United Airlines will launch a new signature long-haul route from its hub at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The carrier says it plans to launch service to Sydney on Jan. 18, flying the 8,596-mile flight on Boeing 787-9 "Dreamliners." The route would become the second-longest flown by any U.S. airline and would be the only one connecting Houston to Australia. Flight time in the direction of Sydney is scheduled for 17 hours, 30 minutes, while the return to Houston is scheduled for 15 hours, 45 minutes.

United said the new Sydney service “reaffirmed its commitment to Houston” and its operation there.

“Our Houston hub is stronger than ever and it continues to be an absolutely vital part of our industry-leading network,” United president Scott Kirby said in a statement. “This new route will serve more than 70 cities across North America making one-stop service to Sydney faster and more convenient than ever before.”

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As an example, United noted that its customers in Charlotte would currently have to make two stops to get to Australia on United. Now, "with United's new schedule at Houston, customers would now have just one stop at Houston to get to Sydney – saving hours off the journey by reducing the number of connections," the company said.

As for superlatives, United already owns the two current longest routes scheduled by U.S. carriers. Its San Francisco-Singapore route is currently the longest (8,446 miles), but that will be overtaken this fall when it adds non-stop service to Singapore from Los Angeles (8,700 miles).

United said that the flights cement its status as the U.S. “leader in ultra-long haul flights.”

The Dreamliners that United will use for its Houston-Sydney flights seat 252-seat passengers, including 48 lie-flat “Polaris” business-class seats.

The new route will complement United’s existing service to Australia. It currently flies to Sydney from its hub in San Francisco and to both Sydney and Melbourne from its hub in Los Angeles.

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