dailynewsnblog
United Airlines has added four additional routes from its 
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) hub. Cirium Diio data shows that this is the 
Star Alliance member’s fourth-busiest hub for flights, with 785 daily movements (takeoffs and landings) this month. The announcement came as Southwest Airlines adds 15 new and returning routes.
United Express will begin flying from EWR to Charlottesville, Knoxville, Bentonville/Fayetteville (Northwest Arkansas), and Omaha. All were previously part of the airline’s network, although not always recently, and all four places already have flights with other carriers to Greater New York City. What they don’t currently have is United’s huge network from EWR.
United From EWR To Charlottesville
On September 24, the carrier will lift off from EWR for Charlottesville, Virginia, which is located 251 nautical miles (465 km) away. The short route will be flown daily on GoJet Airlines’ three-class, 50-seat Bombardier CRJ550s. UA4414 will leave EWR at 12:52 PM and get to Virginia at 2:12 PM. Returning, UA4168 will depart at 2:53 PM and get back at 4:13 PM.
This route was last served in 2012. When United Express returns, it’ll supplement the carrier’s existing multi-daily flights to 
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). It is unclear if any changes will be made to those routes.
In the 12 months to April 2026, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that 82,330 local passengers flew between Charlottesville and Greater New York City. Obviously, nearly everyone flew nonstop to New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) with Delta Connection and American Eagle. Given the schedule and location of EWR, United will, of course, particularly focus on connectivity via that hub.
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EWR To Knoxville, Northwest Arkansas, And Omaha
Flights to all three cities will also resume on September 24. United Express will fly twice-daily to Knoxville (GoJet CRJ550s) and daily to Northwest Arkansas (Republic Embraer E175) and Omaha (Republic Embraer E175). Northwest Arkansas also serves Bentonville, which was the birthplace of Walmart and where that behemoth still has its headquarters. Later this year, the airline’s website shows that EWR-Northwest Arkansas flights will have a block time of three hours and 41 minutes, marginally longer than to Nebraska’s most populous city.
The DOT shows that United Express last had regular flights from EWR to Knoxville and Omaha in 2020 and Northwest Arkansas in 2022. Only one of the airport pairs will have head-to-head competition. United will compete directly with Allegiant Air, which has served the route for a decade, for the local market. However, they are obviously not a like-for-like comparison.
United’s Frequency | EWR To Knoxville; Local Times | Knoxville To EWR; Local Times |
|---|---|---|
Daily | 1:45 PM-3:35 PM | 8:30 AM-10:20 AM* |
Daily | 6:55 PM-8:45 PM | 4:16 PM-6:06 PM |
* Not good for a New York-bound day trip |
United will have indirect competition with American Eagle and Delta Connection from Knoxville and Northwest Arkansas to LGA, along with Delta Connection and 
Southwest Airlines between Omaha and LGA. American Eagle flew from the Nebraska city to LGA until September 2025.
In the 12 months to April 2026, Knoxville had 191,200 passengers who only flew to/from NYC, Omaha had 160,590, and Northwest Arkansas had 137,903. Massively because of Alegiant, EWR had 65,600 Knoxville passengers. As the other cities did not have nonstop flights, the traffic was much lower: Omaha with 26,700 and Northwest Arkansas with 17,300. United’s return will grow those passenger volumes.
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Flash Back To 2019
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily changed the world, the DOT shows that United Express’ average load factor between EWR and Knoxville, Omaha, and Northwest Arkansas was 75%. The link to Arkansas had the lowest result (71%), but this was balanced by being higher-yielding due to much more premium travel and having fewer transit passengers.
Whether surprisingly or not, only 13% to 27% of these routes’ passengers connected to another flight in EWR. They revolved around local traffic. Omaha, for example, had 27% of passengers who transferred elsewhere, which was a few points lower than for United’s full domestic network from the New Jersey hub.
