United announced 13 new international routes and 3 ‘fifth freedom’ flights to far-flung destinations

• United Airlines announced 13 new routes across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
• The expansion includes unique destinations like Nuuk, Greenland, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
• United leverages fifth-freedom rights and Guam-based crews for a competitive advantage in Asia.

United Airlines is making bold route decisions as it continues to expand its giant international presence.

The Chicago-based carrier on Thursday announced 13 new routes across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America starting in the summer of 2025.

Eight are to niche destinations new to United, including Nuuk, Greenland; Dakar, Senegal; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The expansion will further cement United’s place as the US’ largest international carrier across the Atlantic and Pacific.

Mongolia adds to United’s growing list of “fifth-freedom” routes from of Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. Other new fifth-freedom routes include Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and the western Pacific country of Palau from Tokyo. The airline previously announced Cebu, Philippines from the Japanese capital, to launch later in October.

The so-called fifth freedom of the sky allows airlines to fly between two countries outside their own, so long as their home nation is the start or end point. They stem from a UN body’s 1944 “Freedoms of the Air” agreement.

For example, UAE-based Emirates stops in Milan between New York and Dubai, while Singapore Airlines stops in Frankfurt, Germany, between New York and Singapore.

Patrick Quayle, United Airlines‘ SVP of global network planning and alliances, told reporters that the Tokyo routes could use crews based at United’s Guam hub, helping the airline gain an edge in Asia.

The airline’s Europe expansion goes beyond Greenland. It will also begin new flights to off-the-beaten-path destinations in Portugal, Italy, France, and Spain, from its hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Washington Dulles International Airport.

Quayle said these far-flung cities will attract new customers and help United differentiate itself from competitors. They add to a growing list of unique places for United, which has flown nonstop to cities like Dubrovnik, Croatia; Tenerife, Spain; and Ponta Delgada, Portugal, for years.

Here’s the full list of United’s 11 new overseas routes, and two additional to Mexico and Costa Rica:

• Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Tokyo: Seasonal beginning May 1, 2025
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Tokyo: Year-round beginning July 11, 2025
• Koror, Palau to Tokyo: Year-round beginning April 2, 2025.
• Nuuk, Greenland to Newark: Seasonal beginning June 14, 2025.
• Palermo, Italy to Newark: Seasonal beginning May 21, 2025.
• Bilbao, Spain to Newark: Seasonal beginning May 31, 2025.
• Faro, Portugal to Newark: Seasonal beginning May 16, 2025.
• Madeira, Portugal to Newark: Seasonal beginning June 7, 2025.
• Dakar, Senegal to Dulles: Year-round beginning May 23, 2025.
• Nice, France to Dulles: Seasonal beginning May 24, 2025.
• Venice to Dulles: Seasonal beginning May 22, 2025.
• San Francisco to San Jose: Daily beginning May 22, 2025.
• Puerto Escondido, Mexico to Houston: Year-round beginning April 5, 2025. (Operated by United regional partner Mesa Airlines).