While United Airlines already announced an impressive expansion for the summer of 2025, the Chicago-based Star Alliance carrier has just added yet another long haul route.
In this post:
United’s new seasonal Denver to Rome route
For the summer of 2025, United will operate a daily seasonal flight between Denver (DEN) and Rome (FCO). The flight will be available for nearly five months, between May 1 and September 24, 2025. It will operate with the following schedule:
UA177 Denver to Rome departing 5:50PM arriving 12:20PM (+1 day)
UA178 Rome to Denver departing 2:20PM arriving 5:45PM
The 5,576-mile flight is blocked at 10hr30min eastbound and 11hr25min westbound. United will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route. These planes have 257 seats, including 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 188 economy seats.
The new route is already on sale, though as you’d expect, there aren’t many premium award deals to be had.
How this fits into United’s route network
While Denver is a massive domestic hub for United, it’s not a huge long haul hub for the airline. Currently United’s only long haul routes from Denver are to Frankfurt (FRA), London (LHR), Munich (MUC), and Tokyo (NRT), and they’re all operated on a year-round basis.
It’s logical enough that if United is going to add a seasonal transatlantic flight from Denver, it would be to Rome. Italy, Spain, and Greece, are the three hottest transatlantic summer destinations nowadays, and Rome often takes the top spot.
In addition to this new service, United flies to Rome year-round from Newark (EWR) and Washington (IAD), and seasonally from Chicago (ORD) and San Francisco (SFO). Perhaps the only surprise here is that United doesn’t serve Rome out of Houston (IAH), but for the purposes of connecting traffic, that can also be captured through most other hubs.
I’m curious what’s enabling this new route addition. Presumably United has some spare aircraft it wasn’t otherwise expecting to have. I’m guessing United isn’t counting on taking delivery of new Boeing wide body jets earlier than planned, because Boeing’s gonna Boeing. So presumably this addition is made possible by a cut somewhere else. Maybe United has come to terms with some service cuts to China and/or Israel for next summer?
The only downside to long haul expansion out of Denver is that there’s no United Polaris Lounge at the airport, so the ground experience isn’t as good as you’d get at other hubs.
Bottom line
For the summer of 2025, United will operate a daily flight between Denver and Rome using a Boeing 787. Denver doesn’t see much long haul service from United, so it’s always fun to see more service added. I’m sure this will prove a convenient (but pricey) option for many looking to travel between the two airports.
What do you make of United’s new Denver to Rome route?
As a world traveler, Roma would not be anywhere close to my bucket list. Over-hyped, over-touristed, overcrowded, and overpriced.
And I would think that the Roma point-of-sale market to Denver would be non-existent.
But to each their own, I guess.
Nice to see a bit of UA intl growth out of a hub we don't see it from as frequently
I definitely was expecting to see United add long-haul routes out of Denver sooner or later, although tbh I'm surprised to see Rome being the first. I figured Paris would be next up so they could defend against Air France.
As an aside, I don't know where this falls on the conceivable to pipe-dream scale, but I'd love to see UA add some ski flights in the winter season when they'd presumably have some aircraft to spare. Zurich, Geneva, Milan... maybe even Sapporo?
It’s not a coincidence when ITA is joining the Star Alliance right around the time the DEN to FCO flight is expected to start.
UA already does have long-haul routes out of DEN, they have for over a decade now.
It's far from reality, but there was rumor (from Kirby himself) that a Polaris Lounge is slated for DEN. It's probably a little bit of chicken and egg - not enough Polaris class flights to warrant it yet, but having the lounge may help with premium demand from DEN, too. Regardless, sounds like it's coming.
I heard its not going even going to start in 2025. Best they may think about including it in 2026. So hopefully by 2028, almost 2 decades after the first Polaris Lounge was offered, Denver will be seeing a Polaris lounge.
So should UA not do it at all?
Currently DEN has the largest United Club in the system, with another equally-sized UC opening in next summer. Both of those are in addition to the well-reviewed UC on the A concourse. UA is not lacking club space in DEN, and any Polaris Lounge would only add to that.
DL didn't even have their first premium lounge until almost 10 years after UA's first.
Plus 12 years is not "almost 2 decades".
Club lounge not equal to Polaris lounge. Period.
Wonder if the DEN-FCO mean UA might stop DEN-MUC. That would explain the Lufthansa then to Munich airbus 380 flight.
Just wondering. Because United has a habit of treating Denver as a stepchild in its network. The only hub United has that still does not have a Polaris lounge.
