United Airlines is unveiling what it calls the largest international expansion in its history for 2027, adding 10 new cities across Europe and Asia, including Okinawa, Luxembourg, Ibiza, Toulouse, Ljubljana, and two Italian islands, while finally revealing where its new Airbus A321XLR will fly.
United Airlines Unveils Massive 2027 International Expansion With 10 New Cities And Five New A321XLR Routes
After another wonderfully elaborate round of clues, United Airlines has revealed its international network expansion for 2027, and this one is huge.
United is adding 10 new international cities to its route map, eight of which no other U.S. airline serves nonstop from the United States, while also adding new longhaul routes from Los Angeles, Washington Dulles, and Denver.
And yes, some of those clues we decoded yesterday were very much real…
The 10 new destinations are:
- Okinawa, Japan (OKA)
- Toulouse, France (TLS)
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (LUX)
- Marseille, France (MRS)
- Ibiza, Spain (IBZ)
- Valencia, Spain (VLC)
- Terceira, Portugal (TER)
- Ljubljana, Slovenia (LJU)
- Olbia, Sardinia (OLB)
- Catania, Sicily (CTA)
United is also adding:
- Los Angeles – Osaka (KIX)
- Washington Dulles – Milan (MXP)
- Denver – Paris (CDG)
And San Francisco – Tel Aviv (TLV) will return.
Patrick Quayle, United’s Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, called summer 2027 the airline’s largest international expansion in company history and noted that seven of these 10 new cities currently have no nonstop service to the United States at all.
“Over the past decade, we’ve built something no other U.S. airline has, a true global network that reaches further, connects customers to more places, and increasingly opens up parts of the world that simply haven’t been accessible nonstop to the United States.”
United says it will serve 53 destinations across the Atlantic and 34 across the Pacific next year, more than any airline in the world across both oceans.
Wow.
United’s 10 New International Destinations For 2027
Let’s go through the new dots one by one.
San Francisco – Okinawa (OKA)
- Begins March 27, 2027
- 3x weekly
- Boeing 777-200ER
This is certainly a route I did not predict.
United will become the only U.S. airline flying nonstop from the continental United States to Okinawa, adding another fascinating Japanese destination to a network that already makes United by far the most interesting U.S. carrier across the Pacific.
Newark – Luxembourg (LUX)
- Begins April 2, 2027
- Daily, year-round
- Airbus A321XLR
LUX!
I suspected the “luxe” clue in yesterday’s video was pointing here, and indeed it was.
Luxembourg is exactly the sort of route the A321XLR makes possible: a wealthy European capital with substantial business and banking traffic, but probably not enough demand to justify a widebody year-round.
Quayle specifically cited Luxembourg’s U.S. technology and banking ties and said the nonstop flight would save corporate travelers several hours versus connecting elsewhere in Europe.
United will be the only airline serving Luxembourg nonstop from the USA.
Washington Dulles – Toulouse (TLS)
- Begins April 26, 2027
- Daily, year-round
- Airbus A321XLR
Toulouse is the heart of Airbus country, and United will become the only U.S. airline serving it nonstop from the United States. The route makes a lot of sense considering the North American headquarters of Airbus is located near Dulles.
Newark – Ljubljana (LJU)
- Begins May 12, 2027
- 4x weekly through October 29
- Boeing 767-400ER
Patrick Quayle strikes again.
Slovenia has been conspicuously absent from the nonstop U.S. route map, and United is fixing that with four weekly flights from Newark aboard a 767-400ER.
Quayle described Ljubljana as exactly the sort of destination United has increasingly built its network around: somewhere seasoned travelers want to visit, but which has traditionally required another connection from the United States.
This is not even an XLR route, which makes it all the more interesting. I found this an interesting route addition, having expected Prague or Budapest instead. I asked Quayle if subsidies may have played a role in this route (or the Luxembourg route) and he declined to comment.
Newark – Olbia (OLB)
- Begins May 27, 2027
- 3x weekly through September 21
- Boeing 767-300ER “High-J”
United has increasingly used Newark to connect Americans directly to European leisure destinations that once required a connection, and Olbia fits that strategy perfectly.
