United Airlines kicked off its largest winter schedule ever with a focus on Africa, Southern Europe, Latin America and leisure destinations across the United States. Today marked the first day of the winter schedule and United celebrated by launching its inaugural flight between Newark (EWR) and Marrakesh, Morocco (RAK).
The Newark to Marrakesh flight is just one of the nearly 4,600 flights the Chicago based carrier will fly every day during peak season. The airline will add flights at more than 140 U.S. airports including new flights to some of the most popular ski and sun destinations.
Patrick Quayle, United’s Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, had this to say about the winter expansion:
“This winter, we’re offering more flights to more destinations to give customers the widest range of places to explore. Whether that’s adventuring somewhere new overseas, unwinding with some sun or enjoying the best ski towns in the country, we’re pleased to offer easy access to the top destinations for winter getaways.”
United Bets Big Across the Atlantic
In addition to the EWR-RAK route, which will operate 3x weekly using Boeing 767-300 aircraft, United has increased its focus on Africa further. The carrier is launching service between Washington Dulles (IAD) and Dakar, Senegal (DSS) in May 2025. The two new routes complements expanded weekly flights from IAD to Accra, Ghana (ACC) and Lagos, Nigeria (LOS). This will have United serving more destinations in Africa than any other U.S. carrier.
The carrier is also expanding several European seasonal routes into the fall and winter months. This includes nonstop service to Milan (MXP) and Rome (FCO) from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Madrid (MAD) from Washington Dulles (IAD). These routes are now operating until December 2024. Daily flights between Washington/Dulles (IAD) and Lisbon (LIS), has also been extended to January 2025.
New Asia-Pacific Routes
In addition to the extensions and expansions across the Atlantic, United has made some waves across the Pacific as well. The carrier will launch daily flights between Tokyo-Narita (NRT) and Cebu, Philippines (CEB) on October 27th using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. These planes will be cycled in and out of Tokyo via the carrier’s Guam (GUM) hub. This winter, United is also making its second daily service between San Francisco (SFO) and Seoul-Incheon (ICN) year-round.
In Los Angeles (LAX), the airline is adding a second daily flight between LAX and Hong Kong (HKG), offering morning and evening departures. Shanghai (PVG) also gets a boost with daily flights from LAX beginning on October 26th.
Double Digit Growth in Latin America
United is continuing its growth in Latin America with a variety of new routes. On November 13th, United will launch new year-round service between Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) and Medellin, Colombia (MDE). This will be the airline’s third route to the country, complementing existing flights to Bogota (BOG) from EWR and IAH.
San Francisco (SFO) joins the party by upgrading flights to Monterrey, Mexico (MTY), operated by United Express partner SkyWest up to twice daily. They are also adding new seasonal, weekly service to Belize City, Belize (BZE).
In addition to the routes highlighted above, the carrier is also planning additional expansions from Chicago, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles to cities like Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE); Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA); Morelia, Mexico (MLM); San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU); and San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL).
Domestic Additions Drive Growth
While the routes mentioned above are the “sexy” international additions, the reality is that the majority of the growth is coming from domestic flying. The carrier’s domestic schedule from January to March will be its largest ever with nearly 140 airports offering more flights than the same time last year.
During the winter season, travelers will see average of nearly 13% more seats to warm-weather destinations including Phoenix (PHX); Palm Springs, CA (PSP) and San Diego (SAN). Florida is also a major focus for the airline with 20 additional departures from its hub airports to cities like Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), and Palm Beach (PBI).
What should come as no surprise in all of these routes is the fact that ski destinations get a major boost over the winter. The press release outlines many new routes, far too many to analyze fully, but I’ll include the airline’s descriptions below:
- New winter seasonal weekend service between Washington/Dulles and Bozeman, MT and an additional flight between Newark/New York and Bozeman, MT.
- New seasonal weekend service between Chicago and Gunnison/Crested Butte, CO in February and March.
- New winter seasonal service between Los Angeles and Kalispell, MT starting in February.
- A second daily flight between Newark/New York and Jackson Hole, WY from December to March.
- During peak holiday season from December to January, a daily flight between Los Angeles and Montrose/Telluride, CO.
- Twice daily service to Sun Valley, ID from both Los Angeles and San Francisco during peak holiday season.
- A seasonal extension of Denver-Bishop/Mammoth service with twice weekly flights through the end of April.
Summary
United Airlines is preparing to fly its largest winter schedule ever over the coming months bolstered by a slew of new routes and increased service. There are quite a few new long-haul routes,though the vast majority of the expansion is due to increased routes and frequencies domestically.
Outside of the holidays, winter is typically a slower period for airlines so it’s good to see United getting creative and adding routes. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see how these frequencies work.
