Greenland, Palermo & more: United announces 7 new transatlantic routes

United Airlines, a Star Alliance member, has announced seven new routes across the Atlantic today. Unfortunately, there are no new routes to Germany, but there are other exciting destinations. For example, United will now fly from New York to Greenland and Sicily.

United Airlines Boing B777 (Source: wikimedia.com)

In addition, United will introduce three more routes within Asia, further strengthening its small hub in Tokyo-Narita. From Tokyo, the airline will now fly to Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Koror (Palau), and Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).

Seven new transatlantic routes

In total, today’s announcement includes eight new destinations added to the route network: five in Europe, two in Asia, and one in Africa. Here is an overview of the new transatlantic routes:

United's new routes out of the US (Source: GCMap.com)

• New York EWR – Palermo PMO, starting May 21, 2025

• New York EWR – Bilbao BIO, starting May 31, 2025

• New York EWR – Madeira FNC, starting June 7, 2025

• New York EWR – Nuuk GOH, starting June 14, 2025

• Washington D.C. IAD – Venice VCE, starting May 22, 2025

• Washington D.C. IAD – Dakar DSS, starting May 23, 2025

• Washington D.C. IAD – Nice NCE, starting May 24, 2025

• New York EWR – Faro FAO, starting May 16, 2025 (this route was supposed to launch in 2024, so it’s not entirely new)

With the exception of Dakar, these destinations will only be served seasonally during the summer.

New medium-haul routes from Tokyo

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, United already operated a small base at Tokyo-Narita and still retains traffic rights there, which is unusual for a U.S. airline. With recent underperformance on flights to and from Guam, some aircraft will be shifted to Tokyo. This change had already been hinted at during the summer.

Here are the new routes from Tokyo starting in 2025:

United's new routes from Tokyo (Source: GCMap.com)

• Tokyo NRT – Ulaanbaatar UBN, starting May 1, 2025

• Tokyo NRT – Kaohsiung KHH, starting July 11, 2025

• Tokyo NRT – Koror ROR, starting summer 2025

The Ulaanbaatar route will only operate in the summer, while the other two routes will be year-round.

Conclusion

United has a history of surprising us with interesting new routes, including being the only airline to offer long-haul flights from Mallorca. Now, the airline is adding even more exciting destinations. We find the new route to Greenland especially attractive, although it’s not as intriguing as the Iqaluit-Nuuk route with Air Greenland. Unfortunately, there are no new routes to and from Germany, as United continues to focus on Frankfurt and Munich.