The Costa Smeralda is one of Europe’s most glamorous summer destinations, and now United will fly there nonstop.
Newark – Catania (CTA)
- Begins May 28, 2027
- 4x weekly through September 20
- Boeing 767-300ER “High-J”
Sicily gets another United dot, this time Catania.
With Olbia and Catania added, United says it will serve eight destinations in Italy and will be the only U.S. airline serving both major airports in Sicily.
Newark – Ibiza (IBZ)
- Begins May 31, 2027
- 4x weekly through October 7
- Airbus A321XLR
That DJ clue was not subtle after all…
United will become the first and only airline to connect the United States and Ibiza nonstop.
This is precisely the sort of seasonal leisure market I expected the XLR to unlock. You don’t need 250 seats a day. My in-laws have vacation each year in a family compound in Ibiza…may be finally time for me to visit this Spanish island.
Newark – Valencia (VLC)
- Begins June 2, 2027
- 3x weekly through October 6
- Airbus A321XLR
The oranges!
Valencia gets three weekly flights from Newark aboard the XLR, giving United yet another Spanish destination no other U.S. airline serves nonstop.
With Valencia and Ibiza added, United will serve eight destinations in Spain, more than any other U.S. carrier.
Newark – Marseille (MRS)
- Begins June 4, 2027
- Daily through October 29
- Airbus A321XLR
And apparently that French press and lavender in the teaser video really were pointing toward southern France.
Marseille will receive daily service, which is more aggressive than I expected, but gives United direct access to Provence and the Mediterranean coast without funneling everyone through Paris.
Combined with Toulouse, United says it will serve more destinations in France than any other U.S. carrier.
Newark – Terceira (TER)
- Begins June 9, 2027
- 3x weekly through September 5
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
I stared at the wood grain long enough yesterday to convince myself I saw the Azores.
Apparently I wasn’t completely losing my mind.
United already serves Ponta Delgada on São Miguel and will now add Terceira, operated not by an XLR but by a 737 MAX 8.
That’s an obscure route, and I absolutely love it.
Five New A321XLR Destinations
We now see what United is doing with its new Airbus A321XLR.
The five new destinations that will receive XLR service are:
- Newark – Luxembourg
- Washington Dulles – Toulouse
- Newark – Ibiza
- Newark – Valencia
- Newark – Marseille
So yes, the mysterious 5XL shirt in United’s teaser was exactly what it looked like: five XLR routes.
Thus far it seems that United is not simply using the XLR to replace 757s on routes that already exist, but creating routes that would probably never make sense with a larger widebody.
That’s what this airplane is for, though Quayle did mention that United would gradually retire its 757-200s as more A321XLRs were added (currently, United has only taken delivery of one, which will be on display at Newark Airport today).
United’s A321XLR will include 20 Polaris suites with privacy doors, 12 Premium Plus seats, free Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members, 4K OLED screens, and an unusual Economy Plus configuration in which some passengers will have extra elbow room and access to a shared table across an intentionally empty middle seat.
Quayle also pushed back on the idea that travelers will not want to cross the Atlantic on a single-aisle aircraft.
“When you add that in with the fact that it’s a nonstop flight and it avoids a connection in Europe, on a brand that people trust, which is the United brand, this is all the ingredients for success.”
He pointed to the new lie-flat Polaris product, Premium Plus, Economy Plus, the open-middle-seat option in economy, and regular economy as giving United multiple distinct products onboard.
I’ll have much more on the aircraft itself separately.
The A321XLR Goes International This December
Before any of these new destinations launch, United’s A321XLR will make its international debut on December 1, 2026.
The first routes will be:
- Washington Dulles – Amsterdam
- Washington Dulles – Dublin
Tickets for those first international XLR flights go on sale Thursday.
The aircraft will initially fly select domestic routes beginning in September before moving onto international service.
Denver Gets Paris…I Should Have Stuck With My First Guess
United is also adding three new routes to cities already on its network.
