The 15 Most Exciting New Routes (Hopefully) Coming To The United States in 2021

For the past two years, I’ve compiled a list of the most exciting new routes that would come to the United States in the following year. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, very few airlines are actually planning on adding new routes in 2021, and most of the planned new routes for 2020 never actually ended up happening. However, airlines have become more creative in their route networks and have decided to emphasize greater point to point travel in their route networks, leading some airlines to plan to add new routes in 2021. In this article, I’ve historically highlighted the most exciting long-haul international routes to come to the US (since those are generally the most exciting and creative, in my opinion); that’s still true this year, though I do include a couple domestic routes, including multiple to Hawaii.

However, while normally I would’ve had to sort through dozens upon dozens of routes and decide which routes to choose in this condensed article of 15 routes, this year, there really weren’t that many more than 15 new long-haul routes coming to the US in 2021, which made my task a lot easier (I guess there’s one good thing about 2020…). Anyways, here are the 15 most exciting routes that hopefully (there’s a very good chance that airlines will bail on some of these) will come to the US in 2021.

15: Newark To Johannesburg On United

Airline	United Airlines
Flight Route	Newark Liberty International Airport to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport
Type of Aircraft4	Boeing 787-9
Start Date	March 27, 2021
Number of Weekly Flights	Daily
Flight Length/Time	7989 Miles 15h/15h 45m
In-Flight Experience	United will use a Boeing 787-9 for this route with new Polaris and Premium Plus seats. While most of United’s 787-9s have Diamond seats in business and don’t have premium economy, United will use a sub-fleet of its 787-9s that are equipped with new software that allows the aircraft to fly slightly further for its new Johannesburg and Bangalore routes. It turns out that all of the aircraft with the new software have Polaris and Premium plus seats, so you won’t have to guess whether United will schedule a Polaris or non-Polaris configured aircraft on their longest routes. I reviewed Polaris on United’s 787-10, and the experience on the 787-9 should be the same, though United has 46 Polaris seats onboard their 787-9 instead fo 39 on the -10. Polaris is in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, while there are 21 Premium Plus recliner seats onboard in a 2-3-2 configuration and there are 39 Economy Plus seats and 149 Economy seats.
What Makes This Flight Special	With South African Airways’ supposed demise (there’s still a chance they’ll come back), that left the lucrative New York to Johannesburg market without any airlines. While South African operated from JFK with A340-600s and A350-900s, United will operate out of Newark, which is slightly longer. The flight will test the range of United’s 787s, though as mentioned above, they included new software on this sub-fleet of 787s that allows it to fly slightly longer. This will become United’s second flight to South Africa, after their seasonal Newark to Cape Town flight, and will be one of four flights to Africa which United will operate in the long-term, as they will also start Dulles to Lagos and Accra flights. The flight will compete with Delta’s triangle route from Atlanta to Johannesburg to Cape Town, which will be the sole non-United nonstop flight to South Africa from the U.S.

14. New York to Paris on Corsair & French Bee

Airline	Corsair French Bee
Flight Route	New York JFK to Paris Orly (Corsair) Newark to Paris Orly (French Bee)
Type of Aircraft	A330neo (Corsair) A350 (French Bee)
Start Date	April 15 (Corsair) February 12 (French Bee)
Number of Weekly Flights	3x (Corsair) 4x? (French Bee)
Flight Length	Roughly 3,650 Miles
In-Flight Experience	French Bee’s A350s are very tight, with economy class in a non-standard 3-3-3 configuration and premium economy being in a 2-4-2 configuration, which doesn’t come as a surprise, as French Bee is a no frills low-cost carrier. However, the aircraft is equipped with personal on-demand entertainment. Corsair plans to use an A330neo on the route, though there are no details of its interior specifications. They haven’t taken delivery of any A330neos yet, so if they do start, it’s possible they’ll use another aircraft first.
What Makes This Flight Special	Back in 2019, both Corsair and French Bee announced that they would introduce Paris to New York flights on June 10, 2020, though obviously, those planned flights never started. Both are low-cost (generally leisure) carriers out of France, so they’ll be targeting mostly low-yield leisure passengers flying solely between Paris and New York (which isn’t a small market). French Bee currently (in the US) only serves San Francisco (and continues on to Tahiti), while Corsair (currently) serves Miami. What makes these flights special is that in a highly competitive route (which already has United, Delta, Air France, American, La Compagnie, Level, and Norwegian, the latter two of which are low-cost carriers), the introduction of the two new airlines will make nine airlines serving the New York to Paris market, which I don’t think exists for any other long-haul route. Corsair and French Bee have the potential to shake up the competition on this route and potentially bring down prices, though in a highly competitive route and with COVID and (relatively) low brand recognition, I would not be surprised if one (or both) end up bailing on or canceling the route in short order.

