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United Airways unveiled an aggressive worldwide enlargement plan for summer season 2026 on Thursday, including six new routes together with 4 European cities the place no U.S. service at the moment operates nonstop service, cementing its place as America’s most worldwide airline with service to 46 transatlantic locations.
The Chicago-based service will launch flights from its Newark hub to Cut up, Croatia; Bari, Italy; Glasgow, Scotland; and Santiago de Compostela, Spain—all distinctive locations amongst U.S. airways. United can also be including day by day service from Washington Dulles to Reykjavik, Iceland, and year-round nonstop flights from Newark to Seoul, South Korea, beginning September 2026.
Moreover, United will add a 3rd day by day flight to Tel Aviv from Newark and convey again all 9 locations from its record-breaking 2025 summer season enlargement, together with Nuuk, Greenland, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The New Routes Breakdown
From Newark/New York (EWR):
- Cut up, Croatia (SPU) — Beginning April 30, 2026, thrice weekly on Boeing 767-300ER
- Bari, Italy (BRI) — Beginning Might 1, 2026, 4 occasions weekly on Boeing 767-300ER
- Glasgow, Scotland (GLA) — Beginning Might 8, 2026, day by day service on Boeing 737 MAX 8
- Santiago de Compostela, Spain (SCQ) — Beginning Might 22, 2026, thrice weekly on Boeing 737 MAX 8
- Seoul, South Korea (ICN) — Beginning September 4, 2026, day by day year-round service
From Washington Dulles (IAD):
- Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) — Beginning Might 21, 2026, day by day service
Frequency Will increase:
- Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) from Newark — Third day by day flight beginning March 28, 2026, on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (18 complete weekly flights)
Southern Europe Technique
The enlargement represents United’s continued wager on secondary European cities fairly than conventional hubs like London, Paris, and Frankfurt, which haven’t been performing as strongly as anticipated.
“United has an unmatched worldwide community, and we pleasure ourselves on connecting our clients to distinctive, trendsetting locations no different U.S. airline serves,” stated Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President of World Community Planning and Alliances. “With the addition of those new flights and the return of all of our new routes from final 12 months, United now flies to 46 cities throughout the Atlantic, greater than every other airline, and is the clear flag service of the U.S.”
The concentrate on Southern Europe follows related strikes by opponents. Delta Air Strains just lately introduced service to Malta and Sardinia from New York-JFK for summer season 2026, a part of an industry-wide shift towards leisure locations within the Mediterranean and Adriatic areas that appeal to high-spending vacationers in search of alternate options to overcrowded conventional capitals.
Cut up gives entry to Croatia’s beautiful Dalmatian coast, Bari serves as a gateway to Italy’s Puglia area and connections to Albania and Greece by ferry, and Santiago de Compostela marks the endpoint of the well-known Camino de Santiago pilgrimage path.
The Slim-Physique Dilemma
Whereas the enlargement is spectacular in scope, United’s plane selections on sure routes increase important consolation issues for passengers going through lengthy transatlantic crossings.
Two of the 4 new European locations, Glasgow and Santiago de Compostela, shall be operated utilizing Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane, which lack lie-flat seats in enterprise class. As an alternative, passengers will get recliner seats marketed as “premium financial system,” a far cry from the Polaris enterprise class expertise out there on United’s wide-body plane.
For passengers reserving what they count on to be a premium transatlantic expertise, discovering they’ll spend 7-8 hours in a recliner seat fairly than a lie-flat mattress represents a major downgrade—even when the flight is nonstop.
United already operates 737 MAX 8 plane on transatlantic routes to Nuuk, Greenland, and Ponta Delgada within the Azores, however these are comparatively area of interest locations. Glasgow, as Scotland’s largest metropolis, and Santiago de Compostela, a serious pilgrimage website, will possible appeal to extra enterprise vacationers and premium passengers who count on a correct long-haul product.
The airline has ordered Airbus A321XLR plane as eventual replacements for its getting older Boeing 757-200 fleet, however these deliveries are nonetheless years away. Till then, passengers on these routes must settle for narrow-body economics on long-haul worldwide flights.
Editor’s Take: Nice Growth, Consolation Commerce-Offs
United’s aggressive worldwide enlargement is genuinely thrilling for vacationers in search of nonstop entry to distinctive European locations. The addition of Cut up, Bari, Glasgow, and Santiago de Compostela opens up components of Europe that beforehand required connections by way of main hubs, and for a lot of vacationers, the comfort of flying nonstop will outweigh consolation issues.
Nevertheless, the usage of Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane on routes like Newark to Glasgow means passengers have to set reasonable expectations. An 8-hour transatlantic flight in a recliner seat, even a snug one, is a essentially totally different expertise than the identical journey in a lie-flat Polaris seat. Enterprise vacationers accustomed to arriving rested might discover themselves disenchanted, whereas leisure vacationers prioritizing worth over consolation may discover the trade-off acceptable.
United is betting that clients worth nonstop comfort over premium onerous merchandise on these secondary routes, and so they’re most likely proper for leisure demand. However passengers ought to verify plane kind earlier than reserving and perceive what they’re getting, particularly when evaluating fares to opponents providing higher onboard merchandise through connections.
The broader development towards Southern Europe is sensible. Delta’s enlargement to Malta, United’s Croatian and Spanish routes, and the industry-wide concentrate on Mediterranean locations displays the place vacationers really need to go, not simply the place legacy route constructions have traditionally despatched them.
Because the aviation {industry} continues recovering and reshaping post-pandemic, seeing airways experiment with new markets and take calculated dangers on underserved locations is refreshing. United’s willingness to return all 9 of final summer season’s new routes, together with sold-out companies like Nuuk, demonstrates confidence in its technique.
Simply keep in mind: should you’re reserving Glasgow or Santiago de Compostela, pack a great neck pillow. You’ll be spending these eight hours sitting up.
Tickets on Sale Now
Tickets for all new routes can be found for buy at present on United’s web site and cell app, pending remaining authorities approvals. The enlargement continues United’s place because the U.S. airline with probably the most worldwide locations, working almost 3,000 weekly worldwide roundtrips subsequent summer season.