The one I was particularly waiting for: Denver – Paris.
United will launch daily, year-round DEN-CDG service on May 27 aboard a Boeing 787-9.
Last week, after Scott Kirby and Toby Enqvist both teased a new longhaul route from Denver, I predicted Paris.
Then yesterday’s stroopwafel clue made me second-guess myself and switch my final prediction to Amsterdam.
I should have stuck with my first instinct…
Paris makes tremendous sense from Denver, particularly given United’s strength throughout the Mountain West and the absence of a United nonstop to one of Europe’s largest markets.
Los Angeles Gets Osaka
United will also launch daily, year-round service from Los Angeles to Osaka on March 27 aboard a Boeing 787-9.
That means United will serve Osaka from two continental U.S. gateways, Los Angeles and San Francisco, in addition to Guam.
I had wondered whether Los Angeles might receive Manila or Singapore, but Osaka is a much more conservative addition and probably a smart one considering how weak the JPY is right now.
United continues to rebuild its Pacific presence at LAX while keeping San Francisco firmly positioned as its primary transpacific hub.
Washington Dulles Gets Milan
United will add Washington Dulles – Milan three times weekly beginning May 28 aboard a Boeing 767-300ER.
United says it will be the only airline linking Washington and Milan nonstop.
Add Toulouse and Milan to the equation and Dulles is getting a particularly nice international boost next summer.
San Francisco – Tel Aviv Returns
United also plans to restart San Francisco – Tel Aviv on March 28, operating three times weekly year-round aboard a Boeing 787-9.
Considering the ongoing instability in the Middle East, all service remains subject to the obvious geopolitical realities, but United clearly remains committed to rebuilding its Israel network when conditions permit.
And Nuuk Is Coming Back Too
One additional nugget from the media call: United plans to return to Nuuk, Greenland next summer and all new routes it added this year.
When asked how the unusual route had performed, Quayle said:
“Every flight has to earn its place in the network and we’re very happy with the results.”
That’s notable because United’s strategy only works if at least some of these increasingly obscure experiments survive beyond their inaugural season.
Nuuk apparently did, so did:
- Newark – Split
- Newark – Bari
- Newark – Glasgow
- Newark – Santiago de Compostela
United’s International Network Is Becoming Ridiculous…In A Good Way
United says it has added 58 international destinations since 2017 and now serves more than 160 international destinations.
I keep coming back to the same point with United’s international network strategy: the airline has stopped behaving like a traditional U.S. carrier.
Delta and American serve the obvious large international markets.
United does too.
But then United adds places like Nuuk, Ulaanbaatar, Bilbao, Madeira, Palermo, Split, Bari, Santiago de Compostela…
And now Ljubljana, Olbia, Catania, Terceira, Ibiza, Valencia, Marseille, Toulouse, Luxembourg, and Okinawa.
Some will work (and some, like Bergen or Dakkar, may not). But United has built enough scale and connecting power at Newark, Dulles, San Francisco, Denver, and its other hubs to try routes that would have been dismissed as absurd a decade ago.
Quayle described creating each international schedule as a mix of “science, art, and a lot of creativity.”
That’s a pretty good description of what United is doing.
The A321XLR is only going to accelerate that experimentation…and we didn’t hear anything about the 737 MAX 10, which may further open new markets.
CONCLUSION
United’s 2027 international expansion is its largest ever, adding 10 new cities, three additional new routes to existing destinations, the return of San Francisco – Tel Aviv, and the first wave of new destinations built around the Airbus A321XLR.
I’ll have much more to say about the XLR itself and some of the thinking behind these routes.
But for now, I’m impressed.
Luxembourg. Toulouse. Ljubljana. Sardinia. Sicily. Ibiza. Valencia. Marseille. Terceira. Okinawa. Wow…
Next summer United will serve 53 destinations across the Atlantic and 34 across the Pacific, precisely why United’s international route announcements have become so much fun.
