In a transfer that has aviation circles buzzing, United Airways introduced its largest worldwide enlargement ever, with eight new worldwide cities added for 2025. The brand new routes span a number of continents and embody locations which might be particularly tough to entry, equivalent to Senegal, Greenland, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
“It’s the most important worldwide enlargement in United historical past,” stated Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice chairman of world community planning and alliances, on a convention name with media previous to the announcement.
Right here’s what passengers must learn about United’s enlargement plans for 2025.
United’s new locations for 2025
Lately, airways have tended to announce their forthcoming enlargement plans with grand reveals. (American Airways and Delta Air Strains have already introduced their schedules for 2025.) Nonetheless, what’s particularly notable in United’s information is how far-flung lots of its new locations are—particularly in comparison with its important rivals’ networks, that are targeted predominantly on first and second cities in Europe.
As well as, seven of the eight new routes embody service to locations vastly under-served by different North American airways (presently, Delta flies to Dakar solely from New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport).
United’s new worldwide locations for 2025 embody:
- Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey to Faro Airport (FAO) in Faro, Portugal: Launching seasonal service Might 16 and flying 4 instances per week aboard a Boeing 757-200.
- EWR to Palermo Airport (PMO) in Palermo, Sicily: Launching seasonal service on Might 21 and flying 3 times weekly aboard a Boeing 767-400.
- EWR to Bilbao Airport (BIO) in Bilbao, Spain: Launching seasonal service on Might 31 and flying 3 times weekly aboard a Boeing 757-200.
- EWR to Madeira Airport (FNC) in Madeira, Portugal: Launching seasonal service on June 7 and flying 3 times weekly aboard a Boeing 737MAX8.
- EWR to Nuuk Airport (GOH) in Nuuk, Greenland: Launching seasonal routes on June 14 and flying twice weekly aboard a Boeing 737MAX8.
- Narita Worldwide Airport (NRT) in Tokyo, Japan to Chinggis Khaan Worldwide Airport (UBN) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Launching seasonal service on Might 1 and flying 3 times weekly aboard a Boeing 737-800.
- NRT to Kaohsiung Worldwide Airport (KHH) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Launching year-round service on July 11 with every day flights aboard a Boeing 737-800.
- Washington Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD) in Washington, D.C. to Blaise Diagne Worldwide Airport (DSS) in Dakar, Senegal: Launching year-round service on Might 23 and flying 3 times weekly aboard a Boeing 767-300.
As demand for journey reveals few indicators of slowing, United says it’s responding to a collective need amongst many vacationers to expertise locations which might be largely unknown on the tourism circuit.
“I feel actually folks look to United to inform them the place to fly,” Quayle stated. “What we’ve discovered is, as we develop our buyer base, that savvy traveler who has been to Paris, Rome, and Madrid so many instances is on the lookout for one thing completely different.”
Quayle additionally famous that United considers routes which have carried out nicely within the provider’s community and tries to increase on that. One instance of that technique: Cape City, South Africa was United’s first continuous vacation spot on the African continent, which was added in 2019 and has since turn into one of many provider’s hottest worldwide routes.
The Sicilian capital of Palermo, one other of United’s just-announced new routes, can also be proving to be a much-desired vacation spot—thanks partly to the widespread reputation amongst vacationers following the second season of The White Lotus, which was filmed there. Delta can also be scheduled to start out flying to Sicily in 2025, albeit to its different airport in Catania.
All routes besides Dakar and Nuuk are actually out there to e-book on United’s web site. In Greenland, Nuuk’s airport hasn’t truly opened but—it’s slated to return on-line in late 2024. Nonetheless, when it does, United would be the solely provider to supply nonstop service from the US to the world’s northernmost capital.
These newly added locations come after a earlier announcement that United will start flying from Newark to Dominica beginning February 15, and from Houston to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, beginning April 5.
Extra expanded service
Along with the brand new locations United will now serve, the airline is including extra flights to a handful of its hottest routes.
Most notably, the provider plans so as to add a year-round nonstop flight between Tokyo’s Narita Worldwide Airport and Koror, Palau’s Roman Tmetuchl Worldwide Airport. Already, the provider serves Palau with connections by way of Guam and Manila, Philippines. Every day flights are slated to start out April 2.
United additionally will improve the variety of flights from Washington Dulles to Venice, Italy, and Good, France, beginning Might 22 and 24, respectively. This enlargement will complement current service from Newark.
Equally, the provider will add a brand new route from San Francisco to San José, Costa Rica, beginning Might 22. When it launches, all of United’s important U.S. hubs will connect with the Central American nation’s capital.
Whereas United’s new transatlantic flights already mark important information, Quayle teases there could also be extra to return—particularly, routes servicing the provider’s West Coast markets. “We are going to probably add some extra West Coast flying later this yr,” Quayle stated. “So keep tuned for that.”