Starting on May 22nd, 2025, Chicago-based legacy carrier 
United Airlines
will begin flying a new route connecting San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with San Jose, Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO). The route is set to become the seventh destination to be served by United from San Jose, including existing nonstop flights to Houston (IAH) and Newark (EWR), alongside seasonal services to Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington-Dulles (IAD).
This new route will offer a year-round daily service and the carrier will operate the new flight with its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, and the route remains pending government approval, according to an analysis from Aeroroutes. The new nonstop route will be the latest in the list of the Caribbean, Central American, and Latin American expansion routes which have recently been added to airline schedules for next summer.
A deeper look at the route’s specifics
This new service is set to operate on a red-eye schedule, something that is not that unique for a medium-haul route that crosses a few time zones. The flight schedule is set to be as follows:
|
Flight number: |
Departure airport: |
Departure time: |
Arrival Airport: |
Arrival time: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
United Airlines Flight 2312 |
San Francisco |
11:34 PM |
San Jose |
7:15 AM |
|
United Airlines Flight 2313 |
San Jose |
8:35 AM |
San Francisco |
2:34 PM |
The 737 MAX 8 aircraft that will be flying this route will be equipped with 166 seats arranged in a configuration that features a two-cabin configuration. There will be 16 seats in the United first class cabin which will be arranged in a 2-2 configuration. There will also be a total of 150 seats in the airline’s economy cabins, which are split between 54 extra-legroom Economy Plus seats and 96 with standard legroom.
Photo: United Airlines
It is important to note that despite the outbound flight operating on an overnight schedule, this aircraft will not be equipped with lie-flat seating in the premium cabin. This likely comes as a result of weak business travel demand on a route that primarily sees leisure travelers.
An exciting announcement for both airports
As yet another expansion of United’s ever-growing route network, it is likely that the airline’s leadership team is excited by the upcoming launch of this flight. Furthermore, airport officials in San Francisco as well as leaders within the Costa Rican tourism industry have also been quick to convey their excitement amid continued increases in passenger numbers at the nation’s largest gateways. In a statement, SFO Airport Director Ivar C. Satero had the following words to share regarding the route’s announcement:
“This announcement represents the culmination of more than five years of work by our Aviation Marketing and Development team, fulfilling a long-standing demand for nonstop flights to this destination.”
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
Satero went on to thank both United and the team on the ground at SFO that will be diligently preparing for this route’s upcoming launch. United Airlines has continued to be one of the most important airlines in the San Francisco Bay Area, operating its principal West Coast hub at SFO, where it maintains a market share of 47%, according to recent airport figures.
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