And yes, I’m rather pleased that staring at oranges, teddy bears, DJs, shirt labels, and even wood grain yesterday was not entirely a waste of time…
What do you make of United’s latest route announcement?
images: United
What are the chances of EWR to Scandinavia in 2027?
Will address this very question in my next post.
They’ve announced their 2027 adds. Looks like the chances are zero.
Glen flew Iberia’s A321XLR from SJU to Madrid and was very impressed. He thought it near equal the cabin on the 767-300ER
I thought half the point of the XLR was increased cargo because of the design of the rear center tank. Other airlines seem to be putting the plane on reliable routes to take advantage of that and to ensure decent passenger loads. Fascinating to see United try the plane out on what it was marketed for (long and thin) but is that really the best strategy? It does kind of feel like throwing darts at the wall to see what if anything sticks.
Hello Benidorm…
On the non-XLR front do they have to continue Nuuk for political reasons or is the route actually performing well?
And here I was thinking XLR was so that secondary and tertiary destinations could be linked without hubs. Think, EWR-OPO instead of EWR-LIS-OPO.
But, perhaps cargo is a factor, too. (Even KL uses AKH containers and CLS to load them on their a321neos, which makes for faster loading, instead of individual bags on the conveyer belt.)
On Nuuk, apparently there is demand, even if the infrastructure still hasn’t really caught up yet.
As for their “Heck ya, we fly there” ethos. I’m still waiting on EWR-MLE… (I know, I know, super aspirational…) reviewed their new terminal here: https://onemileatatime.com/community-stories/male-velana-airport-new-terminal-1-international-arrivals/ (C’mon, United, ‘fly there’! Bah!)
@ Mack — Zero? I believe they only do these big destination announcements once per year??
As a German/American that lives in the CT/NY/NJ area and that has family just across the border from LUX, I am happy to see this flight added!!! RTL in Luxembourg had been reporting of rumors that a direct flight to NY might be in the works but I wasn’t expecting this news. I hope UA can make this work as I am also a UA elite. Only thing I fear, is that the prices will be ridiculous.
I was hoping YYT (St. John’s).
That would have been cool (EWR-YYT). No current nonstops to Newfoundland from the US, except… Westjet from TPA and MCO, seasonally. Wild. (Have found some decent options on Porter using Alaska points in Reserve, though, 1 stop).
May as well hope for the nonstop to St Pierre and Miquelon.
You joke, but AF does have some odd nonstops from MIA to their territories in the Caribbean (MIA-PTP on a320). So, FSP isn’t out of the question (and it can handle 737), but there’s probably even less demand than YYT. Currently, Air Saint-Pierre just has one ATR42, so… yeah, really unlikely.
United used to run service from EWR to Moncton – that was a good route. For now we’ll have to be satisfied with DL and AA service to Halifax.
Interesting adds. I’m still skeptical about the 321xlr economics and whether the yields in either business or economy will support the business case for the variant. I, for one, am very happy to connect over CDG/AMS/FRA/LHR to visit most of these places, particularly if there is a material premium for the direct flights and the alternative is a widebody over the pond.
Oh, and what was the “special” something that was to be announced?
I think the “special” must have been United’s “biggest” expansion in history.
That is unless there is “maybe just one more thing” to be revealed during the media event – going on now – in EWR.
not surprising in many ways…. UA loves to add dots to its international route map but is still the 4th largest domestic airline which is hardly in line w/ touting itself as the world’s largest airline by ASMs.
UA was clearly going to use the XLR to add even more dots even further from the US and they are doing that.
apparenlty, DL is doing well in Sicily since UA wants to join them.
CDG-DEN seems like a good play while UA’s unwillingness to take on Scandinavia is clear.
addition of more Japan routes but nothing else to Asia gives DL a lot of room to expand up and down the Pacific Rim
now let’s see what AA does with their XLRs
SpectrumBoy,
UA announced Sicily before DL and already flies to PMO. DL is doing well in CTA, true, and UA is smart adding CTA to complement PMO service allowing open-jaw tix.
