Recently, United Airlines has been rapidly expanding its service to destinations across Canada. In the past few weeks alone, we’ve seen a number of announcements about new and resumed routes, including to Halifax and Winnipeg, amongst other cities.
It turns out United isn’t finished with its Canadian expansion just yet, as it has announced plans to operate seasonal flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Calgary (YYC) as of June 27, 2024.
United’s Los Angeles–Calgary Route
United Airlines has announced that it will begin service that connects Los Angeles (LAX) and Calgary (YYC) later this year.
This route comes in addition to flights it offers between Calgary (YYC) and Denver (DEN), Houston (IAH), Chicago (ORD), Washington DC (IAD), and San Francisco (SFO).
The once-daily seasonal service is set to begin on June 27, 2024, and will run until September 24, 2024.
The northbound flights from Los Angeles run just over three hours, while flying southbound from Calgary results in a flying time of three hours 20 minutes.
The flights times are as follows:
- UA1132 Los Angeles (LAX) to Calgary (YYC), departing at 7:25pm and arriving at 11:28pm
- UA2209 Calgary (YYC) to Los Angeles (LAX), departing at 7am and arriving at 9:20am
Both routes are served by United’s Airbus A320 aircraft, with two classes of service available for guests. Passengers travelling in the economy cabin also have the choice of Economy Plus seats.
The flights are now loaded into United’s booking channels, and can be booked throughout the scheduled season.
Booking United’s Los Angeles–Calgary Route
United joins WestJet and Lynx Air for airlines operating direct flights between Calgary (YYC) and Los Angeles. Air Canada ceased service on this route in October 2023, and passengers would otherwise have to route through another city if they wanted to fly with a Star Alliance airline.
The lowest cost for round-trip flights on this route price out at around $500 (CAD), rising to $800 (CAD) or more, depending on the date of travel.
When it comes to booking this route with Aeroplan points, you can count on fixed-rate pricing, since United is a partner airline.
The distance between Calgary (YYC) and Los Angeles (LAX) measures 1,206 miles, according to Great Circle Mapper.
This means that we’d need to reference the second distance band on the “Within North America” section of the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart to determine award pricing.
Direct flights in economy will price out at 10,000 Aeroplan points, while flights in business class will cost twice as much, at 20,000 points.
At the time of writing, there wasn’t any award availability in Aeroplan; however, it’s likely to roll out in the near future. With United, Aeroplan award availability on transborder flights tends to be better in economy, with fairly good availability as you book closer to the date of departure.
If you’re based in Calgary, keep in mind that many Star Alliance airlines offer long-haul routes from Los Angeles. Therefore, this new route could be of benefit if you’re looking to fly across the Pacific with Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, EVA Air, Asiana, or United, or even across the Atlantic.
Conclusion
United Airlines will begin operating flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Calgary (YYC) as of June 27, 2024.
The seasonal service will run until September 24, 2024, and at that time, United will become the only Star Alliance airline to offer direct flights between the two cities.
This announcement comes in addition to many other new and resumed Canadian routes offered by United, and will be of benefit to anyone who wishes to fly to Los Angeles or beyond over the summer months.
