It’s not often Christchurch has the chance to welcome a new direct long haul flight, so to have United Airlines now flying direct to San Francisco this summer (from 11 Dec until 8 March) has been fantastic news for Canterbury travellers. It’s the first time the Garden City has had a US carrier flying direct; dubbed the ‘Kiwi Cruiser’ and resplendent with a silver fern on the livery, the 787-800 is operating this 13 hour flight 3 times a week (Tues/Fri/Sun) at 215pm from Christchurch, arriving San Francisco early the same day – the magic of ‘time travel’ when crossing the Date Line! Connections are excellent onto United’s vast route network in the USA.