United Announces Largest International Expansion in Carrier’s History: 8 New Cities and 13 Routes

In the airline's largest international expansion yet, United will soon by flying to a handful of additional cities from around the world, giving travelers and rewards members more choices for where to fly on vacation. These new routes will go into effect just in time for the next summer season.

Uniting The Globe

United Airlines issued a press release on Thursday morning announcing its "largest international expansion" in the airline's 98-year history. Starting in the summer of 2025, the airline will manage flights to and from eight new cities outside of North America.

The eight international cities are as follows:

• Nuuk, Greenland (starting June 14)
• Palermo, Italy (starting May 21)
• Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (starting May 1)
• Faro, Portugal (starting May 16)
• Madeira Island, Portugal (starting June 7)
• Dakar, Senegal (starting May 23)
• Bilbao, Spain (starting May 31)
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan (starting July 11)

The first of these flights kicks off on May 1 with a flight to Ulaanbaatar. United boasts that it will be the only U.S. airline to fly to Mongolia. Six of these new routes will fly directly to their destinations without needing a connecting flight.

The two destinations that need connecting flights will be flights to Mongolia and Taiwan. Both of these flights will involve a stopover at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan.

With these new destinations, United is poised to manage its largest trans-Atlantic flight schedule, with more than 40 destinations — the most for any airline. United is preparing to manage more than 760 of these flights weekly.

The airline's summer 2025 schedule currently features flights to other popular travel countries such as France, Spain, Greece, and Italy.

United will also increase the number of flights to pre-existing routes this summer. Travelers will have more options for flying to cities such as Dubrovnik, Croatia, Athens, Greece, and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Outside of the U.S., the airline will be managing new flights between Tokyo, Japan and Kaohsiung, Taiwan and Tokyo and Ulaanbatar, Mongolia. So American travelers can also visit Japan, and vice versa, by flying exclusively with United without having to first fly to the U.S. west coast.

The airline touts this as a very diverse selection of destinations for travelers that want to visit somewhere cold or hot, cultural or in-demand, Asian, European, or African.

United Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances Patrick Quayle gave comments on the new additions to the airline's summer schedule:

"Our network provides the most choice and variety for our customers, whether they are looking for a relaxing seaside getaway, once-in-a-lifetime adventure travel or to explore some of the most vibrant urban escapes across the globe."

On the press release, United provides more information on each new destination city and how often flights will be managed to these cities during the summer.

What To Watch For

United will manage flights to and from seven of these new cities through its Newark Hub in Newark, New Jersey. Travelers that don't live nearby will need to drive or fly to the Gateway City to head to one of these international cities with United. The Senegal flight, on the other hand, will be managed at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C.

The airline stresses throughout the press release that most of these newly added flights are seasonal, so if you're planning to fly to Bilbao, Spain during the fall, for example, the flight may not be available with United. Of all the new flights, the Senegal flight and the Japan/Taiwan flight are the only two that will operate all year-round.

For a major U.S. airline to be flying to lesser-traveled countries like Senegal and Mongolia, United certainly can afford to be experimental with new flights as the demand for air travel grows each year.