Poor AA had their 321s first but UA beat them to the punch. Poor AA.
Now tell us something about a non-sequitur such as half a point difference in bag handling for your safe space!
“Poor AA had their 321s first but UA beat them to the punch. Poor AA.”
what a weird comment.
AA has had A321s for decades. Decades before United.
AA has also made clear their A321XLRs will be focused on transcon first.
Calm down, Jimothy.
Awesome day for UA and cool new routes. The nice thing for AA and UA is that these planes can do VERY well on transcons if the market for tertiary Europe dries up. Delta will just retire their 763s and have no plane to serve obscure European markets left.
Contrary to someone’s belief, the XLR is a great plane for these types of markets, but DL is just really bad at negotiating with their pilots so an XLR doesn’t count against their JV scope requirements — also something AA and UA were smart enough not to put into a pilot scope contract.
That said… IBZ being a premium market — I get it… maybe all the DJs going to play for the well-heeled Ryanair youth of Europe but… I guess we’ll see. There are likely enough people enamored by the Ibiza club scene to think it’s super cool and premium until they depart IBZ and see the youth of Europe hungover and drugged out on the floors of the terminal.
Didn’t DL just announce they were growing in Japan with SEA-NRT? Nice try Tim, going after Japan also hurts DL lol.
Yes they are the 4th largest domestic airline in the US, but the difference between 1st and 4th place is a 1% market share gap. Of the big 4 United is growing the fastest domestically so I wonder how long they’ll be in 4th place. Especially as they are getting deliveries faster than their competitors at DL and AA…
I love out of that whole announcement that you think that United flying to Sicily must mean that DL is doing well there. Well they might not be doing well for very long hahahaha
of course UA announced PMO before DL announced CTA but the mere fact that UA is adding flights where DL announced its own unique markets says that both are doing well. UA is clearly not adding flights where DL has an advantage (see Scandinavia discussion) so UA does recognize where there is potential for it to compete w/ other carriers and where it simply does not have a chance to be profitable.
second, AA has not announced its 2027 schedule so let’s see what they do with their XLRs; I am certain they will add a few things that DL and UA serve already but they may well add some routes that make sense for them, some on a summer seasonal basis. AA has a far better chance of succeeding using XLRs to S. America during the northern winter than UA.
UA is well behind AA, DL and WN in the domestic market esp. if you consider the number of cities where UA is #1 or 2 – a far lower number than any of the other big 4. UA’s domestic system is heavily concentrated around its hubs – just as was true with CO – with much lower share in secondary and tertiary US cities which certainly are part of the reason AA and DL can support so much more international service from their interior US hubs than UA.
and UA is simply not adding anything TPAC outside of Japan as many hoped they would do which does leave DL’s aggressive TPAC expansion unchallenged. and DL is still growing its Japan network with the addition of SEA-NRT.
There are a couple of fair observations here, but you’re turning them into conclusions the data don’t support. United is fourth domestically, but BTS has DL 17.9%, AA 17.6%, WN 17.0% and UA 17.0% of domestic RPMs, so “well behind” is doing a lot of work. More importantly, counting the number of secondary cities where an airline is #1 or #2 doesn’t tell you how effectively its network feeds long-haul flying. If United’s hub concentration were such a handicap to international feed, it would be difficult to explain why United actually operates more Atlantic and Pacific flying than any other U.S. carrier.
The same problem applies internationally. UA adding CTA after DL proves UA thinks CTA can support another New York-area nonstop; it doesn’t prove DL is profitable. And today’s UA announcement isn’t generally a copy-DL strategy anyway: eight of the ten new destinations aren’t served nonstop by any other U.S. airline.
As for TPAC, saying UA added no non-Japan flying today is fair. Saying DL’s Pacific expansion is therefore “unchallenged” isn’t. United is already vastly larger across the Pacific, recently added Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City via Hong Kong, added Sapporo and ORD-NRT, and today added Okinawa and LAX-KIX. Delta’s SEA-NRT addition is noteworthy, but it’s better described as DL continuing to rebuild a smaller Pacific network than as UA somehow ceding the region.
