Now Reading
United Airlines is Adding New Services to Destinations You’ve Probably Never Heard Of In It’s Largest Ever Global Expansion

United Airlines is Adding New Services to Destinations You’ve Probably Never Heard Of In It’s Largest Ever Global Expansion

an airplane flying in the sky

United Airlines is adding new flights to destinations you may never have even heard of as it takes a gamble with what it describes as the “largest international expansion in its history.”

From Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Kaohsiung on the island of Taiwan, as well as Nuuk on Greenland and Dakar, Senegal, United Airlines plans to serve 147 international destinations next summer, which includes 40 non-stop routes that no other US carrier serves.

For travelers with less adventurous tastes, however, United has you covered with its largest-ever transatlantic schedule, offering more than 760 flights per week to 40 destinations across Europe.

From familiar favorites like Barcelona, Athens, and Rome, United also plans to add entirely new services to trendy destinations such as Palermo, Italy, Bilbao, Spain, and the Portuguese island of Madeira.

And if you fancy visiting somewhere a little closer to home, United also plans to expand its reach in Mexico and Central America, with a new service to Puerto Escondido slated to begin in April 2025.

“No other airline gives customers nonstop access to as many unique international destinations and experiences from the U.S. as United,” commented the airline’s Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, Patrick Quayle, on Thursday.

“Our network provides the most choice and variety for our customers, whether they are looking for a relaxing seaside getaway, once-in-a-lifetime adventure travel or to explore some of the most vibrant urban escapes across the globe,” Quayle added.

Hoping to benefit from Mongolia becoming one of the trendiest places to now visit in Asia, from May 1, 2025, United Airlines will become the only US carrier to serve the country as it adds a seasonal shuttle flight to Ulaanbaatar from its existing Tokyo Narita service.

Several months later, United will then start serving the lesser-known city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan with a year-round service, which will again be a shuttle service from its Tokyo Narita flight, starting July 11.

Building its presence in Africa, United will also add non-stop flights to Dakar, Senegal, from Washington Dulles, with a year-round service that will operate three times per week. The flight is expected to launch on May 23 and will complement United’s existing services to Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria, and a seasonal service to Marrakesh, Morocco.

If you fancy visiting somewhere a little further north, then Nuuk on Greenland could be for you. United plans to launch flights to the northernmost capital in the world from June 14, 2025, with a twice-weekly seasonal flight from Newark.

Of course, everyone still loves Europe, so United is also building its network there with a new three-weekly seasonal service to Palermo, Italy, from Newark, beginning May 21, 2025, and a nonstop flight from Newark to Bilbao, Spain, which is set to begin on May 31, 2025.

If that wasn’t enough, United is going big in Portugal with plans to serve five destinations, including Lisbon, Porto, and Ponta Delgada. From May 16, 2025, United will also launch a four-times-per-week service to Faro, and from June 7, a three-times-per-week service to the beautiful island of Madeira will also be served United.

In addition, United plans to launch more flights to existing destinations, including seasonal daily nonstop flying to Venice, Italy, from Washington Dulles beginning May 22, and a seasonal four times per-week service to Nice, France, from Washington Dulles beginning May 24.

While some U.S. carriers have drawn back their international networks (ahem, American Airlines) or relied on traditionally safe bet destinations in Europe, United is seemingly going in the complete opposite direction by launching new flights to as many destinations as possible.

And while there’s nothing wrong with serving trends or experimenting with network expansion, what will be interesting to see is how many of these destinations stick in the longterm.

View Comment (1)
  • Never heard of… really? I get the journalistic swagger of the headline, but I would hope folks that read these frequent flyer nerd blogs are pretty aware of geography — even if many locations remain aspirational for us.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2024 paddleyourownkanoo.com All Rights Reserved.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to paddleyourownkanoo.com with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.