Why Tenerife Is A Growing Market For United Airlines

When Americans and Canadians consider going to an exotic tropical paradise, the likely destinations are typically the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Tahiti. However, the Spanish Canary Islands are one of the choice tropical island destinations for Europeans, and only comparatively few Americans bother to visit. This is partly because the Canaries are more difficult to reach from the United States, as there are few, if any, direct flights. But now there is a new connection as United Airlines is about to restart its direct flights between Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey near New York and Tenerife with a Boeing 757 airliner.

United Airlines’ Canary Islands flight

It has recently been announced that United Airlines will restart its direct flights between Newark and Tenerife for the third consecutive year. At the same time, the service will include winter season flights for the first time. The service will resume on June 1st and continue through the end of March 2025.

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“As the only airline connecting North America with the Canary Islands, we are delighted to return to Tenerife with an enhanced service that now includes the winter season. This provides greater travel options for customers on both sides of the Atlantic.” Antonio de Toro (Country Sales Manager for Spain at United Airlines)

United’s flight will connect Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey with Tenerife South Airport (Tenerife is where the Tenerife Disaster happened – the worst aviation accident in history). The route will consist of three weekly flights (in both directions) and provide a total of 23,400 seats.

The English-language online newspaper Canarian Weekly stated that United Airlines flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Newark to Tenerife. The return flights to the United States will be Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The winter flights will operate on different days of the week but still operate thrice weekly. The weekly outbound winter flights to the Canaries will be Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and return to the US on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

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The flights across the Atlantic to the Canaries take around seven hours. Boeing will be operating a 757-200 aircraft with 176 seats. These seats include 16 United PolarisSM business class and 160 economy seats (including 42 Economy PlusSM seats with extra legroom).

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Europe’s other-worldly island playground

The Tourism Councillor for the Tenerife Cabildo, Lope Afonso, applauded the announcement as one of the most significant developments for the islands’ air connectivity for 2024. He stated that the decision had been the result of intensive negotiations.

“The expansion of the direct connection between Newark and Tenerife South offers a unique opportunity to consolidate our destination in a highly desired market that matches our quality-focused strategy. It will also reduce our dependence on traditional markets.” Lope Afonso

Photo: annasf83 | Shutterstock

According to the Canarian Weekly, only 36,500 American tourists visited the island in 2023 (although that’s a significant rise from the 26,500 in 2022). The growth is partly thanks to a growing list of partnerships through major tour operators. Interestingly two thirds (62%) of Americans visit the Canaries in the winter (defined as October to May), and one-third (38%) visit during the summer season (defined as June to September)

But this is only a tiny fraction of the number of non-Spanish tourists visiting the other-worldly islands. It is reported that 16 million people visited the Canary Islands in 2023. However, it’s not all sunshine and roses; the massive spike in tourism, with 16 million visitors when the islands have a population of 2.2 million, has strained the island’s resources. Barrons reported this has sparked anti-tourism protests on the islands that attracted tens of thousands of protestors.

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Tenerife is home to some of the most incredible landscapes on earth. It is where the 1966 movie One Million Years B.C. was filmed (anachronistically depicting humans and dinosaurs together). The Canary Islands are famous for its volcanic mountainous landscapes, stunning beaches, and wild parties.

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United Airlines & its fleet

United Airlines is one of the largest American airlines and is headquartered in Chicago (ranked largest by number of destinations served and third by fleet size and revenue). It operates an extensive network of domestic and international flights across the United States and to all six inhabited continents.

United Airlines operates a fleet of almost a thousand aircraft comprising a mix of Airbus and Boeing narrowbody and Boeing widebody aircraft. The airline is expected to receive over 700 new aircraft to replace its aging fleet by 2033.

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

United operates 40 Boeing 757-200 and 21 Boeing 757-200 airliners (making it the largest operator of Boeing 757-300s). The Boeing 757 first entered service in the early 1980s, and the last was delivered in 2004 after just over a thousand had been produced. The primary operators of the Boeing 757 are Delta Air Lines, FedEx Express, United Airlines, and UPS Airlines.

The (now deeply troubled) Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A321 are considered replacements for the aging fleets of Boeing 757. These are more fuel-efficient and cost less to run, and they have been increasingly taking over as the years tick by. But the Boeing 757 will be flying for some years, and it serves around 28 routes to Europe (around 17 of which are United Airlines).