DEN to MUC is still on sale still at United and Lufthansa is apart of the Star Alliance I don’t see them stopping that route.
It may change. And yes, its my guess. Pure guess. Won't be the first time I am wrong.
As someone who sees the premium traffic on LHR, MUC, FRA AND NRT firsthand …none of these flights will end. It doesn’t take a genius to realize Star Alliance hubs are a driving factor of these flights. MUC in particular is premium, full fare O&D. It’s true, this announcement was out of left field. I’m sure ITA joining Star Alliance is a preemptive strike. Oh, BTW, Denver Polaris lounge isn’t a rumor, do some research...
As someone who sees the premium traffic on LHR, MUC, FRA AND NRT firsthand …none of these flights will end. It doesn’t take a genius to realize Star Alliance hubs are a driving factor of these flights. MUC in particular is premium, full fare O&D. It’s true, this announcement was out of left field. I’m sure ITA joining Star Alliance is a preemptive strike. Oh, BTW, Denver Polaris lounge isn’t a rumor, do some research and find Kirby’s direct quote about a Denver Polaris lounge.
I can wait to see it happen.
Also worth noting is that the flights from IAD and EWR to FCO will both be double-daily. The flight from ORD will be a 787-10, and the SFO flight is a 777, so a ton of capacity.
I suspect that United is feeling more confident on its 787 deliveries between now and the summer of 2025.
They have had minimal widebody route growth for 2025 so far and adding a daily flight is a sign of confidence that new aircraft are coming since nothing new appears to be cancelled.
And I still would bet that we will see Israel reopen to US carriers by the summer and perhaps earlier. UA will...
I suspect that United is feeling more confident on its 787 deliveries between now and the summer of 2025.
They have had minimal widebody route growth for 2025 so far and adding a daily flight is a sign of confidence that new aircraft are coming since nothing new appears to be cancelled.
And I still would bet that we will see Israel reopen to US carriers by the summer and perhaps earlier. UA will certainly add a couple aircraft worth of TLV flying as soon as they are given the green light.
Interesting not too long ago you were saying that United couldn’t grow due to a widebody shortage. Looks like they will be growing majorly in 2025 and two routes LAX to Beijing and Denver to Rome will be on a Dreamliner. Plus major growth is expected out of IAD soon enough
UA is still expected to receive just 3 787s out of some double digit that was planned for 2024 delivery.
Their rate of delivery is improving but they still haven't committed to anywhere near growth equivalent to the number of 787 aircraft they were due to receive in 2024, let alone a portion of what was supposed to be received in 2025.
Falling short of the original huge delivery goals does not mean we aren't seeing significant growth from UA.
With the number of MAX, A321, and 787 deliveries, UA's growth dwarfs the growth from DL and especially AA. Even with the slower rate of deliveries, UA is expecting somewhere in the range of 100 new mainline aircraft, just in 2025. It was close to that in 2024.
Once the A321XLR deliveries begin in 2026, in addition...
Falling short of the original huge delivery goals does not mean we aren't seeing significant growth from UA.
With the number of MAX, A321, and 787 deliveries, UA's growth dwarfs the growth from DL and especially AA. Even with the slower rate of deliveries, UA is expecting somewhere in the range of 100 new mainline aircraft, just in 2025. It was close to that in 2024.
Once the A321XLR deliveries begin in 2026, in addition to everything else on the books, it will be fascinating to see what UA has in store for their growth.
Mark,
the number of orders means nothing.
The number of aircraft that enter service and add capacity is what matters.
UA's most recent guidance says that they will get half of their 2024 deliveries from Airbus - and yet the vast majority of UA's order book is from Boeing.
And, based on guidance from both DL and UA, DL might end up with just about the same number of new aircraft deliveries...
Mark,
the number of orders means nothing.
The number of aircraft that enter service and add capacity is what matters.
UA's most recent guidance says that they will get half of their 2024 deliveries from Airbus - and yet the vast majority of UA's order book is from Boeing.
And, based on guidance from both DL and UA, DL might end up with just about the same number of new aircraft deliveries for 2024 - maybe more than UA.
and remember also that part of the reason for UAL's much better finances over the past 2 years is because they aren't taking delivery of the massive number of aircraft they wanted. Not only will their RASM fall as they put lots of capacity into their own hubs but their cash on hand will decrease and/or debt will go up.
Further, UAL has the oldest fleet among US airlines and the oldest and least efficient widebody fleet among large global carriers. Did you miss that most Asian carriers are ordering large new generation widebodies - just as DL is doing while UA is flying large portions of its TPAC operations on old generation 777-200ERs/300ERs?
