United announced 13 new international routes and 3 'fifth freedom' flights to far-flung destinations

14.10.2024 - 16:54 / insider.com / United Airlines

United Airlines is making bold route decisions as it continues to expand its giant international presence.

The Chicago-based carrier on Thursday announced 13 new routes across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America starting in the summer of 2025.

Eight are to niche destinations new to United, including Nuuk, Greenland; Dakar, Senegal; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The expansion will further cement United's place as the US' largest international carrier across the Atlantic and Pacific.

Mongolia adds to United's growing list of "fifth-freedom" routes from of Tokyo's Narita International Airport. Other new fifth-freedom routes include Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and the western Pacific country of Palau from Tokyo. The airline previously announced Cebu, Philippines from the Japanese capital, to launch later in October.

The so-called fifth freedom of the sky allows airlines to fly between two countries outside their own, so long as their home nation is the start or end point. They stem from a UN body's 1944 "Freedoms of the Air" agreement.

For example, UAE-based Emirates stops in Milan between New York and Dubai, while Singapore Airlines stops in Frankfurt, Germany, between New York and Singapore.

Patrick Quayle, United Airlines' SVP of global network planning and alliances, told reporters thatthe Tokyo routes could use crews based at United's Guam hub, helping the airline gain an edge in Asia.

The airline's Europe expansion goes beyond Greenland. It will also begin new flights to off-the-beaten-path destinations in Portugal, Italy, France, and Spain, from its hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Washington Dulles International Airport.

Quayle said these far-flung cities will attract new customers and help United differentiate itself from competitors. They add to a growing list of unique places for United, which has flown nonstop to cities like Dubrovnik, Croatia; Tenerife, Spain; and Ponta Delgada, Portugal, for years.

Here's the full list of United's 11 new overseas routes, and two additional to Mexico and Costa Rica: