- United Airlines has announced three new routes to cities in Colombia, Morocco, and the Philippines.
- The new service between Cebu, Philippines, and Tokyo is known as a "fifth freedom" route.
- United also announced expanded service to popular destinations across Asia and Europe.
United Airlines passengers will have new and expanded nonstop options starting this year as the carrier beefs up its already gigantic international network.
On Thursday, the Chicago-based carrier announced three brand-new routes, including between Newark, New Jersey, and Marrakesh, Morocco; Tokyo and Cebu, Philippines; and Houston and Medellín, Colombia.
United is the only US carrier flying nonstop to the Philippines, having entered the Manila market from San Francisco in October 2023 as part of its Asian expansion. It also flies to the capital city from Guam and Palau.
Medellín and Marrakesh expand United's growing network in Latin America and Africa, which already touches places like Bogota, Colombia; Agra, Ghana; and Johannesburg.
Most interesting of the bunch, however, is the Cebu service, which will operate from Tokyo's Narita Airport as a "fifth freedom" route, United confirmed to Business Insider.
Established by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1944, which writes standards for global aviation, this is one of the universal "freedoms" of commercial air travel that governs how airlines of one country can fly to another.
The fifth freedom, in particular, gives airlines the right to transport people between two nations that aren't its own. Emirates, for example, flies between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Dubai International Airport via Milan.
Singapore Airlines flies between New York-JFK and Singapore via Frankfurt, Germany.
In United's case, passengers traveling between Cebu and the mainland US can soon connect in Tokyo without changing airlines. The carrier will also have the right to transport local passengers flying between Cebu and Tokyo.
"We have consistently been ahead of the curve in finding hidden gem destinations for our customers to explore and remain committed to providing the most unique slate of travel options for their adventures abroad," said Patrick Quayle, United's SVP of global network planning and alliances, said in a statement.
In addition to the three new markets, United announced restored flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai starting August 29 as a four-times-weekly service before going daily in late October, pending government approvals.
Moreover, it will add a second daily flight on three routes: between Newark and Porto, Portugal, starting May 23; between Los Angeles and Hong Kong, beginning October 26; and between San Francisco and Seoul, starting October 27.
The new routes come as United continues to boast the nation's largest international network, saying it offers "more destinations across the Atlantic and Pacific than all US carriers combined."
Here's a closer look at United's three brand-new routes starting this year.
Between Newark and Marrekesh
United will launch a three-times-weekly flight between Newark and Marrakesh starting on October 24 using a Boeing 767-300ER.
The airline will be the only carrier connecting Marrakesh to the US nonstop. Moroccan flag carrier Royal Air Maroc flies between New York-JFK and Casablanca.
Between Tokyo and Cebu
United's daily fifth-freedom route between Tokyo and Cebu will launch on July 31 using a Boeing 737-800 narrowbody plane.
The airline will be the only US carrier flying the route, competing with Asian airlines Cebu Pacific and Philippines Airlines.
Philippines AirAsia is also presently flying the route but is scheduled to end the service at the end of March, according to aviation data provider Cirium.
Between Houston and Medellín
United's daily route between Houston and Medellín will begin on October 27 using a Boeing 737 aircraft, expanding the airline's network in Latin America to 52 destinations from Houston alone.
No other airlines fly nonstop between the two cities, according to Cirium.