UAL will have no choice but to start retiring older aircraft and increasing its fuel efficiency not just by taking delivery of a handful of new 787s per year but also getting rid of less efficient aircraft. Fuel efficiency matters the most on international flights; TPAC should be UA's priority to be 100% new generation widebodies.
the 321XLRs will be used to replace 757s with a moderate amount of growth.
UAL's said last year that they would not grow TATL much and that turned out to be true.
They said this year that dramatic growth over the Pacific was over and they would return to normal rates of TPAC growth - one to two new flights/year.
You and others continue to cling to a massive amount of growth that UA execs themselves said is not coming. Their orders stretch out far into 2030 and beyond while a significant amount of their new aircraft will have to go for fleet replacement or UA's profits relative to other carriers will fall even further.
@Tim Dunn
Stop being full of trash. Scott Kirby has already said once IAD opens the international will double there!!! Does that sound like slowing international growth to you. With ITA it’s clear they will be expanding even more in Italy as well. Delta has the issue of terrible hubs again the only ones that are truly noteworthy are Atlanta and JFK. Aside from that they just will have mainly domestic bases because no...
@Tim Dunn
Stop being full of trash. Scott Kirby has already said once IAD opens the international will double there!!! Does that sound like slowing international growth to you. With ITA it’s clear they will be expanding even more in Italy as well. Delta has the issue of terrible hubs again the only ones that are truly noteworthy are Atlanta and JFK. Aside from that they just will have mainly domestic bases because no one cares about MSP, Detroit, Salt Lake City and whatever the else they have. #YAWN
True, it's not all about the order books, though those are great at giving an idea of how many deliveries will come through. Regardless of the order books, UA has taken delivery of hundreds of planes over the last few years.
Yes, Kirby said 2024 would see moderate growth, and that was true. Now he's saying 2025 will be back to a higher rate of growth.
He also said IAD is on its way to...
True, it's not all about the order books, though those are great at giving an idea of how many deliveries will come through. Regardless of the order books, UA has taken delivery of hundreds of planes over the last few years.
Yes, Kirby said 2024 would see moderate growth, and that was true. Now he's saying 2025 will be back to a higher rate of growth.
He also said IAD is on its way to eight banks, with the fifth bank being scheduled to begin in a few months.
You're saying that what Kirby has said in the past turned out to be true, so why would you not believe what he continues to say?
Hundreds of new planes already, hundreds more to come. UA's fleet age continues to drop with each delivery. They have become the largest airlines in RPMs, in fleet size, and soon to be revenue. All while their finances remain strong.
Yes UA has 777s flying international routes, and DL has 767 flying international routes too. As you know, Ben referred to the 767 business class product as one of the worst in the skies.
Are you saying that 100 new mainline planes in a year is not "massive growth"? 100 is less than the original plan, but it is still massive.
Can you remind us how many planes DL took delivery of in 2024? How many will they take in 2025? How does that number compare to UA's?
Again, UA's finances remain very strong have been trending even better.
Mark,
you are being more rational than the post above yours but the two things you claim to be true can both be true.
Nobody is doubting that IAD will grow but you also forget that DL now has 15% more flights from NYC than UA. DL is aggressively growing BOS. And ATL for DL is still the largest international hub in the US.
In contrast, UA is largest on the west coast.
...Mark,
you are being more rational than the post above yours but the two things you claim to be true can both be true.
Nobody is doubting that IAD will grow but you also forget that DL now has 15% more flights from NYC than UA. DL is aggressively growing BOS. And ATL for DL is still the largest international hub in the US.
In contrast, UA is largest on the west coast.
I'm not sure why it is so hard for some people to be able to objectively admit reality. DL has strengths and so does UA. and every other carrier. "your team" doesn't win every contest.
UA doesn't give guidance on the hub level; they do make comments about capacity -even without specific metrics at times and with specific metrics at other times - about UA's SYSTEM with a breakdown between domestic and global regions
UA also has 767s and they are just about the same age; in fact, DL's fleet age for the 767-300ER is going down because of retirements.
DL is retiring 767s because they aren't economical and require heavy maintenance. UA is not avoiding either of those things. They just are not willing to retire any widebody aircraft until they get a higher number of deliveries from Boeing.
