United Expands Winter Horizons with Record-Breaking Schedule

With winter right around the corner, United is gearing up to deliver its most extensive winter schedule ever, offering customers unprecedented opportunities to explore sun-soaked and snow-covered destinations.

After recently announcing eight new destinations in Greenland, Europe, and Asia and a record summer season that served 48 million passengers, United anticipates a significant increase in winter travelers.

The airline plans to operate nearly 4,600 flights daily during peak season. United’s winter offerings include expansions across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. These include new routes and improved services to popular destinations.

Top Ski and Sun Destinations

As part of its domestic winter schedule, United is boosting service to nearly 140 airports, focusing on seasonal hotspots. From January to March, travelers can look forward to 13 percent more seats to warm-weather retreats like Phoenix, San Diego, and Palm Springs.

Indian Wells Golf Resort, California / Photo: Courtesy of Visit Greater Palm Springs

United is also enhancing its winter ski offerings with an extensive slate of flights to top U.S. ski towns, nearly tripling the number of flights of any other U.S. airline.

The airline is adding more Embraer E-175 aircraft on popular routes to Aspen, CO, and Mammoth, CA, ensuring more premium seating for travelers.

Aspen Snowmass, Colorado / Photo: Courtesy of Snowmass

Seasonal routes include weekend service from Washington/Dulles to Bozeman, MT, and new flights between Newark and Bozeman. In February, United will introduce weekend service from Chicago to Gunnison/Crested Butte, CO, and a second daily flight from Newark to Jackson Hole, WY.

In Florida, United is boosting departures from hub airports to destinations like Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Palm Beach, along with the return of nonstop routes from Cleveland to Cancun and multiple Florida cities.

The airline’s enhanced schedule on key domestic winter destinations is as follows:

Africa and Exclusive Routes to Asia

Overseas, United is making history in its African network this winter, establishing itself as the only airline connecting the U.S. directly to Marrakesh, Morocco, with a new route from Newark launching on October 24.

Photo: Marrakech, Morocco. Courtesy of Paul Macallan / Unsplash

This service marks a milestone in United’s global strategy, as it now offers the most direct African destinations of any U.S. airline, including recent expansions to Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria, from Washington Dulles.

Patrick Quayle, United’s Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, emphasized the breadth of United’s options for travelers this winter. “This winter, we’re offering more flights to more destinations to give customers the widest range of places to explore,” he said.

“Whether that’s adventuring somewhere new overseas, unwinding with some sun, or enjoying the best ski towns in the country, we’re pleased to offer easy access to the top destinations for winter getaways,” Quayle said.

United’s updated African network for this winter is as follows:

The airline also strengthened its position in Asia with an inaugural route to Cebu, Philippines, launching on October 27. United will be the only U.S. airline offering direct flights to Cebu, serving daily flights on a Boeing 737-800 from its Tokyo/Narita hub.

Photo: Simala Churchin Cebu, Philippines. Courtesy of Hitoshi Namura on Unsplash

This winter, United will expand services with an additional daily route between San Francisco and Seoul-Incheon and between Los Angeles and Hong Kong and increase flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai to daily service starting October 26.

Here is United’s updated Asian schedule for this winter:

European Adventures Extended Through Winter

Over in Europe, things are also getting heated with more destinations and increased service. United has responded to booming demand for European travel by extending popular seasonal routes well into winter.

Travelers will have more options to reach iconic European destinations, with flights to Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Photo: Piazza di Spagna in Rome, Italy. Courtesy of Vlas Telino studio/Shutterstock

Notably, flights from Chicago to Rome and Milan and from Washington/Dulles to Madrid will now run until December, while daily service between Washington/Dulles and Lisbon has been extended to January.

Here is United’s updated European schedule for the upcoming winter:

Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean

United’s Latin American network is growing robustly, with nearly 10 percent more flights this winter than last year.

A new route to Medellin, Colombia, will launch from Houston in November, joining United’s existing flights to Bogota.

Photo: Medellin, Colombia. Courtesy of Joel Duncan / Unsplash

In February, United will introduce weekly nonstop flights from Newark to Dominica, becoming the only airline connecting the Northeast U.S. to the island.

In Mexico, the airline is increasing flights from San Francisco to Monterrey, with twice-daily service and a seasonal route to Belize City.

United also plans to expand Caribbean service, including weekly flights from Newark to St. Kitts, beginning early in November. The airline will also extend service from Newark to Bermuda into the winter months, making it a year-round route.

Photo: Bermuda. Courtesy of Kino on Unsplash

Additional winter holiday service is slated between Newark and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, accommodating the peak travel demand during Carnival.

Overall, the airline’s updated South American and Caribbean network for this winter will look like this:

An Ambitious Winter Network

As United embarks on its largest winter schedule to date, the carrier is setting a new standard in meeting global travel demand. Notable additions, such as the exclusive U.S. service to Marrakesh and Cebu, highlight United’s ambition to connect American travelers to increasingly diverse destinations.

Similarly, expanded routes in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe reinforce United’s strategy to adapt to year-round international travel trends, extending options for both leisure and business travelers.