United Airlines is in international expansion mode once again.
The U.S. carrier has revealed a trio of new international destinations, spanning three different continents. From Morocco to the Philippines (and somewhere in between), it’s a diverse selection.
There are also route resumptions and increased frequencies to existing United services. Here are the key highlights to watch in the coming months:
From October 24, United will strengthen its African offering with a new route to Morocco. The service will link Newark with Marrakech and be operated three times weekly.
United will be flying its Boeing 767-300ERs on the new service. Alongside a regular economy cabin, there are 22 Premium Plus (premium economy) options and 46 of United’s signature Polaris (business class) seats.
The addition of Marrakech is notable as it will make United the only U.S. carrier serving the city. Air Transat is the only other nonstop transatlantic operator from Marrakech. The Canadian leisure carrier is due to start a year-round service from Montreal in June.
Within Africa, United already flies to Accra (Ghana) and Lagos (Nigeria), as well as Cape Town and Johannesburg (South Africa).
New Route: Cebu, The Philippines
Shifting focus to the Far East, United is boosting its presence in the Philippines. From July 31, the airline will fly to the central city of Cebu. A daily service will be offered, operated by Boeing 737-800 planes.
Crossing the Pacific on a single-aisle aircraft that typically flies two or three-hour journeys sounds odd, right? The answer lies in United’s vast Pacific network.
When the Chicago-based airline merged with Continental in 2010 it ultimately acquired much of the latter’s extensive Micronesian network. This included shorter services to and from the U.S. island territory of Guam, as well as Japan and the Philippines.
As such, United will be flying the narrowbody jet from Tokyo Narita Airport to Cebu, with a flight time of around 4.5 hours. Passengers will be able to transit in the Japanese capital with United’s long-haul flights.
The airline already operates a direct link between San Francisco and Manila. It also flies to Manila from Guam and Palau.
According to the Philippines Department of Tourism, the U.S. was its second largest source market in 2023, with 836,694 arrivals.