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It's always exciting when an airline launches new routes. Last year, United announced four new routes that started early this summer, including Split and Bari. Now, United is back with more unique locations planned for 2027 to whet your travel appetite.
Ten new destinations will begin service in May 2027 — nine in Europe, plus one Asian destination. In addition to the new destinations, United will introduce three new routes to destinations it already serves. If you are looking for inspiration for a trip next summer, here are all the details.
New United Destinations for Summer 2027
Beginning as early as March 2027, United will service the following new destinations:
- Okinawa, Japan (OKA)
- Olbia, Italy (OLB)
- Terceira, Portugal (TER)
- Toulouse, France (TLS)
- Valencia, Spain (VLC)
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (LUX)
- Catania, Italy (CTA)
- Ibiza, Spain (IBZ)
- Ljubljana, Slovenia (LJU)
- Marseille, France (MRS)
To make things more exciting, seven of these routes cannot currently be reached non-stop from the U.S. on any other airline. Five of them will be flown on United's new A321XLR. According to the press release, United will serve more destinations in Japan, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France than any other U.S. carrier.
This expansion is exciting for U.S. travelers — especially award travelers — as it brings several new locations within reach without having to connect in Europe. As you can see on the map below, these cities cover much of the continent.
United New Route Launch Dates
United is rolling out these new routes throughout next summer with varying frequency and duration. See all the details here:
| Route | Start Date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco (SFO) to Okinawa (OKA) | March 27 | 3 times weekly through Oct. 27 |
| Newark (EWR) to Luxembourg (LUX) | April 2 | Daily year-round service |
| Washington D.C. (IAD) to Toulouse (TLS) | April 26 | Daily year-round service |
| Newark (EWR) to Ljubljana (LJU) | May 12 | 4 times weekly through Oct. 29 |
| Newark (EWR) to Olbia, Sardinia (OLB) | May 27 | 3 times weekly through Sept. 21 |
| Newark (EWR) to Catania, Sicily (CTA) | May 28 | 4 times weekly through Sept. 20 |
| Newark (EWR) to Ibiza (IBZ) | May 31 | 4 times weekly through Oct. 7 |
| Newark (EWR) to Valencia, Spain (VLC) | June 2 | 3 times weekly through Oct. 6 |
| Newark (EWR) to Marseille, France (MRS) | June 4 | Daily through Oct. 29 |
| Newark (EWR) to Terceira, Azores (TER) | June 9 | 3 times weekly through Sept. 5 |
As you can see, some routes have more frequent service, and some — like Luxembourg and Toulouse — are slated for year-round operation. Most will fly from United's Newark hub.
So whether it's the beaches of Ibiza, the mountains of the Azores, or Lake Bled in Slovenia, United can get you there efficiently.
MileagePlus Award Pricing on the New Routes
It isn't too early to start thinking about summer 2027 travel, and many of these routes are already bookable using United MileagePlus miles. Let's look at a couple of examples.
Newark to Luxembourg
To fly eight hours from Newark to Luxembourg, you'll spend 40,000 miles in economy. It's 10% cheaper for United credit card holders. The other classes are not intriguing in this example, but if you can find saver awards, premium cabins can be an option.
San Francisco to Okinawa
The almost 13-hour flight from San Francisco to Okinawa comes in at 55,000 miles in economy. Not bad!
Washington D.C. to Toulouse
Finally, the Washington D.C. to Toulouse example really highlights the savings available to United cardholders. This route comes in at an uninspiring 93,900 miles in economy, but look at the small print. Cardholders can snag this flight for 36,000 miles — a 62% discount!
United's Expanding Routes
Beyond the new destinations, United is beefing up flights to already-served cities. Adding flights to major cities like Paris and Milan is great news.
| Route | Start Date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angles (LAX) to Osaka, Japan (KIX) | March 27 | Daily year-round service |
| Denver (DEN) to Paris (CDG) | May 27 | Daily year-round service |
| Washington D.C. (IAD) to Milan (MXP) | May 28 | 3 times weekly |
Bottom Line
The more choices, the better when booking an award ticket. United Airlines is helping travelers by offering even more options to Europe and Asia. Access to these more remote, yet popular, cities via non-stop flights is a big win for U.S.-based travelers.
Whether you accumulate United miles through flights or transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt Points, there are plenty of ways to acquire miles to book these flights starting in Summer 2027.
The only downside is that we aren't seeing much business class saver award availability right now. But if you are fine with flying economy or want to scour awards for business class seats, you should have no problem checking out these unique destinations with your points and miles.
If you want to stock up on United miles for travel next year, here are some great offers to do so:
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150Rates & Fees
- Earn at least 9X total miles on eligible United flights (excluding Basic Economy and other base fares)*
- 3X miles on all other eligible United purchases
- 2X miles on dining and direct hotel stays
- 1X on all other purchases
- 6x miles on the primary cardmember’s fare from United as a MileagePlus member
- 3x miles on United purchases with the United℠ Explorer Card
$350Rates & Fees
- Earn at least 10X total miles on eligible United flights (excluding Basic Economy and other base fares)*
- 5X miles on hotel stays at Renowned Hotels and Resorts
- 4X miles on eligible United purchases
- 2X miles on all other travel, select streaming services and dining
- 1X on all other purchases
- 6X miles on the primary cardmember’s fare from United as a MileagePlus member
- 4X miles on entire United purchases with the United Quest℠ Card
$695Rates & Fees
- Earn at least 11X total miles on eligible United flights (excluding Basic Economy and other base fares)*
- 5X miles on hotel stays at Renowned Hotels and Resorts
- 5X miles on eligible United purchases
- 2X miles on dining and all other travel
- 1X on all other purchases
- 6X miles on the primary cardmember’s fare from United as a MileagePlus member
- 5X miles on entire United purchases with the United Club℠ Card
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
