Thomas Pallini/Business Insider
- United Airlines is launching one new route and increasing its daily frequencies to London next year.
- The carrier will operate its new route from Boston to London using its premium seating-heavy Boeing 767-300ER.
- United is fueling the competition with the American-JetBlue Northeast alliance in Boston and New York.
United Airlines announced an expansion to its transatlantic service in London with additional frequencies from its hubs and one new route from Boston in 2022.
United announced on Thursday that it is increasing the number of flights to London and introducing an all-new route from Boston, fueling the competition with the American-JetBlue Northeast alliance. Beginning next year, the airline will operate 22 daily flights from the US to London, including five new daily flights from Boston, set to launch on March 26, according to the carrier.
The route will be powered by United's premium seating-heavy Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, which is configured with 46 Polaris business class seats, 22 premium plus recliners, and 99 economy seats.
-United Airlines (@united) October 28, 2021
United also announced increased frequencies to London from its hubs in Denver, Newark, and San Francisco. According to the airline, Newark will get two additional flights, bringing the total operation to London to seven daily. Meanwhile, Denver will get a second daily flight while San Francisco will get a third, both of which will be operated by United's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline is also resuming daily flights to London from Los Angeles beginning March 4.
United's new Boston route will be the first time the carrier has served London from an airport that was not a base, according to Cirium data. United will face competition from a slew of international carriers on the route, including American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Virgin Atlantic. Moreover, JetBlue Airways announced in May that it will begin service to London from Boston in summer 2022.
Currently, vaccinated Americans can travel to the UK quarantine-free if they present a negative COVID test and pre-arrival form upon landing, and test again for COVID within two days of arrival.
"London is an integral part of United's network and we remain confident demand will continue to grow, particularly as international business travel returns in 2022," senior vice president of international network and alliances Patrick Quayle told The Points Guy.
The new route from Boston comes just two weeks after United announced its biggest transatlantic expansion yet, including eight new long-haul routes and five new international destinations, including Amman, Jordan; Ponta Delgada, Portugal; Bergen, Norway; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Tenerife, Spain.