Columbus will officially kick off its long-sought daily nonstop flights to San Francisco on Friday.

United Airlines' first flight to San Francisco departs from John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 7:30 a.m. and arrives in San Francisco at 9:30 a.m. local time. From San Francisco, the United flight departs at 10:52 p.m. and arrives in Columbus at 6:30 a.m.

San Francisco is United's sixth nonstop destination served from Columbus.

United has 26 daily flights between Columbus and Chicago, Denver, Houston, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

A round trip economy ticket on the United flight to San Francisco starts at around $400.

Columbus has not had nonstop service to San Francisco, even though the city is the top destination without direct service from Columbus.

The start of the flights to San Francisco comes after Alaska Airlines launched Columbus-Seattle flights in March and after American Airlines added a second daily nonstop flight between Columbus and Los Angeles International Airport.

"Our new service from Columbus to San Francisco is timed to connect customers to our largest international bank at San Francisco International Airport," Janet Lamkin, United’s president of California, said in a statement. “The flights offer dozens of new travel options for customers traveling from Columbus and even more nonstop choices for Bay Area residents.”

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams