December 2025 saw United Airlines officially launch its inaugural flight from its San Francisco (SFO) hub to Adelaide (ADL), South Australia. It is the first direct flight from the United States to South Australia, marking the beginning of easier tourism and trade.
The new direct flight schedule
Taking flight weekly on a Monday, Thursday and Saturday, with the flight taking a total of 15 hours and 55 minutes there, with a slightly shorter flight on the way back. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner offers both economy and business class seats, making sure to have options to make this long flight as comfortable as possible for those travelling.
Flights arrive in Adelaide at 9:30am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and depart on the same days at 2:55pm. Another benefit of this new route means Aussies in Adelaide will now not have to fly domestically to Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane as a connecting point for U.S flights.
Adelaide’s Airport Ltd Managing Director, Brenton Cox encourages the new route, telling United:
”This is a significant moment for Adelaide Airport, our community and our State. Adelaide will now be connected directly to an entirely new continent – this is a core connection in our aviation network vision that has been decades in the making. United Airlines has seized this opportunity, and they will benefit greatly from this commitment to Adelaide and South Australia. This is also an opportunity that would not be possible without the vision and commitment of our South Australian government to furthering our State’s interests through aviation connectivity.
This service will directly benefit business, investment and our broader tourism economy. We will now have even greater business connectivity and export and supply chain opportunities with North America – improving links with what is already our State’s second biggest export market.
Thank you to United Airlines for their confidence in our market and to the State Government and the South Australian Tourism Commission for their support in achieving this great outcome for our State. We intend to make this service a great success and build this towards a year-round service in years to come”.
United Airlines is the only US carrier that serves these four major Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
The most common direct flight from Australia to America currently is the direct Sydney to LAX flight, taking 13 hours and 50 minutes. The route is currently running until the end of March 2026, with plans to stay up and running if there is a demand.
Would you fly the direct flight from San Francisco to Adelaide? Let us know in the comments below
