United Airlines announces new international routes for 2027, adding flights to Sicily, Okinawa and other cities

United Airlines said Tuesday it will add a series of new nonstop international flights starting in March 2027. The airline will begin service from San Francisco to Okinawa, Japan, on March 27, and from Newark to several European cities, including Ljubljana, Slovenia; Olbia and Catania in Italy; Ibiza and Valencia in Spain; Marseille in France; and Terceira in the Azores, Portugal, between May and June. Two additional routes targeting business travelers will connect Newark with Luxembourg and Washington Dulles with Toulouse, France.

"All these new international destinations ... have become much longer seasons instead of just flying during the summer," United CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC. "These go all the way through October. October has become one of our best months of the year."

Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president for global network planning and alliances, said the carrier aims to be a "one-stop shop" for travelers at different life stages, from backpackers to business passengers, and noted growing demand for open-jaw itineraries that allow passengers to fly into one city and out of another.

United said the expansion brings its total of new destinations added since 2021 to 49, and it now operates nonstop flights to 32 of those locations. The airline emphasized that no existing routes will be discontinued to accommodate the new services. United remains the second-most profitable U.S. carrier, trailing only Delta Air Lines, which has announced its own additions on trans-Pacific routes.

Additional announcements from United include nonstop service from Los Angeles to Osaka, Japan, a new Denver-Paris flight, and the resumption of San Francisco-Tel Aviv service. Earlier this year the airline also said it plans to start San Francisco-Sapporo flights in December.