Andy,
nowhere did I say that UA’s domestic goal is or should be feed its own international network. They clearly can support their international network including whatever connections they need.
But that is not the same as being relevant in domestic markets throughout the US which UA doesn’t do near as well as AA, DL or WN. and as much as you love to tout UA’s size in NYC, DL is the largest airline at both NYC and LAX and DL’s lead at LAX is wider overall than UA’s lead in NYC without considering the domestic market.
UA is simply a much less domestic focused airline and its international size is heavily boosted by secondary and tertiary markets, many of which are served seasonally.
UA does have access to fare data for DL’s CTA flights. It is highly unlikely that DL is doing poorly and then for UA to add it. nowhere did I say that UA’s announcement overall is a DL copy.
as for TPAC, DL is growing TPAC at twice the rate as UA or did in the 2nd quarter. DL said its growth will almost entirely be focused to Asia going forward. Given that DL is about half the size of UA over the Pacific, DL and UA’s absolute capacity grew by about the same amount.
and if one airline is growing faster, then the other carriers’ share will decrease.
No one has argued that UA isn’t larger to Asia; the question is merely if UA can retain its share given DL’s growth and the data, whether you like it or not, says DL will be a larger share of the TPAC market and its US carrier share will come in part at UA’s expense.
First, I accept the clarification that you weren’t arguing UA’s domestic network is inadequate to feed its international network. But if the claim is that UA is “far less relevant domestically,” what is the metric? BTS has domestic RPM share at DL 17.9%, AA 17.6%, WN 17.0% and UA 17.0%. UA is more hub-concentrated and may rank #1/#2 in fewer secondary markets, but that is not the same as being dramatically less relevant nationally.
On NYC, the latest full-year Port Authority data had UA slightly larger overall than DL in 2025, although DL was clearly larger in domestic NYC traffic. At LAX, I agree DL has the lead. How much that matter in a market contested by all the big airlines plus many international airlines and is split amongst like 5 airports and you’re only looking at one, who knows?
I also think you’re mixing destination count with capacity when you say UA’s international size is heavily boosted by secondary and tertiary seasonal markets. Those routes absolutely add a lot of dots to the map, but they contribute relatively little to total international ASMs. UA’s capacity advantage is driven much more by frequency and major long-haul markets.
On CTA, sure, UA has enough fare and market data to judge whether the market looks attractive. But that still doesn’t give UA DL’s route P&L. UA deciding EWR-CTA works makes good DL performance plausible; it doesn’t prove it.
The TPAC point is where the math gets more important. Yes, DL grew Pacific capacity about 8% in Q2 versus 4.1% for UA. But UA is roughly twice DL’s size, so 4% growth at UA can represent roughly the same absolute capacity addition as 8% at DL.
And DL growing faster does not, by itself, prove that UA’s overall TPAC share will decline. UA’s share declines only if the total TPAC market grows faster than UA’s 4.1%.
For example, if the market starts at UA 50, DL 25 and everyone else 25, UA grows to 52 and DL to 27. If everyone else falls to 20, UA’s share actually rises from 50% to 52.5% even though DL grew twice as fast.
So the correct conclusion is that DL is gaining relative to UA on the margin. Whether UA’s overall market share actually declines depends on what the rest of the market is doing.
There’s also a problem with treating one quarter as a structural trend. UA increased Pacific ASMs 31.1% in 2024 and then deliberately moderated growth to let that capacity mature. DL is now in a faster build-out phase from a much smaller base. Picking Q2 2026 as the benchmark naturally makes DL’s current growth look more dramatic.
So yes, DL is currently growing TPAC faster in percentage terms. But because of the base effect and the total-market denominator, that alone does not establish that UA’s overall Pacific share is falling.
Andy
thank you for the respecful conversation.
