United Airlines is trying to tempt passengers to the air as parts of the world are preparing to open to vaccinated travellers. Let us see where you can go
United Airlines Boeing 787-8 taking off from London Heathrow Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
Croatia is up first, with a summer-only service between Newark and Dubrovnik. The new service will operate from 8th July through to 3rd October, three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
According to the airline, the flights will be timed to connect with flights at United Airlines Newark hub.
Next up is Greece, with the airline planning to add a Washington Dulles to Athens service. This service will commence on the 1st of July, operating a daily flight until the 3rd of October.
The planned operation will call for a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to be used for this daily flight, allowing for connections at Washington Dulles. It also increases capacity between the USA and Athens, with the Newark-NJ to Athens service resuming on 3rd June.
If you do not fancy wandering too far, Iceland is an option, with the airline planning to operate a daily service between Chicago O’Hare to Reykjavik.
It will operate from the 1st of July, operating daily through to 3rd October. The service will use a Boeing 757-200 with 16 Polaris Business Class seats. For those of you who prefer to depart the East Coat, a service between Newark and Reykjavik will restart on the 3rd of June, operating daily through to 29th October.
Not only, but also
The airline is planning other changes across its network. They include:
- Washington Dulles to Accra, Ghana, three times a week, commencing 14th May
- Washington Dulles to Lags, Nigeria, planned operation to be confirmed.
- Newark to Johannesburg, South Africa, three times a week, commencing 3rd June (subject to approval)
- San Francisco to Bangalore, India, five times a week from 27th May.
- Chicago to Tel Aviv, Israel, three times weekly from May 7
- San Francisco to Tel Aviv, Israel, daily service from 3rd June
The airline is planning to restart the following services in May. These include:
- Newark to Rome
- Newark to Milan
- Chicago to Munich
- Chicago to Amsterdam
- Chicago to Tokyo Haneda
In June, the following have been pencilled in:
- San Francisco to Tahiti.
All flights, as usual, are subject to governmental approval.
Whilst you might be vaccinated, you are still subject to entry requirements for each country, as well as any tests, quarantine, or curfew requirements. Therefore, you must check before you travel.
United Airlines has provided its Destination Travel Guide for specific details for each country’s entry requirements.
In Quotes
Patrick Quayle, vice president of international network and alliances said
“As countries around the world begin the process of reopening, leisure travellers are eager to take a long-awaited getaway to new international destinations,”
“These three new routes unlock the natural beauty of the outdoors for our guests. They are also the latest example of how United is remaining nimble in rebuilding our network.”
Positioning to take advantage
It seems that United Airlines customers want to travel internationally, with the airline reporting searches on United.com for flights to Croatia, Greece and Iceland are up 61%. Also, demand seems to be improving, with long haul routes resuming across the network.
Certainly, customers want to get back in the air and explore the world safely, with countries allowing vaccinated visitors in.
It will be interesting the see how these routes perform, against how infections change.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.
Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can follow me on Instagram too!
Also remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.