United's new non-stop GR-Washington flights | News

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) -- United Airlines will launch new non-stop flights between Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Washington D.C. in 2013, according to airport officials.

The twice-daily flights to Dulles International Airport, operated under United's ExpressJet service, will begin on May 1.  Tickets for the flights went on sale Wednesday.

The flights will depart from Ford Airport at 9:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and arrive at the airport at 2:05 p.m. and 8:23 p.m.  the route will be flown on 50-seat Embraer regional jets.

"The addition of service to Washington-Dulles International not only offers our West Michigan flyers a nonstop flight to our nation's capital, it also provides excellent domestic and international connections through another major hub airport," says Brian Ryks, executive director of Gerald R. Ford International Airport, in a news release.

News of the new United flights comes five months after Delta Airlines announced plans to discontinue its daily non-stop flights between Grand Rapids and Washington-Regan National Airport.