United Airlines has just confirmed 14 new routes within the US and Canada to begin operating this summer. The new routes were first revealed on Instagram by Patrick Quayle, United’s Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances. Nine of these routes are seasonal routes that will terminate at the end of the summer season, while another five will be operated for the rest of the year.

United Airlines is most famous for its expansive long-haul network, with its Asia and South Pacific network in particular dwarfing that of rivals Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. However, the short-haul network remains critical to United’s success, and the carrier’s North American network is the smallest out of the three US legacy carriers. United is working to strengthen its overall market position, which includes expanding the North American network.

United Airlines’ Newest Routes For Summer 2026

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United Airlines has announced nine new seasonal routes to commence for the summer season. The carrier is launching service from Denver to Bangor and Chattanooga, Washington-Dulles to Halifax and Quebec City, Houston to Spokane and Burlington, Chicago-O’Hare to Yellowstone, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco to Portland International Jetport, Maine.

Most of these routes will commence on May 23, 2026. The route from Chicago-O’Hare to Yellowstone will start on May 22, and the route from Los Angeles to Portland will commence on June 20. The route from San Francisco to Portland will start on June 27. Meanwhile, the routes from Denver to Chattanooga, Houston to Spokane, and Houston to Burlington will end on August 8. The route from Denver to Bangor will end on September 5, and the route from Washington-Dulles to Quebec City will end on October 24, while all of the other routes will end on September 19.

Eight out of these nine new routes will operate only on Saturdays. As for the route from Chicago-O’Hare to Yellowstone, westbound flights will run on Fridays while eastbound flights will operate on Saturdays. Meanwhile, six of the new routes will be flown by 76-seater Embraer E175 aircraft under the United Express brand, while the routes to Portland and Bangor will use 166-seater Boeing 737-800s.

The New Year-round Routes Being Launched

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In addition to the new seasonal routes, United Airlines is also launching five routes during the summer to be operated year-round. The carrier’s new service from Houston to Windsor Locks Bradley International Airport was last flown in 2022, while the remaining four are new additions. United is launching new service from Denver to Albany, along with three new routes from Los Angeles. These routes will connect Los Angeles to Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City.

The first routes to start will be from Los Angeles to Columbus and Pittsburgh on March 29, while the route from Los Angeles to Kansas City will commence on April 6. The route from Denver to Albany will begin on April 30, whereas the route from Houston to Windsor Locks will begin operating on May 21. Whereas the aforementioned seasonal routes will only operate once a week, these new year-round services will fly daily.

These new routes will once again use a mix of the Boeing 737-800 and the Embraer E175. With the year-round routes, four of them will use the 737-800, whereas the new services from Los Angeles to Kansas City will utilize the E175, operated under the United Express brand.

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Examining United’s New Summer Services

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United Airlines is pursuing two different strategies regarding the seasonal routes and the year-round services. All nine of the seasonal routes operate once per week and are primarily flying to leisure destinations, such as Halifax and Yellowstone. The year-round services, meanwhile, are more business-oriented, offer daily services, and more than half of them originate in Los Angeles.

United is focusing heavily on building its domestic network. Not only does this involve new routes, but this also includes upgauging routes operated by regional jets to mainline aircraft and upgrading interiors to be more competitive as part of the United Next project. It’s also notable that Los Angeles is receiving the highest number of new routes, as United looks to boost its market share here despite its fortress hub in nearby San Francisco.