It is almost time for United Airlines to commence operations on an exciting new route. The corridor in question originates at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), the carrier’s main East Coast hub and its gateway to New York City. This, in itself, does not raise any eyebrows, but the destination certainly does: Rosalía de Castro Airport (SCQ) in Santiago de Compostela.

This will be the first time Santiago de Compostela has had a direct aerial link with the US, and it has chosen the Boeing 737 MAX 8 to operate these seasonal flights. With maximum westbound block times of around eight hours, these services are also notable as United’s longest flights on the 737 MAX 8.

Ready To Go

Credit: Great Circle Map

United Airlines first announced its plans to serve Santiago de Compostela from Newark last October, when the route was revealed alongside three other new additions for the summer of 2026 (Bari, Split, and Glasgow). According to current scheduling data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the first of these Santiago flights will take to the skies next week, on May 27.

Departing Newark at 7:15 PM, the service, United flight 222, will operate overnight and arrive in Santiago de Compostela seven hours later, at 8:15 AM the next day. The return leg, UA221, takes seven hours and 50 minutes, leaving Santiago at 10:00 AM and arriving in Newark at 11:50 AM.

Patrick Quayle, United’s SVP of Global Network Planning and Alliances, commented on the carrier’s network.

“United has an unmatched international network, and we pride ourselves on connecting our customers to unique, trendsetting destinations no other US airline serves. (…) United now flies to 46 cities across the Atlantic.”

A Seasonal Service

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United Airlines expects its passengers to find a lot to love about Santiago de Compostela and the surrounding area in northwestern Spain. Indeed, the Chicago-based US ‘big three’ legacy carrier and Star Alliance founding member highlights the fact that “the area has a rich history with stunning cathedrals, Medieval architecture, and is the endpoint of the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.”

However, as is the case with most new long-haul routes, it is important for any airline to not run before it can walk. With this in mind, United Airlines has launched the Newark-to-Santiago de Compostela route as a summer seasonal service, with a total of 51 departures from Newark this year. Following the aforementioned inaugural service on May 27, these will run until September 20, 2026.

The carrier has selected a thrice-weekly schedule for this new transatlantic route, with eastbound flights from Newark to Santiago departing on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. With these flights operating overnight as previously mentioned, the return legs will thus operate on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Per aeroLOPA, United’s 737 MAX 8s have 16 business-class seats and 150 economy-class seats.

Santiago De Compostela Typically Handles Short-Haul Flights

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The arrival of United represents an exciting step forward for Santiago de Compostela. Indeed, a quick look at Cirium shows that the facility is primarily a short-haul hub, as evidenced by the dominance of the Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling. This May, Vueling scheduled flights from Santiago to Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, London, Malaga, Mallorca, Marrakech, Paris, Seville, and Tenerife.

Fellow budget carrier Ryanair also has a strong presence there, with flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Ibiza, Lanzarote, London, and Tenerife. Meanwhile, its rival easyJet has a comparatively small presence, only serving Santiago from Basel and Geneva. In terms of European flag carriers, Aer Lingus flies to Dublin, Iberia flies to Madrid, KLM flies to Amsterdam, and Lufthansa flies to Frankfurt.