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United Airlines Teases New International Routes: Can You Guess Them Based On The Clues?

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(@lucky)
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[#20003]
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If you ask me, or anyone who is even borderline objective, United Airlines has by far the most interesting route network of any US carrier (United flies to the most destinations and most countries of any US carrier), and the airline keeps expanding.


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(@funkyflapjak)
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sorry im not interested in cool new routes to take fun vacations and enjoy life and experience fun things and eat great food, call me when earnings come out. PROFITS is the only thing that matters in life


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Diamond
(@1990_)
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Does your back hurt carrying that much water for multi-billion dollar corporations?


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(@funkyflapjak)
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sometimes i think the bot allegations really are true man. if you couldnt tell this was sarcasm I think you might be beyond help


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(@Eduardo)
Joined: 2 months ago

Posts: 1

Tengo claro que una de las rutas es a Valencia en España, ese zoom a las naranjas es inequivoco.
EWR - VLC es mi apuesta


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(@Aitor)
Joined: 2 months ago

Posts: 4

Sevilla...


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(@Dim Tunn)
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lololololololololol shaming me at my own game


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(@ord_is_my_second_home)
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They don't involve Chicago, so who cares?


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Diamond
(@1990_)
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Welcome back! 😉


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(@jayceegee)
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Joined: 5 years ago

I'm guessing the 5XL tag means that there are five new xlr routes?

The handkerchief was probably hinting at a dutch (or perhaps Scandinavian) destination.


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Diamond
(@wpcoe)
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...and someone was had a Stroopwafel in their hand.


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(@United Route to Poland)
Joined: 2 months ago

United really needs to get a San Francisco to Warsaw route going; the polish airline has a monopoly on non-stop US travel and could really use another choice.

The market that needs it most is DTW-WAW, and it would be golden opportunity because the XLR is right-sized for this route, but unfortunately that's only a focus city for United.

BTW, big WTF that you need to sign up for "connections" from this site to post now.....


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(@flyguy2)
Joined: 2 months ago

Posts: 1

I agree, but just to point out DTW is not even a focus city for United. It is just a spoke on the map with service only to their hubs (except LAX). DTW is dominated by Delta and they (Delta) would never allow this from UA anyway.


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(@United Route to Poland)
Joined: 2 months ago

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Wow! I thought for sure it was a focus city. It really should be (at a minimum). I don't think Delta would have a standing to block it because it's not in their terminal and DTW is not slot constrained (and it's not like Delta is going to dehub from Detroit at any time in the near future to threaten that). The only scenario in which I would see a block succeeding is if Delta started the route themselves, which would still likely be a win.


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 Alan
(@Alan)
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Posts: 104

WAW or KRK would easily work from ORD and EWR. AA was supposed to start KRK in 2020.
LO is a great airline tho, and will be even more so with the new seats. United would be purely for Americans so who knows about demand.


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(@BalticFlyer)
Joined: 2 years ago

Eh
No baltics again :/
You could easily fill up a 767 or A321XLR to RIX during summer. BT could provide connections / feeder routes. Even with smaller fleet they are regoinal powerhouse @RIX.
Why do US airlines chooses to ignore this region?


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 SBS
Diamond
(@sbs)
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That's 3 really nice countries that most people in the US have never heard of. With a bit of marketing there should be enough demand for a 321XLR. Can Riga/Vilnius/Tallinn handle a wide-body, though? Any connection through Riga would be going backwards, unfortunately. Sort of like Turkish sometimes showing up as the cheapest option from US to France.


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(@immortalsynn)
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"Why do US airlines chooses to ignore this region?"

Because the fares are comparatively weak, demand is lopsided, and 99% of USAmericans who aren't in the Northeast, Chicago, or L.A., wouldn't know Riga/Vilnius/Tallinn from a hole in the ground.


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 Ross
(@Ross)
Joined: 12 years ago

Jacksonville to Paris? The 3-7-4 in the cards might be code for CGD. The first card is a Jack, not sure what the final 3 card means.

That kerchief has a five-petal flower on it that might be a reference to Hong Kong’s stylized, five-petaled white Bauhinia blakeana orchid.


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(@Voian)
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… but it’s CDG, not CGD…


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 Joe
(@Joe)
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Jacksonville? Seriously, what are some of you guys smoking?


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 Sean
(@Sean)
Joined: 11 years ago

My Guess: DEN-AMS and SFO-SGN


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(@Eskimo)
Joined: 9 years ago

IBZ
LUX
CDG
GOT


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 Sco
(@Sco)
Joined: 17 years ago

I'm really hoping for something unique and fun (a la GOH and UBN). I'd love FAE or DSS or somewhere in the Canaries. Flights from HKG or NRT to more Asian destinations would be fun too. They have to be announcing something in Scandinavia though, right?


