Summary
- United Airlines began Chicago O’Hare-Athens and San Francisco-Barcelona on May 23.
- Both entered the carrier’s top 10 list for its longest services to Europe.
- San Francisco to Barcelona is now United’s second-longest offering to the continent.
You can tell when the peak summer months are approaching: many airlines begin numerous new routes ahead of the greatest demand. Among the operators is United, which started two new European routes on May 23 that had not seen its frames before: Chicago O’Hare to Athens and San Francisco to Barcelona.
United: San Francisco to Barcelona
The Boeing 777-200ER operates San Francisco-Barcelona daily. The seasonal service’s last flight in 2024 is on October 25, shortly before northern airlines, including United, change to winter schedules based on IATA slot seasons.
The route to Spain is scheduled as follows, with all times local. Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any celebratory photos of this new route when writing.
- San Francisco to Barcelona: UA672, 17:30-14:00+1 (11h 30m)
- Barcelona to San Francisco: UA673, 16:00-19:05 (12h 05m)
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United does not have the airport pair to itself. It competes directly with Level, IAG’s lower-cost long-haul unit, which began the route in 2018. In the summer of 2024, it runs four times weekly on the A330-200. Norwegian served the market in 2019 and 2020. San Francisco-Barcelona had no non-stop flights until 2018 but has had three airlines since then.
United’s 10 longest European routes
Cirium schedules data was used to examine the Star Alliance member’s European network, showing 75 routes between June and September. Based on the Great Circle distance, its average stage length is 3,674 nautical miles (6,804 km). As usual, the real-world distance, which reflects the specific routing, wind speeds, airspace costs, and more, could change the order.
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As you can see in the following table, San Francisco-Barcelona has become United’s second-longest non-stop European service. It also ranks second when American and Delta’s European services are included.
Chicago-Athens, also new, is now United’s carrier’s eighth-longest European route. Four of the top 10 began between 2019 and 2024. As usual, the order is a bit different by block time.
|
Nautical miles (km) |
United’s routes |
Max block time* |
Comments about June-September operation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
5,444 (10,081) |
San Francisco-Rome |
12h 40m |
Daily 777-200ER. Route began in May 2023. It was the first airline to start non-stop flights, although ITA Airways joined it three months later |
|
5,188 (9,608) |
San Francisco-Barcelona |
12h 05m |
Daily 777-200ER. Route began in May 2024 |
|
5,108 (9,461) |
San Francisco-Munich |
11h 45m |
Daily 777-200ER |
|
5,075 (9,399) |
San Francisco-Zurich |
12h 00m |
Daily 777-200ER |
|
4,953 (9,172) |
San Francisco-Frankfurt |
11h 25m |
Double daily 777-300ER |
|
4,852 (8,985) |
San Francisco-Paris CDG |
11h 30m |
Daily 777-200ER |
|
4,756 (8,808) |
San Francisco-Amsterdam |
11h 05m |
Daily 777-200ER. Route began in March 2019 |
|
4,747 (8,792) |
Chicago O’Hare-Athens |
11h 40m |
Daily 787-8. Route began May 2024 |
|
4,741 (8,780) |
Los Angeles-London Heathrow |
11h 10m |
Double daily 787-9 |
|
4,707 (8,718) |
Houston Intercontinental-Munich |
11h 40m |
Daily 767-300ER |
|
* Either direction any time June-September |
What other European routes would you like United to add in the future? Let us know in the comment section.