Star Alliance member United Airlines surprised us last year by announcing a bevy of new European destinations like Palma de Mallorca or Tenerife. Along with resuming many services that were cancelled during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The American carrier continues that trend in 2022 (or better 2023) by adding more international nonstop services to its network.
Dubai, Malaga, Stockholm Join the Network
- New York
EWR
– DubaiDXB
daily, starting March 25, 2023 - New York
EWR
– MalagaAGP
3x weekly, starting May 31, 2023 - New York
EWR
– StockholmARN
daily, starting May 26, 2023
The three cities that did not appear in United’s 2022 schedule but will be served next year are Dubai, Sweden and Stockholm. Each of the cities receives a nonstop service from United’s Newark hub. Malaga is perhaps the most surprising addition and United will first dip its toes to test the waters – a thrice weekly Boeing 757 service is surely a sign for taking it slow.
Stockholm (a European Star Alliance hub) and Dubai (an internationally coveted destination) are certainly more established and prestigious destinations. Sweden will receive daily visits from United’s 757, while Dubai’s airport sees a United Boeing 777-200ER each day of the week.
Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Shannon to get Additional Services
- Chicago
ORD
– ShannonSNN
, daily, starting May 25, 2023 - Chicago
ORD
– BarcelonaBCN
, daily, starting May 25, 2023 - San Francisco
SFO
– RomFCO
, daily, starting May 25, 2023 - Washington
IAD
– BerlinBER
, daily, starting May 25, 2023
All above-mentioned destinations are currently receiving at least seasonal nonstop flights from Newark. In 2023, United doubles down on these cities, introducing service to one more of their American hubs. Rome will be the seventh destination United serves from its West Coast home in San Francisco.
Barcelona and Shannon will now be connected to Chicago with a nonstop flight, giving passengers a bevy of new options to connect with just a single change of planes at United’s biggest domestic hub.
The most interesting case is the capital-to-capital flight from Washington to Berlin and back. The airline already announced this route for 2022, but abolished plans for a nonstop service earlier this year. By announcing the rather large Boeing 767-400ER, United seems (again) sure that they are able to fill up some seats by connecting the two cities.
Capacity Increases on Key Routes
United not only expanded their existing network, but also made sure to bully their competitors a bit. The airline increases capacities to Oneworld hub London (with two daily services to Los Angeles) and SkyTeam hub Paris (announcing a second daily flight to Washington). While these changes are not as bold as the other announcements, it increases competition: A welcome sight in the increasingly consolidated airline market.
Source: United Newsroom
Cover Picture: Photo by Arkin Si on Unsplash