And, remember that DL will receive at least 25 widebodies between 2024-25 alone; UA will come nowhere close. DL's 7th A350 of 2024 will be delivered this week and they have received 5 of the 7 A330NEOs due so far; one is in flight testing and another is waiting for that to be completed. DL will receive at least 13 and maybe 14 new widebodies in 2024.
just saying,
your arrogance is precisely why I love showing up here. UA's hubs don't turn into more profit or even more revenue on a yearly basis.
Feel free to let us know what UA's hubs are for if not to generate revenue and profits.
and then show us in UAL's corporate documents if you come up with an answer other than what I noted above.
@Tim
When United begins to surpass Delta let’s have this conversation again because with all the premium demand out of premium bases it’s only a matter of time :)
Stay worried about the Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis because they will never compare sweetie and that’s why Delta will never be able to launch as much international. They do not have the bases like United
Also provide a source saying Atlanta is...
@Tim
When United begins to surpass Delta let’s have this conversation again because with all the premium demand out of premium bases it’s only a matter of time :)
Stay worried about the Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis because they will never compare sweetie and that’s why Delta will never be able to launch as much international. They do not have the bases like United
Also provide a source saying Atlanta is the largest international hub in The US and that Delta is larger in NYC/New Jersey . I’m waiting
I have LONG said that we can revisit the conversation when United surpasses Delta in total revenue and in profits and in market cap.
It's not close.
not only will United not get anywhere near the aircraft for growth that you or they think they will but UA execs themselves realize that the massive growth that a few of you want is not good for United's financial health - so they aren't going to deliver...
I have LONG said that we can revisit the conversation when United surpasses Delta in total revenue and in profits and in market cap.
It's not close.
not only will United not get anywhere near the aircraft for growth that you or they think they will but UA execs themselves realize that the massive growth that a few of you want is not good for United's financial health - so they aren't going to deliver it regardless of whether you or Mark hear what they are saying or not.
and you simply cannot accept that if UA can make money flying international to the degree you think they do, DL can make more for every additional ASM because that is what DL does right now.
Tim, you're working against your own point. When DL has more flights in NYC but carries less passengers, it means they're more RJ heavy while UA operates more mainline flights. UA also carries 50% more cargo than DL in NYC, thanks to their mainline flights. UA more efficiently carries more passengers.
DL needs two hubs in NYC to even come close to UA's one powerhouse hub, the largest single hub in the northeast. With DL...
Tim, you're working against your own point. When DL has more flights in NYC but carries less passengers, it means they're more RJ heavy while UA operates more mainline flights. UA also carries 50% more cargo than DL in NYC, thanks to their mainline flights. UA more efficiently carries more passengers.
DL needs two hubs in NYC to even come close to UA's one powerhouse hub, the largest single hub in the northeast. With DL not even applying for a HND slot out of JFK while UA has two flights a day NYC-TYO, and not serving India at all, even the DL execs know they cannot use all of the RJ customers at a split airport hub to manifest the breadth of UA's EWR hub.
Big tourism destination plus another *A hub (soon). Makes perfect sense
I was gonna say - they're banking on AZ being a partner by the summer (which seems reasonable)
This is excellent news. Denver provides excellent connections to so much of the country.
United has made clear they are growing in Denver and DC and will stratigracally add internationals from Newark.
Houston and LA get nothing.
Lol LA has gotten many new routes what are you even talking about? They also just got approval for Beijing from LAX
I suspect FCO will be coming to Houston soon enough but not before ITA joins the Star Alliance
But Delta up-gauged an ATL-FCO frequency to an A350-900, so that cancels this out…
Hey Ben, UA currently also flies daily, year-round, nonstop to FRA and MUC. FCO is a cool addition though!
@ knlprez -- D'oh, thank you! Fixed.
No problem at all, Ben! Thanks for letting us know about the expansion!
Remember people, Jubilee begins soon and will cause Italy to be crushed with tourists, ESPECIALLY Rome.
https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html
Already have my ORD-FCO flight in Polaris booked. I will be expiating my sins in the proper fashion.
Ben, on a separate but related note, UA is adding a fifth bank at 1500 in IAD. Looks like part of Kirby’s plan to significantly grow IAD.
Could be interesting for the discussion of how IAD/DCA/BWI all fit into the DC puzzle and how they fit into the larger northeast air traffic network.
This is part of a big DEN expansion planned for next year. Rome is the biggest but there will be new routes to eight total cities.
With construction winding down, taking UA up to 90 gates in DEN, and the aircraft deliveries at a steady rate, DEN will see a lot of the growth.
It’s likely not going be anything but the basics already mentioned Spain, Italy, or France. Denver is more of a connector hub I can’t ever it see it being much more than that