Today (September 12th, 2017) United Airlines announced 4 new seasonal routes to Europe set to commence in summer 2018. The routes will originate from the airlines’ hubs in Newark (New York), Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
Newark (EWR) to Porto, Portugal (OPO):
United will serve the Northern Portuguese city daily on board its Boeing 757 aircraft starting May 4th, 2018. The route will continue through the summer and cease to operate in early October of the same year. Here are the flight times:
Newark (EWR) to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF):
United will serve the Icelandic capital daily on board its Boeing 757 aircraft starting May 23rd, 2018. The route will run through the summer and end on the same day as the Porto flight (October 4th).
These two routes from Newark will be United’s only non-stop links to both Reykjavik and Porto, as the airline does not serve either airport from any other hub.
Washington D.C. (IAD) to Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI):
This flight’s logistics are almost identical to the previous route to KEF, as United will serve the Scottish capital daily and again roster its Boeing 757 aircraft on the route. In addition, the route will commence May 23rd, 2018 and cease operations on October 4th, 2018.
United’s internationally configured 757’s are outfitted in a 3 class configuration consisting of 16 fully flat Polaris (business class) seats, 45 economy plus seats, and 108 standard economy seats for a total of 169 seats.
Keep in mind that United now refers to all of its business class as Polaris, although only a small percentage of its aircraft actually have the newly designed seats so far (only on 777-300ER’s and a handful of 767’s). As a result, United’s 757 business class is configured in a 2-2 layout, meaning passengers sitting in the window seat will not have direct isle access (although all passengers in this cabin will have fully flat seats).
Economy class is configured in a pretty standard 3-3 layout for a 757. All passengers will have power outlets, seat-back entertainment, and Wi-Fi. This is significantly superior to American’s international 757’s which do not feature any of the above.
San Francisco (SFO) to Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH):
United will serve Switzerland’s largest city on a daily basis on board Boeing 787-8 aircraft starting June 7th, 2018. The flight will cease operations on October 27th, 2018.
United’s 787-8’s are outfitted in a 3 class configuration consisting of 36 fully flat Polaris (business class) seats, 70 economy plus seats, and 113 standard economy seats for a total of 219 seats. Again, do not mistake this for the new Polaris hard product. The business class cabin is arranged in a 2-2-2 layout, while economy is in a 3-3-3 layout.
This flight will complement United’s Star Alliance partner SWISS, which flies daily between ZRH and SFO. As a result, the Alliance will maintain its monopoly on non-stop California to Switzerland routes, as they are the only carriers who offer non-stop service between the two regions.
SWISS operates its wonderfully new 777-300ER on the route, and customers a premium heavy configuration consisting of first class, business class, and economy. Take a look at the two Star Alliance partner’s products below.
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To the Point!
These routes complement United’s existing network to Europe, and will help the airline secure additional leisure travelers during the summer season. In recent years, we have seen airports like KEF and EDI explode in popularity and extend numerous routes across the Atlantic to North America. This is in part thanks to (1) these destinations’ tourist appeal and (2) the growing number of low cost carriers looking to shake up the market and offering extremely cheap fares.
Lets hope the Transatlantic route expansion keeps on giving! More routes on a variety of airlines means more choices for consumers; which translates to cheaper fares.
*Featured Image Courtesy of United
Route Guide 
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