United Plans 2023 Transatlantic Expansion

United Airlines in 2023 will add transatlantic service to three cities and increase service to six more, the company announced Wednesday.

The carrier will add service on May 27 between Newark Liberty International Airport and Stockholm and on May 31 between Malaga, Spain, and Newark. On March 25, United will add previously announced service between Newark and Dubai.

In addition, United will add service to some currently served European destinations. The carrier on May 25 will add daily service between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and each Shannon, Ireland, and Barcelona. That same day, it will launch daily service to Rome from San Francisco International Airport, as well as daily service between Washington Dulles International Airport and Berlin.

United on March 25 plans to add a second daily flight between Los Angeles International Airport and London's Heathrow Airport, and on June 2 will launch a second daily flight between Washington Dulles and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

United SVP of global network planning and alliances Patrick Quayle during a Tuesday conference call said all transatlantic service the carrier launched for the 2022 summer season would return, with the exception of service between Newark and Bergen, Norway.

Quayle said United's summer 2023 transatlantic capacity would be 10 percent to 11 percent larger than 2022 capacity, as measured in available seat miles, and about 30 percent larger than 2019.

He acknowledged that capacity caps at some airports in Europe, including Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, has affected some service. 

Meanwhile, Quayle said "we plan on phasing capacity in over the winter months" to Japan, which has begun to ease restrictions on international travel.