UA is #1 or 2 in far fewer domestic markets than AA, DL or WN. UA’s domestic network is heavily concentrated at its hubs; that goes to overall US relevance. Sorry if you don’t know that data but it is the truth.
as for how it all matters in competitive markets like NYC and LAX, DL and UA are pretty near equal in NYC in share and it is really the big 3 that are fighting it out at LAX. Size does matter in those markets just as it does in interior US hubs like ATL or DEN. The question is simply whether serving a bunch more domestic markets year round is more or less valuable than serving a bunch of international destinations on a seasonal basis; we don’t have the data to call that but DL’s higher profits and lower tolerance for risk probably says year round domestic is more profitable esp. in markets where DL is the only carrier from NYC and there are several of those cities.
DL also uses NYC much less as a hub and more for the local market. LGA is almost entirely local market traffic. Port Authority data is for boardings and not local O&D.
DL’s TATL system is about the same size as UA’s WIDEBODY TATL system. in other words, UA’s larger TATL size comes from its use of narrowbodies. The 321XLR will be efficient but they will not significantly increase the size of UA’s TATL system esp. since UA will use a number of them to retire the 757s.
as for the Pacific, DL is growing its share at a faster rate than UA and DL says it intends to keep that up. Some of you missed that Kirby said not that long ago that UA’s aggressive post covid TPAC growth was over. They will keep growing but very likely not as fast as DL. and their growth, by nature will add less strategic value than DL’s will by nature of UA’s current size.
DL enjoyed a 13% cost advantage – over 50 cents/gal on jet fuel in the 2nd quarter. Over the Pacific and considering that DL’s TPAC fleet is nearly exclusively new generation powered while UA still operates a large number of 777s, that is a very significant reason why UA cannot grow TPAC as profitably as DL.
I don’t disagree that UA’s domestic network is more hub-concentrated or that DL has broader #1/#2 positions across secondary U.S. markets. What I disagree with is turning that into “overall U.S. relevance” without showing actual O&D data. UA still carries roughly 17% of domestic RPMs nationally. That is a differently shaped domestic network, not a small one.
The profitability argument also doesn’t work. DL earning higher consolidated margins does not prove year-round domestic routes are more profitable than UA’s seasonal international routes. DL’s margin advantage reflects loyalty, premium revenue, fuel, network mix and many other factors. You cannot reverse-engineer route-category profitability from company-level margins.
And I don’t understand why UA’s narrowbody Atlantic flying is being treated as somehow less meaningful. If UA can profitably serve markets with an XLR that DL chooses not to serve with a widebody, that is exactly the point of the aircraft. “DL is as large as UA if we exclude the part of UA’s network that makes UA larger” is not a particularly compelling comparison.
The same issue exists in TPAC. DL has more major-market holes left to fill, so its incremental routes naturally look more strategically dramatic. UA already serves many of those markets. That doesn’t mean UA’s future additions have less value “by nature of its size”; if anything, a new spoke or frequency can leverage a much larger existing network.
And yes, DL currently has both a newer TPAC fleet and a fuel-cost advantage. But the 53-cent number mixes GAAP fuel-price effects with refinery/hedge economics, and fuel cost alone does not determine route profitability. Saying UA therefore “cannot grow TPAC as profitably as DL” is a conclusion the data do not establish.
first, I do not have the time or space to list data which is readily available but you might want to start with the DOT’s air travel consumer report which lists the number of flights for their top cities for on-time reporting. As I have said here, UA is rarely the second airline outside of its hubs while DL is frequently the 2nd largest airline in AA and WN hubs. AA, DL and WN have the largest positions in nearly every Florida city. UA’s network is heavily concentrated at its hubs and that has been the case ever since the CO merger. UA simply has a much less relevant network outside of its hubs.
We do not know the margin performance of a seasonal narrowbody international flight vs. a year round market served multiple times per day on an RJ (which is a big part of the difference between DL and UA in NYC) but since domestic margins are higher for all US airlines, I would strongly bet my guess is correct.
