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United Continental (UAL) Ramps Up Transcontinental Flights

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United Continental Holdings, Inc.’s (UAL - Free Report) wholly owned subsidiary United Airlines has introduced additional flights on its transcontinental routes connecting New York/Newark with Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additionally, the carrier will utilize its Boeing 787-10 model — the latest Dreamliner aircraft — on a few of its transcontinental flights between New York/Newark and Los Angeles and those between New York/Newark and San Francisco, effective Jan 7, 2019. United Airlines will be the first North American airline to launch the premium Dreamliner aircraft. Tickets on the routes are currently available for purchase.

Transcontinental Service Boost

The carrier has boosted its transcontinental service between New York and Los Angeles plus New York and San Francisco to 27 daily flights, simultaneously adding more than 700 seats daily as well as 125 premium seats, also on a daily basis.

A Few Features of 787-10 Aircraft

The 787-10 aircraft is 18 feet larger than 787-9 and consists of several United Polaris, United Premium Plus, Economy Plus and United Economy seats. The aircraft runs on 20% less fuel compared with its older counterparts and can fly up to 6,430 nautical miles. United Airlines currently has 25 787-9 and 12 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft in its fleet.

Fleet Update

The company is consistent on its fleet upgrade strategy to replace wide-body aircraft. To this end, it announced plans to purchase an additional fleet of nine 787-9 aircraft. Delivery of this line-up is expected in 2020. The additional aircraft will replace the current wide-body aircraft in operation. United Airlines’ fleet will consist of 40 Dreamliner aircraft as well as order for 24 more by the year-end.

Premium Transcontinental Service

United Airlines operates its premium transcontinental service between New York/Newark and Los Angeles, New York/Newark and San Francisco plus Boston and San Francisco, respectively. Passengers travelling on the business class enjoy an enhanced customer experience including a flat-bed seat, food and beverages inspired by United Polaris onboard dining and several other deluxe service benefits.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

United Continental carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector include Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE - Free Report) , Trinity Industries, Inc. (TRN - Free Report) and Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Spirit and Trinity have gained more than 19% and 13%, respectively, in the past six months. Meanwhile, Werner Enterprises has an impressive earnings history, having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 7.3%.

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