United Airlines’ International Operations Out Of Newark

United’s largest transatlantic hub sits across the Hudson River from the bustling city of New York and serves destinations across the globe. The carrier completely dominates traffic at the airport, maintaining a market share of over 67% at New Jersey’s busiest airport.

Unsurprisingly, with nearly 33 million passengers annually at the airport, United‘s international route network from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is expansive and dynamic. While the airport serves as a key linchpin for the carrier’s transatlantic operations, the airline also flies to various Latin American, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian destinations. In this article, we’ll take a deep look at United’s international routes from Newark.

European connections

Given its status as a major transatlantic hub, it is natural that European destinations are at the forefront of the carrier’s international operations at EWR. In total, United serves 16 year-round destinations in the continent, alongside 12 other seasonal locations.

As one would expect, the carrier’s year-round destinations are usually high-volume traditional hub-and-spoke style destinations, such as London Heathrow Airport (LHR) or Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). To these high-demand destinations, the carrier traditionally flies its high-capacity Boeing 777-200 and 777-300ER aircraft. Some smaller year-round destinations see service with Boeing 767 jets.

Photo: Great Circle Mapper

The airline’s seasonal routes in Europe are a bit more fascinating to explore, as many are lower-demand destinations less traditionally served by a hub-and-spoke legacy carrier like United. Thankfully, the airline has a Swiss army knife of an aircraft on its side, the Boeing 757. By utilizing the long-range narrowbody twinjet, the airline can profitably operate to destinations such as Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) and Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN).

Middle Eastern, African, and Asian Destinations

From its Newark hub, United operates to various destinations across the Asian continent and in South Africa. These seven airports in six cities include some of United’s longest routes, including the carrier’s service to O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, which sits at nearly 8,000 miles in length. In South Africa, United Airlines also flies to Cape Town International Airport (CPT).

Photo: Great Circle Mapper

Recently, the carrier launched service to Dubai, which has become the carrier’s second destination in the Middle East served from Newark, alongside Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv. Additionally, the airline flies to Delhi and both airports in Tokyo (Haneda – HND and Narita – NRT). These destinations are served by United’s longest-range aircraft, including 777 and 787 jets.

Destinations in the Americas

From Newark, the carrier serves 26 different year-round destinations in the Americas, with seven additional seasonal services and four cities served year-round by the carrier’s regional subsidiary, United Express. Unsurprisingly, these destinations are primarily resorts in the Caribbean region, with a few Canadian, Central American, and South American cities served as well.

Photo: Great Circle Mapper

These routes vary significantly in length, with the shortest, the carrier’s flight to Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), sitting at just over 330 mi. On the other hand, the longest sees service to Rio de Janeiro (GRU), a nearly 5,000-mile long trip. Due to the dynamic nature of its routes in the Americas, the carrier uses its entire range of widebody and narrowbody aircraft to serve these destinations.