United Airlines’ director for the Atlantic/Hawaii, Darren Scott, told “Diário dos Açores” that the American airline will resume operations to Ponta Delgada this summer. The season will run from June 5 to September 23 (from EWR—Newark International Airport, USA) and June 6 to September 24 (from Ponta Delgada).
Darren Scott revealed to our newspaper that the company will operate five times a week (no Monday/Wednesday operation from EWR, Tuesday/Thursday from PDL) at the beginning of the season (June 5-26) and at the end of the season (September 3-23), and daily at the peak of summer (June 7-September 2).
The aircraft used will be the 737-MAX8, with the following schedule:
EWR-PDL 23:05 – 8:40+1
PDL-EWR 11:00 – 13:15

11% increase in seats to Portugal

United Airlines has increased seats to and from Portugal by 11% this year and is evaluating opportunities to strengthen the operation.
Since 2019, pre-pandemic, the US airline has almost doubled (98%) capacity on flights to and from Portugal, with bookings for this year “in line with expectations”, said Darren Scott.
These figures include the four new weekly connections to and from Faro—New York/Newark, starting on May 16.
He didn’t give any figures regarding the booking rate for the Algarve operation, commenting only that “bookings throughout the summer are in line with expectations” for Faro and the rest of the airports where it operates.
“United Airlines is proud to be the only airline to directly connect Faro, as well as Madeira Island, to the USA,” recalled the company’s director for the Atlantic/Hawaii, who last year was forced to postpone the start of operations in the Algarve due to a lack of aircraft.

United Airlines flies between Faro and Funchal and New York.

In addition to Faro and Funchal (Madeira) airports, the airline has daily flights all year round from Lisbon to New York and almost daily service from Portela to Washington, D.C. It also offers seasonal daily flights from Porto and Ponta Delgada to New York/Newark.
Regarding the tourist profile for the Algarve operation, Darren Scott explained that there is an “excellent opportunity for synergies between Faro and the other services to Portugal, supporting, for example, tourists who visit several places and take advantage of an ‘open jaw’ itinerary, flying to Faro to visit the Algarve region and returning from Lisbon or Porto, for example”.
When asked if they are considering expanding flights from Portugal to cities other than New York and Washington, DC, he said they “continue to monitor demand and the ability to expand the range of services to Portugal from additional United hubs.”
“We are offering more flights between Portugal and the USA than any other North American airline,” he said, pointing out that through United’s hubs, passengers can connect to more than 100 destinations in the North American market. North American tourists have contributed to the growth of the sector in Portugal.
Last year, 5.1 million overnight stays by non-residents in Portugal were by tourists from the USA, which represents a growth of 12% compared to 2023 and around 9% of the total, which exceeded 56 million (+4.7%), according to INE data.
The top three were the United Kingdom, with more than 10 million overnight stays, Germany, 6.3 million, and Spain, 5.4 million.
In the case of the Azores, analyzing the main foreign markets for the two main tourist accommodation establishments (hotels and local accommodation) in 2023, the United States of America stood out as the main source market with 396.4 thousand overnight stays (16.6% of the subtotal – overnight stays), 6% of the subtotal – overnight stays from residents abroad in hotels and local accommodation as a whole), and a year-on-year increase of 38.6%, followed by Germany with 395,700 overnight stays (16.6% of the subtotal) and a year-on-year increase of 16.0% and Spain with 305,800 overnight stays (12.8% of the subtotal) and a year-on-year increase of 60.5%.
The three main markets together accounted for 46.1% of overnight stays by residents abroad in hotels and local accommodations.
In 2024, the USA consolidated its lead as the best source market, with 477,000 overnight stays, an increase of 14%.

In Diário dos Açores, Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.