United Airlines is adding 10 international destinations in its biggest expansion ever

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Flights to Okinawa, Ibiza, Luxembourg City, and 7 other cities will begin as early as March 2027, with 8 of the 10 routes departing from Newark

PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty Images

United Airlines announced the largest international network expansion in its history on Tuesday, adding 10 new destinations across Europe and Asia beginning as early as March 2027.

The new nonstop routes will connect U.S. travelers to Okinawa, Japan; Toulouse, France; Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Marseille, France; Ibiza, Spain; Valencia, Spain; Terceira, Portugal; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Olbia in Sardinia, Italy; and Catania in Sicily, Italy. Eight of the 10 destinations will be served from Newark Liberty International Airport, with the remaining two departing from San Francisco and Washington Dulles. United noted that eight of the 10 new cities lack any existing nonstop U.S. carrier service.

The announcement also included three additional routes to cities United already serves: daily service from Los Angeles to Osaka, Japan, starting March 27; three-times-weekly nonstop service from Washington, D.C. to Milan, Italy, starting May 28; and daily nonstop service from Denver to Paris starting May 27. United also said it will restart San Francisco to Tel Aviv service on March 28.

"The creative and strategic way we've expanded our international network since the pandemic has made all the difference, not only for our customers and employees, but also as a way to differentiate United and build a brand focused on customers," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. "We offer the most flights across the Atlantic and Pacific and Newark is the best Atlantic gateway in the country."

The Newark expansion was made possible in part by FAA slot allocations, Kirby said. "The FAA has, after years, finally done what we asked and slotted, and now Newark is the most reliable of the three New York airports," he told CBS News. "Now that you have Newark running the best it's ever run, that enables us to add eight new destinations out of Newark across the Atlantic."

Several of the new European routes will be operated by United's new Airbus A321XLR, which the airline debuted at an event at Newark on Tuesday. The single-aisle jet offers lie-flat Polaris business class seats, complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members, and Economy Plus seating with additional elbow room beside an open middle seat. The A321XLR is scheduled to begin domestic flying in September before launching international service on December 1 from Washington Dulles to Amsterdam and Dublin.

United said it has added 58 international destinations to its route map since 2017 and now flies to more than 160 international destinations. Kirby had signaled plans to announce a new batch of international routes, noting that growing international service fuels customer loyalty and drives enrollment in United's co-branded credit cards. He also said the airline intends to keep extending its reach abroad despite already leading all U.S. carriers in international flight volume.

All new routes are subject to government approval, United said.

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