United Airlines, in a very interesting way, has announced 10 new International Routes including 5 new destinations.
United yesterday posted a video on its social media handles where it asked its fans to spot the clues and guess new international routes.
You can watch the video here:
Today, the airline revealed the destinations by posting the same video with all the answers to the clues:
United will be adding new services to Jordan, the Azores, Norway, and Spain in Summer 2022 while increasing flights to Italy, Ireland and Germany.
10 new International routes
United Airlines will be adding 5 new international destinations in 2022.
Starting 7th May 2022, United will operate 3-weekly flights between Washington Dulles International Airport and Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan. This will be a year-round route operated by a Boeing B787-8 aircraft. Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President of International Network and Alliances, United, said that the route had strong economic ties and tourism opportunities. He added that United views Jordan as an up-and-coming hotspot for travellers.
On 13th May 2022, the airline will launch the only nonstop service to the Azores becoming the only US airline flying nonstop to the Azores. The airline will fly daily between Newark Liberty International Airport and Ponta Delgada – João Paulo II Airport. This route will be operated by a Boeing B737MAX-8.
Then, starting 20th May 2022, the Chicago-based airline will launch flights between Newark Liberty International Airport and Bergen Flesland Airport in Norway, becoming the only US airline to operate nonstop flights to Norway next year. This route will be operated 3-times-a-week by a Boeing B757-200 aircraft.
As of 2nd June 2022, United will launch flights between Newark Liberty International Airport and Palma de Mallorca Airport in Spain. Again a monopoly route, the service will be operated 3-times-a-week by a Boeing B767-300ER.
Finally, on 9th June 2022, United will begin flying between Newark Liberty International Airport and Tenerife South Airport in the Canary Islands. This route will be operated 3-times-a-week by a Boeing B757-200.
5 new routes
In addition to the above mentioned flights, United will add 5 new routes to its existing destinations. Two of these are service expansions with three brand-new routes.
Starting 23rd April 2022, United will operate daily nonstop flights between Denver International Airport and Munich International Airport. This will complement its flights to Frankfurt from Denver. The airline also plans to resume Denver-London Heathrow service.
The second route is between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Milan Malpensa Airport. Starting 6th May 2022, the airline will operate daily Boeing B787-8 flights on the route. This will complement United’s flights to Milan from Newark. The carrier will have a monopoly on this route.
The last new route is between Washington Dulles International Airport and Berlin Brandenburg Airport. As of 6th May 2022, United will operate daily Boeing B767-400ER flights on this route. United, again, will be the only airline flying this capital-to-capital service.
The two additional frequencies are on existing routes out of Newark. The carrier will be adding to Dublin on 23rd April 2022 that will be operated by a Boeing B757-200. United will add a second daily service to Rome on 26th May 2022 that will be operated by a Boeing B777-200ER.
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Launching previously announced routes and cutting others
United’s 7 previously announced international routes will finally be launching next year that have been on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include:
- Newark-Nice
- Newark-Frankfurt (second daily flight)
- San Francisco–Bengaluru
- Chicago-Zurich
- Newark-Tokyo Haneda
- Washington DC-Tokyo Haneda
- Los Angeles-Tokyo Haneda
Additionally, United will also be bringing back several transatlantic destinations that went dormant during the crisis. This includes Stockholm, Prague, Porto, Naples among others.
Three routes will be cut as part of poor performance and the ongoing pandemic. Newark-Manchester, Newark-Glasgow and San Francisco-Dublin are the routes that will be cut.
Leisure focused expansion
If you observe carefully, a common theme across all of these routes is that United will face no competition. This will be a huge advantage for the airline as it is trying out some unique routes that are risky. The fact that United will launch these flights from its hubs where it can offer connecting opportunities will certainly be a benefit and help keep aircraft full.
Most of the routes announced today are routes that the targeted at leisure travellers. The airline believes that these will be winners in the long run. It has already been announced that service to Dubrovnik, Athens, and Iceland that was added this year will be returning next year. Though predominantly leisure in bent, these routes are part of United’s opportunistic strategy to, in the words of Mr. Quayle, “new, unexpected places that we believe will become the hottest destinations in the years to come.”
The airline has already announced flights to Lagos, Nigeria in addition to flights to Accra, Ghana and Johannesburg, South Africa.
All in all, with the Transpacific market still not fully open, United is, for now, focusing on Transatlantic routes.
Featured image by United
What do you think of United’s new routes? Let me know in the comments section below.
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