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.
In recent years, United has made a game of allowing the public to guess new routes, and I sure enjoy playing along. Here’s the latest example of that, as the airline seems to be planning a big route announcement tomorrow.
United plans to announce new international routes
At 8AM ET on Thursday, October 9, 2025, United will be announcing new routes that will launch at some point in 2026. United has posted a 45-second video on social media, inviting people to “crack the code” to the carrier’s newest routes. There are then some zoomed in images, which almost create more confusion than anything else.
Separately, United’s SVP of Global Network Planning and Alliances, Patrick Quayle, posted a video on his Instagram page, with some different clues.
I have to give United credit for consistently having unique videos about route announcements that engage people. Just as an example, below are a couple of videos from previous years.
What new routes will United introduce?
For some general context, United typically has two big route announcements per year, as it relates to long haul flights. Typically in the fall, United announces new transatlantic flying for summer, while in the spring, United announces new long haul winter flying.
Typically the fall announcement is bigger than the spring announcement. We’ve seen both American and Delta already announce new summer routes for next year, so presumably this is what we’re also going to see from United tomorrow, with a single announcement that makes a big splash.
Now, the above video aside, a few general thoughts:
- United will be fairly limited in terms of its incremental, year-over-year growth, since the airline isn’t currently taking delivery of new long haul aircraft at a very fast pace (though that’s not to say some old routes won’t be pulled, and replaced by new ones)
- United’s announcement last fall was absolutely wild, with new destinations like Greenland and Mongolia (admittedly with flights operated by 737s and short seasons), so here’s to hoping we see something even half as interesting
- The southern part of Europe has been increasingly popular in recent years, though we’re reaching the point where there’s probably not much service anymore that can be added
- Delta recently announced it would fly to Malta and Sardinia, and there aren’t many European destinations served by Delta and not United, so one certainly assumes those are contenders
Aside from the sort of Morse code clue at the beginning (can anyone make sense of that?), the video finishes with the below pictures being briefly shown, which I imagine are intended to represent some of the new destinations. I labeled them each with a number in the caption, in case anyone wants to take a guess at which destination a specific frame refers to.
I’m sure collectively OMAAT readers will be able to draw some conclusions based on the above, so please do chime in with your take!
Bottom line
United Airlines is teasing new routes that will be announced tomorrow. The clues are limited, with the airline displaying some Morse code, as well as some zoomed in pictures of clues. It’s anyone’s guess what United will add, though I suspect there will be a heavy focus on Europe, given that this is presumably an announcement for summer 2026 routes.
What routes do you think United will announce?