You might not like DL’s 53 cent/gallon fuel cost advantage in the 2nd quarter but it is as real as UA’s labor cost savings it got for years because it played (and is still playing) hardball w/ labor. DL has figured out how to use the refinery to operate at breakeven during “normal” periods of stable fuel costs and a huge advantage during fuel instability which happened after Russia invaded Ukraine and now with the mess in the Strait. Petroleum analysts expect refinery margins to remain high as far out as they can see. DL will have a financial advantage that just gives it the abililty to do things competitively that other airlines cannot do.
the addition of new large cities or routes to an airline’s network simply provide a bigger strategic benefit to them than adding a bunch of unique secondary or tertiary routes or destinations esp. if served seasonally which alot of UA’s announcement involves.
here’s a question
Why doesn’t anyone including United from the West Coast serve Milan?
I love the destinations like Spilt but this one seems too obvious to ignore
Yes, I’m surprised – I’d think there would be demand.
It’s been done in relatively recent history.
Air Italy (yes. Air Italy. Not ITA or Alitalia) flew MXP-LAX/SFO seasonally Apr>October of 2019 then liquidated in 2020.
@MaxPower, oh how I miss Air Italy!
My MXP-SFO review:
https://liveandletsfly.com/air-italy-a330-business-class-review/
Greetings to the merry memories of IG (2018-2020)!
Remember that in the past, DY also operated direct flights between MXP and LAX for only about 4 months. These flights started on June 18, 2018 and were permanently discontinued on October 27, 2018.
Strangely, it is quite true that there are currently no direct flights from the U.S. West Coast (such as LAX, SFO, or SEA) to Milan, Italy. To reach Milan from the West Coast, one will need to take a connecting flight, typically stopping at a major East Coast or European hub (such as JFK, FRA, CDG, or AMS) via airlines like AZ, LH, or UA.
Beyond all the operational discussions, these types of announcements are also about feeding our deep passions and dreams to explore the world.
Of course Houston gets screwed as usual.
What an awesome announcement. I was definitely wrong about LUX, but I’ll take it! I’m really hoping to get on that OKA flight. I love Okinawa and like the idea of starting a Japan trip there. That way you can do your Hyatt hopping, spend 15K AA miles to fly the JL A350 to HND in F, and never have to backtrack.
would the max 10 really allow for transatlantic flights?
It has far less range than does the max 8
Now, maybe the max 7 could open up new routes a sit ha squite a bit more range than does a max 8
UAL’s Chicago O’Hare hub did not receive new international route. On the surface, it should be Chicago be given the route to connect to Osaka, connecting east coast to Japan’s second largest metropolitan.
United flew nonstop ORD-KIX in the 90’s and early 2000’s but couldn’t make it work even when switching from the 747-400 to a 777-200. Also, United flew IAD-MXP nonstop during the same time period–again, couldn’t make it work at that time. So, it’s a re-introduction, NOT a new route.
Last year, Air Canada flies Toronto-Osaka route 3 times weekly during summer. ANA has close partnership with both AC and UAL.
UAL may simply copy the same strategy apply to ORD-KIX, using smaller B787-9, which is slightly smaller than B777-200ER.
Okinawa makes a lot of sense. UA will have the unique market of military dependents and other family of forces serving in Okinawa who previously could not fly there directly on a US carrier. Twenty years ago, it used to take me about thirty hours of travel time to get there from the east coast, including three flights and a limo bus ride across Tokyo from NRT-HND and then a long layover to get the flight to OKA as it had to be on a Japanese carrier; there were no direct flights from NRT-OKA.
For aviation enthusiasts → Let’s recall that UA’s new A321XLR fleet will replace the airline’s veteran g B757-200s. UA currently has 1 A321XLR in its fleet out of a total order of 50 aircraft. The first delivery arrived in June 2026, with additional aircraft scheduled to join the fleet over the coming months and years.
A well-thought-out new global expansion strategy… It appears that starting in March 2027, UA is intentionally bypassing overcrowded tourist hubs to target highly sought-after, niche international locations. The said expansion relies heavily on the carrier’s brand-new, long-range A321XLR jetliners. This fleet allows UA to fly lower-demand routes that would otherwise be inefficient for massive widebody jets.