United Plans Largest Transatlantic Expansion in its History

    United Airlines to operate 91% of its 2019 domestic capacity this December to meet expected surge in holiday travel demand

    CHICAGO (PRNewswire) — United today announced the largest transatlantic expansion in its history, including 10 new flights and five new, vogue destinations – Amman, Jordan; Bergen, Norway; Azores, Portugal; Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands. All of the new routes – which are set to begin in Spring 2022 – are not served by any other North American carrier. Additionally, next year, United will add new flights to five popular European destinations: Berlin, Dublin, Milan, Munich and Rome. Lastly, United will launch seven routes that were interrupted due to the pandemic to Bangalore, Frankfurt, Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, Nice and Zurich. Flights are subject to government approval.

    “Given our big expectations for a rebound in travel to Europe for summer, this is the right time to leverage our leading global network in new, exciting ways,” said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances at United. “Our expansion offers the widest range of destinations to discover – introducing new, trendy locales that our customers will love, as well as adding more flights to iconic, popular cities.”

    Among the new destinations:

    • Amman, Jordan
    • Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
    • Bergen, Norway
    • Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
    • Expanded European Service

    In addition to these new routes, United will begin seven routes that were interrupted by the pandemic:

    • Daily flights between San Francisco and Bangalore beginning May 26
    • Daily flights between New York/Newark and Nice beginning April 29
    • A second daily flight between New York/Newark and Frankfurt beginning April 23
    • Daily flights between Chicago and Zurich beginning April 23
    • Flights from Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York/Newark to Tokyo’s Haneda airport by March 26

    In addition, United has recently:

    • Launched a plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry’s fastest available Wi-Fi.
    • Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
    • Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
    • Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
    • Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination’s travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website. 
    • Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
    • Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to  purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world’s airlines’ publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.

    Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.