United's Sydney to Houston Flight Takes Off

United Airlines' first non-stop flight from Houston to Sydney took to the skies this Thursday 18th January. This route is the fourth longest flight route in the world, and the second longest for United after it launched flights from Los Angeles to Singapore just a few months ago. 

The inaugural flight, UA 101, departed Houston at 8pm local time on 18 January and arrives in Sydney on Saturday January 20 at 6.30am local time. The journey is 13,850km, taking around 17.5 hours.

The flight back from Sydney will depart on Saturday, January 20 at 11.50am, arriving in Houston at 10.35am the same day. To celebrate the new route, United searched for 5 Australians with the first or last name "Houston" to experience the inaugural flight. 

Sylvester Turner, mayor of Houston, said: “We are looking forward to visiting Sydney and welcoming our Australian visitors with open arms to Texas.”

United Also searched for US citizens with the name "Sydney" to experience the return leg from Houston to Australia.

The "ultra long haul" route is operated by a 787 Dreamliner with 48 lie-flat Business Class seats.  It's worth noting however that the seats are not the "Polaris" seats - instead they are the older versions arranged in a 2-2-2 layout.