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 Anna
(@Anna)
Joined: 8 years ago

Posts: 166

Please no FAE. The place cannot handle an influx of Americans.


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 Izz
(@Izz)
Joined: 2 months ago

The entire video is Survivor themed. Survivor home base is Fiji, could we be seeing a NAN route announcement?


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(@vdvoyager)
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Oneworld dominated...Already faces low fares from Fiji Airways who can easily offer a transit onwards to Australia. More connectivity onwards from NAN than from the US to a US hub to NAN


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(@dendave)
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Focusing on DEN, AMS would be cool. It would be great to add another country to our direct-flight list.

However, my guess for DEN would be CDG. I believe the Air France flight has done well here (at least it keeps returning seasonally), and UA doesn't like to cede territory to others out of DEN (they've duplicated both BA and LH schedules, for instance)

Less likely: DEN to DUB. Aer Lingus won't be returning next year, but I could see UA making it work with more connections on this end

Finally, why not Iceland? DEN to KEF seems like a great use of the XLR. And Icelandair does well here, based on the fact that they sometimes have 2x daily flights in peak season.


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(@vdvoyager)
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Think ZRH might be likely. Tons of connectivity on both sides and Edelweiss flew this route before fuel prices spiked, so there was definitely demand. ZRH is also a pretty premium market so United could make it work (Only issue is CDG/AMS would have more demand than ZRH, despite ZRH commanding higher fares)


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(@dendave)
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I'd love to see it, but I don't think there is a lot of point to point traffic there, and the DEN market isn't overly premium (hence why we're still waiting on our Polaris lounge).

It's been a while since I've seen the most underserved market list for DEN, comprising the cities with the most traffic between them yet isn't served with a direct flight. I remember AMS was at the top of that list once, which I think adds weight to that argument.

Someone else mentioned hoping Rome wouldn't be cut. Based on prior numbers, I wouldn't think so, but who knows, my information is outdated. And it's all relative. Not where there is strong demand, but strongest and highest margin compared to other opportunities.


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 BBT
(@BBT)
Joined: 3 months ago

If DEN gets a new TATL flight that means its coming at the expense on some existing route. I hope the FCO route survives.


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Diamond
(@1990_)
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Hoping for EWR-MLE (I know, I know... long-shot)

For a 'review' of the new MLE Terminal 1 arrival experience... onemileatatime.com/community-stories/male-velana-airport-new-terminal-1-international-arrivals/ *wink*


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(@silenciooldman)
Joined: 11 months ago

Bologna? No way. AA failed spectacularly with that one. Unlikely an XLR will make a difference.

Another operator on LAX-MNL? Another failure waiting to happen.


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(@vdvoyager)
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Demand changes often; EK is able to make BLQ work and United may be able to also. Also, the XLR may just be able to capture all demand available (and capture new demand from the route).

Concur with MNL. LAX simply doesn't have the connectivity SFO has and LAX-MNL would steal SFO-MNL traffic and lose money (Especially compared to lower priced Asian carriers)


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(@vdvoyager)
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Ideas:
1. DEN-ZRH: Edelweiss dropped it this year over fuel costs. Video claims "Alliances are formed" and ZRH is a huge Star Alliance Feeder. AMS and CDG also make sense, but Zurich seems like a market that has proven to be successful before.
2. LAX-SIN/MNL could be good candidates, both have strong markets and yields (Especially after lower competition from Chinese airlines post-Covid which could improve yields)
3. EWR-CPH: Huge spike in demand, and AA/DL already serve it and their planes are packed. An XLR seems logical
4. EWR-WAW could also be a good route, as increasing demand for Poland and connectivity on both ends (IST also a good idea but not sure yields would be great)
5. Would love to see a 2nd daily service to DEL or SFO-DEL/BLR but consumes too many planes to make it work


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(@sinter)
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Selfishly hoping for EWR-IST, not that the on board product would be better than TK, but a lack of PE on TK is a bummer as well as the super late departure time. Doubt it happens, US airlines haven't bothered competing since DL left ~2016.


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(@vdvoyager)
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Yields would also be tough on that route - TK simply has a more extensive network into the US, a lower cost structure, better experience, and more connections onwards from IST.


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Diamond
(@ua-nyc)
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Joined: 5 years ago

United further cementing its status as THE global USA flag carrier - and it’s not even close


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(@Jay Deshpande)
Joined: 3 years ago

How about ORD to one of the cities in England but outside London? Maybe restarting service to Birmingham, or launching a new route to Manchester?


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(@Person on Earth)
Joined: 2 months ago

I am 100% confident they will announce IAD FNJ double daily .......since rump thinks his boyfriend Kim Jung Un is such a great guy.


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