13: Charlotte To Honolulu On American

Airline	American Airlines
Flight Route	Charlotte Douglas International Airport To Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Honolulu)
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 777-200
Start Date	May 6, 2021 (seasonal; ends September 7)
Number of Weekly Flights	6-7x
Flight Length/Time	4667 miles 9h/10h
In-Flight Experience	American actually has two versions of 777-200ERs in its fleet, though unfortunately they are in the same configuration; the only difference is the model of business class seats, though they have an identical number of them. The first uses American’s Zodiac Concept D seats (also installed on most 787-8s), which are reverse herringbone seats, though they alternate between being forward and backwards facing. The seats didn’t get very good reviews (and they aren’t that private and aren’t the most sturdy), and they were having production issues, so in American’s process of retrofitting their 777s, they decided to switch to a new type of seat, the very popular Collins Super Diamond seat, also available on their 787-9s. The seats are also reverse herringbone, though they are much more private and spacious, and are all forward facing. American has 37 business class seats onboard, along with 24 premium economy seats, 66 Main Cabin Extra seats, and 146 economy seats. Premium economy is in a 2-4-2 configuration, while economy is in a 3-4-3 configuration. The aircraft are equipped with personal on-demand entertainment (all seats) and WiFi.
What Makes This Flight Special	While American, Delta, and Hawaiian all operate flights from Hawaii to the East Coast, this will become American’s first in that market. American presumably decided to commence this flight in order to compensate for changed demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic with much less international travel and a greater percentage of leisure travel having returned. The new flight will complement American’s existing service from Honolulu to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and Chicago, and will be the first flight from Charlotte to Hawaii. The flight will also presumably try to capture most of the traffic to Hawaii originating in Charlotte, along with some from the Southeast and Northeast. Additionally, the flight is seasonal, though if the flight doesn’t do as well as expected, I wouldn’t be surprised if American drops it for 2022 in favor of using the frame for more international travel.

12: Honolulu To Orlando On Hawaiian

Airline	Hawaiian Airlines
Flight Route	Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Honolulu) To Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Airbus A330-200
Start Date	March 11 (Orlando) April 21 (Austin)
Number of Weekly Flights	2x
Flight Length	4746 Miles (Orlando); 9h 45m; 10h 45m
In-Flight Experience	Hawaiian’s A330-200s are equipped with 18 business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, though due to the configuration of the seats, all seats have direct access to the aisle, because there is a little passageway between the window seats and the aisle. The seats are very unique, with the only other airline using them being Hong Kong Airlines. Economy class is in a 2-4-2 configuration, with in-flight entertainment screens being available at every seat. However, in business class, IFE screens aren’t available; flight attendants come around to distribute pre-loaded iPads instead.
What Makes These Flights Special	Hawaiian announced an expansion of flights to the mainland in December, which also included flights from Honolulu to Ontario and from Maui to Long Beach. Hawaiian has (like all airlines) drastically reduced its route schedule, so, like many other airlines that have added leisure routes, they figured that they would rather start nonstop flights in markets previously not served and thereby gain a competitive advantage over other airlines than just have the planes sitting on the ground. Both of these routes will also become Orlando’s and Austin’s first routes to Hawaii, while Orlando will become Hawaiian’s third longest route, after their flights to Boston and New York, while Austin will become their fourth longest to the US mainland. I’m a bit surprised about the Orlando route, as both markets are generally very tourist-centric, though Hawaiian stated that it was one of the largest unserved markets to Hawaii, and I guess there’s probably enough demand for 2x weekly flights.

11: Honolulu To Austin On Hawaiian

Airline	Hawaiian Airlines
Flight Route	Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Honolulu) To Austin
Type of Aircraft	Airbus A330-200
Start Date	March 11 (Orlando) April 21 (Austin)
Number of Weekly Flights	2x (Both Flights)
Flight Length	4746 Miles (Orlando); 9h 45m; 10h 45m 3772 Miles (Austin); 7h 10m; 8h 20m
In-Flight Experience	Hawaiian’s A330-200s are equipped with 18 business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, though due to the configuration of the seats, all seats have direct access to the aisle, because there is a little passageway between the window seats and the aisle. The seats are very unique, with the only other airline using them being Hong Kong Airlines. Economy class is in a 2-4-2 configuration, with in-flight entertainment screens being available at every seat. However, in business class, IFE screens aren’t available; flight attendants come around to distribute pre-loaded iPads instead.
What Makes These Flights Special	Sticking with Hawaiian, the Austin route honestly makes more sense to me than Orlando, as it’s a rapidly expanding (and closer) market in the United States which has recently gained more and more long-haul service, and will supplement American’s services to Hawaii from Dallas and United’s service to Honolulu from Houston in the market for nonstop flights from Texas to Hawaii. I’m a bit more surprised about the Orlando route, as both markets are generally very tourist-centric, though Hawaiian stated that it was one of the largest unserved markets to Hawaii, and I guess there’s probably enough demand for 2x weekly flights.

