1 week Ago By Dillon Shah
Schedules filed on the aviation analytics platform Cirium this week show that United Airlines has decided to extend two of its summer seasonal European routes into the winter season, likely due to high demand. Flights between Washington D.C.
(IAD) and Edinburgh (EDI) are to become year-round as of this year, complementing the carrier's existing service to the Scottish city from Newark (and Chicago during the summer). In addition, the schedule filings show that United Airlines will be extending its operation from Newark (EWR) to Venice (VCE) in Italy with continued flights in both November and December. For now, flights are not scheduled for 2026 meaning this is more of an extension into the winter season than a transition to a fully year-round flight.
Simple Flying has reached out to United Airlines for clarification. Edinburgh Expansion United's daily flights between Washington Dulles International Airport and Edinburgh Airport are set to continue into the winter season. Originally set to end in October, flights will be maintained until January 5 at the reduced frequency of five weekly flights.
No service will operate for most of the first two months of 2025, with flights resuming once more on February 20. The route operates with a Boeing 757-200. United Airlines also operates to Edinburgh from Newark year-round and Chicago during the summer season.
Commenting on the expansion, Director of Sales for the UK and Ireland at United Airlines, Karolien De Hertogh, said: “As the only airline connecting Edinburgh to the United States year-round, we are delighted to announce this significant expansion, which further underlines the importance of our Edinburgh services within United’s global network." She noted that this route allows connections to 65 additional destinations across the Americas via the carrier's Washington Dulles hub. According to data from the US Department of Transport, the airline's average load factor for the route last year was a respectable 86%.
That said, loads are not a direct measure of profitability and should, in reality, be considered in relation to yields. Though, loads can provide an indication of how a route is performing. Load factor Month 76% April 85% May 91% June 89% July 91% August 86% September 84% October Multiple US carriers fly to Scotland's largest city.
More Flights To Venice The service between Newark and Venice will be extended into November and December but seemingly nothing beyond that. Flights are to operate daily as per the current summer schedule, using a Boeing 767-400. According to Cirium , the last outbound Newark to Venice flight is scheduled for December 17, returning the following day.
United also operates to Venice from Washington, a route that is launching in June this year. Clearly, United's growth from Venice is a testament to the destination's high demand. The Newark route was launched in June 2015 and has always operated summer seasonally with a mix of Boeing 767-300 and -400 equipment.
The only exception to this was in 2023 when the carrier opted for Boeing 777s. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, United did not operate the route in 2020 or 2021. Flights were resumed in May 2022, though.
Looking at load factors for the Newark service, information from the US DOT shows the route achieved an average 89% load factor. Load factor Month 86% April 87% May 90% June 88% July 90% August 93% September 89% October The two new notable destinations on US carriers' Italian networks include Catania and Palermo. A Growing European Network United Airlines' transatlantic network to Europe is particularly strong.
According to Cirium data, the airline will offer 735 weekly services in August, up by 48 compared to the same month the year prior. August is the most interesting month to compare as it is typically one of the busiest for this particular market. United is the biggest carrier on the Europe-US market in terms of weekly flights on offer in August, followed by Delta Air Lines with 673, American Airlines with 488, British Airways with 333, and Lufthansa with 220.
Air France is not far behind, with 210. United's lead against the other American carriers (particularly AA) puts it in a particularly advantageous position given how lucrative this market can be. Recognizing this, United's expansion in Europe this year includes the following seven new routes: Denver to Rome Newark to Bilbao Newark to Faro Newark to Funchal Newark to Palermo Washington to Nice Washington to Venice Evidently, the airline's current strategy is based on expansion to sunny destinations in Southern Europe.
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