BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE GOVERNOR
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
20301 MAIL SERVICE CENTER • RALEIGH, NC 27699-0301
August 15, 2012 Contact: Chris Mackey Office: (919) 733‐5612
Gov. Perdue Launches United Airlines Inaugural Non-Stop Flight to San Francisco
The direct flight is expected to be an economic development boon for North Carolina
Morrisville—Gov. Bev Perdue boarded United Airlines Flight 194 this morning from Raleigh-Durham International Airport bound for San Francisco. It is the inaugural flight of United Airlines’ direct non-stop daily service from RDU to San Francisco that was announced in April.
“North Carolina is already a great place for business, and this new non-stop flight to the West Coast will create more opportunities for companies to thrive in North Carolina by facilitating venture capitalists’ access to our state and by making it easier for business leaders to get to and from Asia,” Gov. Perdue said. “We’ve had success in attracting California-based companies like Cisco, Apple, NetApp, Google and Facebook to invest in North Carolina; this flight to the Silicon Valley area will help us build on that track record and recruit even more businesses to invest here.”
CNBC, Forbes, Site Selection, and Chief Executive have all ranked North Carolina as one of the best states to do business. And recently, Southern Business and Development named North Carolina the “State of the Year” for its 2011 economic development efforts. For more information about North Carolina’s recent accolades as a top state for business, please visit www.thrivenc.com.
While on the West Coast, Gov. Perdue and a team of economic development and tourism leaders will meet with company officials and tout the benefits of doing business in the Tar Heel State. “I will continue aggressively selling all the great things North Carolina has to offer and encouraging companies to grow and invest here,” Gov. Perdue said.
The San Francisco flight will depart daily at 7 a.m. and arrive in San Francisco at 9:50 a.m. local time. The arrival time is aligned with outbound Asian flights that depart San Francisco in the 11 o’clock hour. North Carolina passengers will now be able to easily connect to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Osaka, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Hawaii.
“We are thrilled about the increased economic development and tourism opportunities this flight will facilitate,” added Gov. Perdue. “State and community leaders worked together to bring this flight to RDU and today is a day to celebrate our successful efforts and what this means for the future of Research Triangle Park and North Carolina.”