United Airlines is ramping up service to three nations that are welcoming vaccinated U.S. citizens with new summer service to Athens (Greece), Dubrovnik (Croatia), and Reykjavik (Iceland).
United Airlines Adds Washington – Athens Service
From July 1st through October 3rd, United will add daily flights between Washington Dulles (IAD) and Athens, Greece (ATH). The schedule will be timed to maximum connections to nearly 100 cities to/from IAD, operating at the following times:
- UA982 – Washington – Athens dep 5:35pm arr 10:20am+1
- UA983 – Athens – Washington dep 12:05pm arr 4:05pm
United will use a retrofitted Boeing 787-8 for the new IAD-ATH service, featuring:
- 28 seats – Polaris (business class)
- 21 seats – Premium Plus (premium economy)
- 26 seats – EconomyPlus (extra legroom economy)
- 158 seats – United Economy (economy class)
United will also resume daily service between Newark (EWR) and Athens starting on June 3rd.
I recently reviewed the retrofitted 787-8 in business class here.
> Read More: United Airlines 787-8 Polaris Business Class Review
United Airlines Adds Newark – Dubrovnik Service
From July 8th through October 3rd, United will operate three weekly flights between Newark and Dubrovnik, Croatia (DBV). The flight will depart Newark on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays and return from Dubrovnik on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
- UA385 – Newark – Dubrovnik dep 7:20pm arr 10:15am+1
- UA386 – Dubrovnik – Newark dep 12:15pm arr 4:25pm
United will use a Boeing 767-300 for the new EWR-DBV service, featuring:
- 30 seats – Polaris (business class)
- 49/46 seats – EconomyPlus (extra legroom economy)
- 135/138 seats – United Economy (economy class)
Note that not all of United’s 767-300s have been retrofitted. While all have 30 seats in business class, the older configuration has 49 seats in EconomyPlus and 135 seats in United Economy while the retrofitted version has 46 seats in EconomyPlus and 138 seats in United Economy.
Business class is in a 2-1-2 configuration on the older aircraft (window seats do not have direct aisle access) while business class is in a staggered 1-1-1 configuration on the retrofitted aircraft. I recently reviewed the 767-300 in business class here. There are only two aircraft with the older seat configuration left in service and those are currently being used for domestic flying, so expect the new configuration on this route.
> Read More: United Airlines 767-300 Business Class Review
United Airlines Adds Chicago – Reykjavik Service
From July 1st through October 3rd, United will add daily service from Chicago (ORD) to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF). The schedule will be timed to maximum connections to over 100 cities to/from ORD:
- UA912 – Chicago – Reykjavík dep 7:45pm arriving 7:00am+1
- UA913 – Reykjavík – Chicago dep 11:00am arriving 12:45pm
United will use a Boeing 757-200 for the new ORD-KEF service, featuring:
- 16 seats – Polaris (business class)
- 45 seats – EconomyPlus (extra legroom economy)
- 108 seats – United Economy (economy class)
Business class is four row of 2-2 seating. I recently reviewed United’s 757-200 in business class here.
> Read More: United Airlines 757-200 Business Class Review
CONCLUSION
It is exciting to see United Airlines add new international routes after more than a year of severely depressed international traffic. Each route holds unique appeal in the pandemic era, as Croatia, Greece, and Iceland have (or will in the case of Greece on May 14, 2021) begin welcoming American travelers once again.
United also plans to move ahead with the following service in 2021:
- Chicago (ORD) – Amsterdam (AMS)
- Chicago (ORD) – Munich (MUC)
- Chicago (ORD) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Chicago (ORD) – Tokyo (HND)
- Newark (EWR) – Johannesburg (JNB)
- Newark (EWR) – Milan (MXP)
- Newark (EWR) – Rome (FCO)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Bangalore (BLR)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Tahiti (PPT)
- Washington (IAD) – Accra (ACC)
- Washington (IAD) – Lagos (LOS)
Get your passports ready!
Will you take advantage of the new United Airlines Croatia, Greece, and Iceland service?
Great, Greece has high levels of Covid and so do parts of the US. Covid soup, mix up those variants, what could go wrong…
Wonderful to see so many new and resumed international routes. Any idea or rumors as to when UA will resume SKB service?
No. I would think UA would be ready to return to St. Kitts.
With all the international routes planned for this summer, wonder when we will see the Polaris Lounges start to reopen?
Thanks for the update!! Your blog was the first one where I saw this new, so I thank you for putting it out there.
Thank you Jason.
Any info when the LAS United Club might reopen ?
Especially with returning Conventions this Summer!
No news (I’ve asked). But hopefully this summer!
More crowds and over-saturation. Soon every place will become like Venice. No thanks.
Good routes, but how much would realistically be open? Wouldn’t really be fun to go overseas and just kind of be relegated to staying in a hotel and walking around and eating at fast food places.
That’s a good question. Still too early to tell.