Greenland, anyone?
United Airlines shook up the airline world last week by announcing several new international destinations, many of which are largely undiscovered by American leisure travelers.
Eight new cities is a significant expansion for the airline—the largest in its history—as it adds new dots in Europe and Asia. The summer 2025 schedule also marks new service to Africa from Washington, D.C., and additional seasonal service to already-served European cities from new gateways. United touts the transatlantic schedule as its “largest ever”–the expansion of service to both Spain and Portugal means that United will serve more destinations in these countries than its U.S. competitors.
United’s new routes next year from Newark include Nuuk, Greenland; Palermo, Italy; Bilbao, Spain; Madeira, Portugal; and Faro, Portugal. United will be the first U.S. airline to serve Greenland nonstop from the United States. Bilbao, Madeira, and Faro have long been popular among European holidaymakers, but the destinations have seen little or no nonstop service from the U.S.
The five new European cities from Newark will all be served on a summer seasonal basis, with service a few days a week to each. Previously, travelers bound for these destinations often connected via a European city–or, in Nuuk’s case, via Iceland.
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Also new for next summer is service from Washington-Dulles to Venice, Italy, and Nice, France. Both of these destinations are already served by United nonstop from Newark, but adding flights from Washington will give travelers additional connecting options without the need for connections via a European hub.
The airline appears to be doubling down on direct service to European destinations after several years of disruptions because of airline strikes in Europe—both by the airline’s European alliance partners and the airport operators at European hub airports.
United will also add nonstop service from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to several Asian destinations. New seasonal service to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, will be the first by a U.S. airline. Mongolia has risen in visitor popularity in the last year, and United’s service will allow American travelers to reach the country with just one stop in Tokyo.
Also new from Tokyo is a nonstop to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, which will operate year-round; this route is in addition to United’s existing nonstop service to Taipei from San Francisco. Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s second-largest city and a hub for nature-seekers and art lovers, with a thriving arts scene.
United is also adding new flights from Tokyo-Narita to Koror, Palau, which it already serves from Guam and Manila. Located in the Southwest Pacific, Palau is noted for world-class diving.
The expansion to three destinations from Narita is notable as, in recent years, the trend has been to reduce service at the airport in favor of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Haneda, a domestic-only airport for years, completed a terminal expansion in 2020, allowing for many more international flights. Passengers often favor the airport as it’s much closer to Tokyo’s city center; Narita is an hour from central Tokyo.
With so much traffic shifting from Narita to Haneda (and some airlines are moving all their Tokyo service to Haneda), some have questioned the airport’s continued viability. However, it’s worth noting that Haneda Airport’s further expansion may be restricted due to its geographical position on Tokyo Bay.
Several of the farther-afield destinations added to United’s route network, such as Nuuk and Ulaanbaatar, have had limited interest from American travelers. United appears to be deploying a “if we fly it, they will come” strategy, as travelers look for new destinations to explore as some of the banner destinations in Europe and Asia grapple with the effects of overtourism.
