Route Expansion: United Airlines Inaugural Non Stop Newark to Cape Town Flight.

United Airlines launched a historic flight: UA 1122, the only nonstop route from North America to Cape Town,  departing from Newark Liberty International Airport USA.

"If you've flown to Cape Town before, you've probably had to connect through Johannesburg or through Europe, and this flight being able to go from Newark, New Jersey, to Cape Town will save nearly eight hours round-trip," Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of international network, said on Sunday at the flight's departure gate, which was decked out for the ribbon-cutting celebration with balloons, dancers, and wine from South Africa. "That's one full day back." It also means new one-stop access to Cape Town for more than 80 U.S. cities, which formerly had only multi-city flights available that could take some 35 hours one-way.

Clocking in at about 14 hours heading to Cape Town and 16 hours back to Newark, the new 7,817-mile flight ranks among United's longest and is also one of the longest operated by U.S. carriers. Flights will operate three times a week, but only during the high tourist season in Cape Town, which stretches from December to March. Quayle, however, has said that there is a possibility of extending it to a year-round operation depending on how popular the flight is with customers.

United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is outfitted with 48 of its luxurious Polaris business class seats, which make the trip painless. The impressive 20.6-inch wide seats convert to fully lie-flat beds with a seat pitch of more than six and a half feet. Each seat also comes with a Saks Fifth Avenue mattress cover as well as a soft Saks Fifth Avenue throw blanket and a memory foam pillow. (It was so comfortable that most business class passengers on the inaugural flight said they got a decent night's sleep onboard.) For Sunday's kickoff flight, the airline even provided special pajamas marking the occasion, showing the route map from Newark to Cape Town.

United has also made an effort in helping fliers combat jet lag by offering all members of its frequent flier program, MileagePlus, a free year-long membership to Time Shifter, an app that recommends methods to adjust to passengers' new time zones throughout their flights. On the way to Cape Town, recommendations ranged from "avoid caffeine for nine hours" to "take a one-hour nap in 30 minutes."

Passengers in Polaris also get an amenity kit featuring Sunday Riley skincare and Bose over-the-ear headphones to connect to the in-flight entertainment system, which has a massive screen that's well over a foot wide. That's not to mention the three-course dinner featuring items like seared beef short rib and a ginseng chicken bowl with potstickers.
The route's Dreamliner also has 88 seats in economy plus, which are significantly more narrow, at 17.3 inches wide with 35 inches of seat pitch, while the 116 economy seats are around 16.3 inches wide with 32 inches of seat pitch. All seats in all cabins on the aircraft have a seat-back screen, an outlet and USB port, and fliers in economy get a meal and complimentary beer or wine, as is standard on most international flights.The new flight also marks the first flight to the African continent for United in three years (it canceled its nonstop flight to Lagos, Nigeria, in 2016).

Cape Town is a financial and tourist hub for the entire continent. That's because the city, the second largest in the country, with its bustling business district and backdrop of the iconic Table Mountain, wine regions, and easy access to safaris, is one of the most appealing destinations in Africa.

This direct flight is offering more options to the international traveler, once in Cape Town, they can connect to not just to other cities in the country, but also to the rest of Africa.  Africa is on the rise, and Its refreshing to see a U.S airline taking advantage of the growing market and it's huge potential.