United Airlines Launches 11 New International Routes This Winter: See Full List Now

Published Nov 3, 2026, 3:30 PM EST James lives and breathes route development. Educated in Air Transport Management at Loughborough University and Cranfield University, James has a PhD in Airline Strategy and Economics. James was Market Opportunity Analyst at London Luton Airport and Chief Analyst at anna.aero. He taught airline strategy and economics to undergraduate and postgraduate students for five years and has worked closely with multiple carriers on route and market intelligence projects. He is based near London, UK. United Airlines is the second-largest international operator from the US, behind American Airlines. Of course, United's strength is long-haul, for which it is comfortably number one. In fact, the Star Alliance member is the world's second-largest long-haul carrier, after Emirates. On Sunday, October 25, United (like other Northern Hemisphere airlines) switched to winter schedules based on IATA slot seasons. This will be maintained until Saturday, March 27, 2027. In this period, Cirium Diio data shows that United will have an average of 350 daily international departures, up by 2% compared to last winter. 11 additional routes help. United's 11 International Routes Beginning This Winter Credit: Gobierno del Estado de BCS Schedule analysis shows that United will introduce, or resume, the following routes beyond the US border during the cold season. They are from five hubs. As they have all been announced, this article simply summarizes them and provides some context and information. The October 31 launch of United's first service from Newark to St. Croix is not included. That is because the Caribbean destination is in the US Virgin Islands and is, therefore, considered domestic. United's three flights from Las Vegas to Tokyo Narita in January 2027 for the Consumer Electronics Show are also not featured. Start Or Relaunch Date This Winter* Route United's Operations Served By The Airline Before? October 25, 2026 Washington Dulles to Los Cabos (above photo is of the relaunch) 4 weekly 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9 Yes, until 2019 October 27, 2026 Houston Intercontinental to Tuxtla Gutiérrez (the following photo is from the relaunch) 3 weekly SkyWest E175 Yes, 2012-2013 December 11, 2026 San Francisco to Sapporo 3 weekly 787-9 No, it's a brand-new market December 17, 2026 Houston Intercontinental to Cartagena 4 weekly 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9 No, it's a brand-new market December 17, 2026 Washington Dulles to Cartagena 4 weekly 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9 No, it's a brand-new market December 17, 2026 Washington Dulles to Liberia Daily 737 MAX 9 (only until January 4, 2027) No, it's a brand-new market December 18, 2026 Houston Intercontinental to Santo Domingo 3 weekly 737 MAX 8 (only until January 3, 2027) No, it's a brand-new market December 19, 2026 Denver to Providenciales Weekly 737 MAX 9 No, it's a brand-new market January 12, 2027 Houston Intercontinental to Caracas Daily 737 MAX 8 Yes, 2012-2017 March 27, 2027 Los Angeles to Osaka Kansai Daily 787-9 No, it's a brand-new market for United; it'll coexist with Japan Airlines March 27, 2027 San Francisco to Okinawa 3 weekly 777-200ER No, it's a brand-new market * October 25, 2026, to March 27, 2027, only United Now Has 25 Routes From Houston To Mexico Credit: United When all airlines and US airports are considered, Cirium shows that United is the second-largest operator from the US to Mexico, behind American. United serves the transborder country from eight hubs and other airports. On a typical day, it has 86 daily departures to Mexico. For very obvious reasons, most of them — 46 daily and 53% of the total — are from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). After a 13-year absence, flights from IAH to Tuxtla Gutiérrez have resumed. As such, United now serves 25 destinations in Mexico from the Texas hub. They include Tulum, to which various US airlines have stopped flying. United will join them, as it is pulling out in January 2027. Service to Chihuahua returns at the start of the summer 2027 season. 16 of the 25 airports see the regional jets of United Express. Ten markets are exclusively in the hands of such equipment, whether on the E175 operated by Mesa or SkyWest, the CRJ550 with GoJet, or the ERJ145 with CommutAir. The 50-seat CRJ550 is on one route: Monterrey (from February 11, 2027). The ERJ145 also has only one market: Puebla, 669 nautical miles (1,237 km) away. Six routes see both RJs and non-RJ narrowbodies, while nine do not see RJs at all. Three Long-Haul Routes Will Take Off This Winter Credit: FiledIMAGE | Shutterstock Starting on December 11, flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Sapporo will, of course, be a proper winter service. That's because the Japanese city is famous for being the gateway to skiing and other sporting activities and broader winter fun. The other two upcoming long-haul routes — Los Angeles to Osaka and SFO to Okinawa — almost did not make the list. That's because the first departure from California will be on March 27, which is the final day of the northern aviation winter based on IATA slot seasons. The first service from Asia will be on March 28, the first day of the northern summer season. Okinawa will be a seasonal route, while Osaka will be flown year-round.