensive selection of flights between Mexico and the United States.”

Meyer said the new route reinforces United’s objective to be the airline of choice for Mexicans traveling to the United States and beyond. United already flies to 22 Mexico cities from eight United States locations.

When plans for the new flight were announced in June, SFO airport director Ivar C. Satero issued the following statement:

“We are thrilled to welcome nonstop United Airlines flights from SFO to Monterrey this fall. For more than 80 years, United has been offering SFO travelers more destinations than any other airline, and this new service allows United customers from Asia to connect seamlessly through SFO to the ‘Business Capital of Mexico.’ … We are confident this new service will be a success.”

In a bulletin announcing the new route, United claimed it will also improve connectivity via United Airlines to Asia and Australia.

“Destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and Sydney, Australia, will now be easy connections from Nuevo León via San Francisco.”

For his part, Nuevo León Governor Samuel García issued a statement calling the new route “a great opportunity to strengthen Monterrey as a destination, particularly as Nuevo León has flights to practically every city in Mexico, as well as new routes to Latin American and Europe.”

Nuevo León Tourism Minister Maricarmen Martínez Villarreal added that the new United flight will boost international connectivity while opening new tourism opportunities in the state.

The new route boosts a Mexico aviation sector that has seen nearly 500 new international routes added since 2018.

With reports from El Economista and Microsoft News