10: Hyderabad To Chicago On Air India

Airline	Air India
Flight Route	Chicago O’Hare Airport to Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 777-200LR
Start Date	January 15
Number of Weekly Flights	1x Weekly
Flight Length	8301 Miles 15h 40m/16 45m
In-Flight Experience	The flight will use one of Air India’s Boeing 777-200LRs, of which they only have three aircraft. The plane is quite dated, with 8 first class open suites (which lie fully flat) that are in a 1-2-1 configuration, along with business class consisting of angle-flat seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Economy class is fortunately in a 3-3-3 configuration, which by today’s standards is rather spacious. Personal on-demand entertainment is available at all seats onboard.
What Makes This Flight Special	This flight clearly is taking aim at VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic, which takes up a greater percentage of global traffic at this point, with business travel at a near standstill. The flight will join Air India’s flight from O’Hare to Delhi, and is special in particular as it will become the first nonstop flight ever from the US to Hyderabad.

9: Chicago O’Hare To Kona On United

Airline	United Airlines
Flight Route	Chicago O’Hare International Airport To Kona International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 787-8
Start Date	June 3, 2021
Number of Weekly Flights	4x
Flight Length/Time	4,216 Miles 8h 5m (Eastbound), 9h 20m (Westbound)
In-Flight Experience	This flight will use United’s Boeing 787-8, which United has two configurations. United will use their older and more premium heavy configuration for this route, which has 36 seats in business class, along with 70 Economy Plus seats (no Premium Plus) and 113 economy seats. Planes in this configuration are not equipped with the new United Polaris seats and are equipped with United’s older Collins Diamond seats, which are in a 2-2-2 configuration. Economy is in a 3-3-3 configuration, which is standard for 787s though is nevertheless quite tight.
What Makes This Flight Special	This flight will become United’s third flight from Chicago to Hawaii, supplementing their flights to Honolulu and Maui. This will also be their fourth flight to Kona, after Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and will become the new longest flight out of Kona; normally, it would be American’s flight to Dallas. United announced new flights to Hawaii as part of their re-distribution of their route network, focusing on markets which they believe will return by June (and even starting new ones which have more point to point demand), rather than resuming many of their previous long-haul routes which they don’t forecast will have sufficient demand by then.

8: United’s Grand Return To JFK (From LAX & SFO)

Airline	United Airlines
Flight Route	New York JFK International Airport To Los Angeles International Airport New York JFK International Airport To San Francisco International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 767-300ER
Start Date	February 1, 2021
Number of Weekly Flights	2x Daily JFK-LAX 2x Daily JFK-SFO Total: 28x Weekly
Flight Length	2580 Miles (SFO) 2827 Miles (LAX)
In-Flight Experience	The flight will be operated by one of United’s “high-J” Boeing 767-300s, which is intended for business-centric premium routes (such as EWR-LHR) and has 46 Polaris (the actual ones, in a 1-1-1 configuration) business class seats (which is a lot for a 767-300; most of United’s have only 30) and 22 Premium Plus (premium economy) recliner seats. Like on United’s premium routes from Newark to LAX and SFO, premium economy and business class have extra services, including international style Polaris bedding (though only a pillow and duvet in business) and better (and in economy/premium economy’s case free) meals.
What Makes This Flight Special	United left JFK in 2015 when they moved their Premium Service (P.S.) flights from New York to SFO & LAX to Newark. This was one of Jeff Smeisek’s (two CEOs ago) last moves, though soon after, Oscar Munoz (last CEO) brought in Scott Kirby (current CEO) as president from American, who thought it was a terrible idea, as he argues that there are many high-yield business travelers who fly transcontinentally exclusively out of JFK (because they don’t like Newark or think of it as New York) that United was simply letting American, Delta, and JetBlue have without a fight. Now that Scott Kirby became CEO in May, United soon announced that it would return to JFK with 2x daily premium transcontinental flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco, supplementing United’s existing premium service out of Newark, which is more convenient for connecting travelers. United will operate out of Terminal 7 (which will be demolished in a few years), where they previously operated, though I don’t believe they will operate their own lounge (maybe they’ll use Alaska’s?), which may give them a competitive disadvantage. I would presume that United got slots relatively cheaply out of JFK because of COVID-19, and it’s quite possible that United will eventually expand more out of JFK, possibly introducing more flights to SFO and LAX, or perhaps they’ll introduce flights to some of their other hubs (i.e. Denver, Houston, Dulles, Chicago) or re-join the incredibly competitive (and normally lucrative) JFK to Heathrow market.

