Eleven airlines plan narrowbody flights from the US

to Europe this year. In order of annual departures, they are Aer Lingus, Icelandair, JetBlue, United Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, PLAY, SAS, Iberia, Azores Airlines, La Compagnie, and Delta Air Lines. This article focuses exclusively on United and Delta’s single-aisle transatlantic operations. (American last had such flights in 2019 before its Boeing 757s were withdrawn.)

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They are massively summer seasonal

When all of 2025 is considered, Cirium Diio data shows that United and Delta have 16% of the take-offs, down by a percentage point year-on-year. Still, the pair will operate about one in six US-Europe narrowbody flights in 2025.

This is hugely influenced by Delta’s

summer-only offering and United’s enormous increase in peak summer activity. Indeed, United

plans more departures in August (586, an average of 19 daily take-offs) than it does from January to April and November to December combined.

UA and DL Euro narrowbody flights in 2025

Source of data: Cirium Diio. Figure: James Pearson

In the all-important third quarter (July-September), when most airlines make the bulk of their money, United and Delta will have nearly one in four services (24%). They have become more seasonal: while their annual flights have risen by 4% compared to 2024, their peak summer offering has grown by a tenth.

Both airlines primarily use narrowbodies on thinner seasonal services. It is the same elsewhere, including with Canada’s WestJet, which has just added Halifax-Amsterdam 737 MAX flights. Moreover, United also uses them in the peak summer to increase frequencies.

United’s narrowbody routes: 2025

The Star Alliance member plans 20 European routes operated by single-aisle equipment this year, down from 22 last year. Newark-Lisbon, which had just 16 take-offs on the 757-200 between June and August 2024, is now entirely on the 787-10. Meanwhile, Chicago O’Hare-Dublin, entirely on the 757 last year, is now on the 787-8.

While these two routes no longer see single-aisles, they’re offset by the introduction of four new routes, all on the 757-200 or 737 MAX 8: Newark-Bilbao, Newark-Faro, Newark-Funchal, and Newark-Nuuk (some may prefer not to be include this).

UA narrowbody Euro routes 2025

Image: GCMap

Some 17 of the following routes are 100% narrowbody. Dates are from the US.

  • Chicago O’Hare-Edinburgh: 757-200, daily May 1-October 24
  • Chicago O’Hare-Keflavik: 757-200, daily May 19-September 23
  • Chicago O’Hare-Shannon: 757-200, daily May 22-September 23
  • Newark-Bilbao: 757-200, three weekly May 31-September 23 (brand-new route)
  • Newark-Brussels: 757-200, daily June 26-October 24 (joins a daily 787-10 service)
  • Newark-Dublin: 757-200, daily March 29-October 24 (joins a daily 777-200ER operation)
  • Newark-Edinburgh: 757-200, year-round; daily but double daily in the summer
  • Newark-Faro: 757-200, four weekly May 16-September 22 (brand-new route)
  • Newark-Funchal: 737 MAX 8, three weekly June 7-September 23 (brand-new route; Azores Airlines operated to JFK until 2024)
  • Newark-Keflavik: 757-200, daily June 26-September 23
  • Newark-Malaga: 757-200, daily May 1-September 23
  • Newark-Porto: 757-200, daily March 29-May 21, then double daily May 22-September 23, and daily September 24-October 24
  • Newark-Nuuk: 737 MAX 8, twice-weekly June 14-September 23 (brand-new route; see earlier comments)
  • Newark-Ponta Delgada: 737 MAX 8, five weekly to daily June 5-September 23
  • Newark-Shannon: 757-200, daily April 3-October 24
  • Newark-Stockholm Arlanda: 757-200, daily June 5-August 31
  • Newark-Tenerife South: 757-200, three weekly until April 1, then returns for the winter on December 18
  • Washington Dulles-Dublin: 757-200, primarily year-round; operated January 1-5, returns daily February 20-March 28, double daily March 29-October 24, then daily thereafter
  • Washington Dulles-Edinburgh: 757-200, daily March 29-October 24
  • Washington Dulles-Lisbon: 757-200 weekly, April 4-October 24 (joins a daily 767-400ER service)
united 757-200

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

Delta has two routes

Things are very different for the SkyTeam member, whose European narrowbody routes are as follows:

  • Detroit-Keflavik: 757-200, five weekly May 8-October 23
  • Minneapolis-Keflavik: 757-200, daily May 22-September 7
Delta Air Lines 757-200 Rising Into Blue Yonder_01-2

Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying

Ignoring these two markets, Delta’s last other narrowbody service was New York JFK-Keflavik until 2022. Keflavik-Boston operated until 2021, and New York JFK to Edinburgh and Lisbon in 2020. Delta had 11 European single-aisle routes in 2019, which will be explored later.

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