That did not take long. Last week, in announcing 11 new routes to Europe and various new and returning links to Asia, United Airlines disclosed that it would not cut any routes in 2027. Yet, the Star Alliance member has already done so.

Each week, airlines from around the world submit schedule changes to OAG, Cirium Diio, and other platforms. This process can reveal many things, including routes that an airline will cease serving and those that will have a different operating period than previously planned. United has made a major change to its service from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Lima, Peru.

United ‘Cuts’ Flights From Newark To Peru

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The carrier’s schedule update shows that all flights planned for summer 2027 have been removed. United was to fly daily between EWR and Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM). Covering 3,155 nautical miles (5,843 km) on a great circle basis, the Boeing 757-200 was to be deployed. This was going to be the variant’s second-longest route from EWR, after Malaga. On a distance basis, it’d be a good market for the A321XLR.

United has flown between EWR and LIM on a more or less year-round basis for many years. As such, it is unclear whether United will now only serve it during the winter or whether it is being fully cut. Interestingly, schedule analysis shows that some winter months have usually had fewer flights than during the summer. The airline has been contacted for comment.

The schedule for next summer was to be as follows. The 2:30 PM departure time to LIM was down to be United’s earliest long-haul service from EWR on the 757. That’s not surprising, as the others are across the North Atlantic to Europe, which leave in the late afternoon and evening. For the same reason, the 8:20 AM arrival time back in New Jersey was to be the earliest arrival too.

A Look At United From Newark To Lima

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

United has operated between EWR and LIM since 2012, but this is only part of the picture. The route was inherited from Continental Airlines, which the US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows launched the route in 1996. The 757 has been nearly always used.

In the 12 months to May 2026, the DOT indicates that United transported 98,366 round-trip passengers on its nonstop EWR-LIM-EWR flights. The most-trafficked month was May 2026 (9,950 passengers), while the least popular month was February 2026 (4,513 passengers). February is usually the hardest month for airlines.

December 2025 did well (8,958 passengers), which was influenced by the higher demand for Christmas travel. With that exception, all other winter months had nowhere near as much traffic as during the summer. As such, it’d be odd for the route to become winter seasonal.

In the examined period, United’s load factor on this relatively long market was 89.3%. As usual, this is just one performance measure and should not be considered in isolation from other things. Varying from 87.4% to 91.9%, the monthly loads did not change much, which partly reflected lower capacity in particular winter months and higher demand in the summer. These things mean it is hard to read much into the results.

Where United’s Lima Passengers Went

Credit: United Airlines

Recall that United transported 98,366 round-trip passengers between June 2025 and May 2026. Of these, booking data via OAG Traffic Analyzer suggests that approximately 74% of passengers were point-to-point; they only flew between EWR and LIM. 23% of the traffic connected to another flight in EWR, while the remaining 3% either transferred in LIM or transited at both EWR and LIM.

Nearly one in four passengers connected at EWR. Given the overall size of the market between Greater NYC and LIM, this relatively small proportion is unsurprising. Booking data shows that Washington, DC (Dulles and Reagan), to LIM via EWR was the most popular segment at the city level. Toronto was second, followed by Boston, Tokyo, Montreal, Chicago, Milan, Ottawa, Vancouver, and London.