7: Eastern Airlines’ Grand Expansion In Latin America (& Alaska)

Airline	Eastern Airlines
Flight Routes	Belo Horizonte to Boston (March 29, 2021) Belo Horizonte to Miami (March 31, 2021) Belo Horizonte to New York JFK (March 30, 2021) Quito to Miami (March 28, 2021) Quito to New York JFK (March 28, 2021) New York JFK to Anchorage (May 28, 2021) Los Angeles to Guayaquil (January 29, 2021) Miami??? to Montevideo (TBA) They have also launched a number of routes to Latin America in the past months
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 767-200ER Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 777-200ER
Start Date	See Above
Number of Weekly Flights	N/A
Flight Length	North America to Central/South America so generally should be 4-8h in length
In-Flight Experience	Eastern Airlines bought all of their planes second-hand, meaning that there isn’t any uniformity in interior configurations. However, having seen pictures of Eastern cabins, some of their aircraft have recliner seats in business class, though some have angle-flat seats (including all of their 777s). I might be mistaken, but I don’t believe that there is any in-flight entertainment on-board.
What Makes This Flight Special	Eastern Airlines, which I wrote about a couple of months back, recently announced a whole new set of routes which they will begin in 2021. Their business strategy as of now seems to be to fly from the US to lesser served and secondary destinations in Latin America at low frequencies, which certainly is emphasized in their recent route announcements. Having recently taken delivery of three Boeing 777s and more 767s, this isn’t exactly surprising, as those planes aren’t going to make any money just sitting around, like they’ve generally been doing. I’m not going to go into great detail about each and every new route (you can see the route map above), but in this wave of new routes, they are launching four new destinations (with Montevideo TBD). Included are three new routes to Belo Horizonte, where they’ll have a monopoly on nonstop flights from the US. They’ll also launch flights to Quito, where they’ll have no competitors on their New York route and will compete with American on Miami, and will also launch flights from LA to Guayaquil, where they will have no competition. What’s interesting is that they’ll also launch flights from JFK to Anchorage, which is their first non-Latin American destination (besides in the 48 states). They’ll compete with United, which flies to Anchorage from Newark. Honestly, I might be able to see their business model work in the long-term; they are specifically targeting routes that are underserved but still have demand, and with only a couple of flights a week on each flight and dozens of different city pairs (but only a dozen or so planes), they might be able to have relatively high load factors.

6: Seattle To Bangalore On American

Airline	American Airlines
Flight Route	Seattle Tacoma International Airport to Bangalore Kempegowda International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 787-9
Start Date	October 31, 2021
Number of Weekly Flights	Daily
Flight Length	8112 Miles 16h 40m/16h 45m
In-Flight Experience	The flight will use one of American’s Boeing 787-9s, which is equipped with 30 fully flat reverse herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 configuration in business class, which is among the world’s best business class seats. Premium economy is in a standard 2-3-2 configuration, while economy class and Main Cabin Extra are in a 3-3-3 configuration. Personal on-demand entertainment and WiFi for purchase are available onboard.
What Makes This Flight Special	In February of 2020, American announced that they would commence flights from Seattle to Bangalore at the end of 2020, which was surprising, as there were previously no nonstop flights between the US and Bangalore and American had previously not operated long-haul flights out of Seattle. American obviously delayed the flight until 2021, though it did make some sense as Alaska had been announced to join OneWorld (increasing their partnership with American), so there would be some connectivity with them, and they figured that they could gain a significant percentage of the US-Bangalore market share with the sole nonstop flight from the US. American subsequently also announced nonstop flights between Seattle and London and Shanghai. However, United and Air India both subsequently announced that they would begin nonstop flights between San Francisco and Bangalore (which has a significantly greater amount of O&D passengers) in May and January, respectively. This immediately takes away American’s competitive advantage, and while I still think it’s likely that they will start this route, it’s definitely a non-zero chance that they will forego launching the route.

5: Doha To Seattle On Qatar Airways

Airline	Qatar Airways
Flight Route	Doha Hamad International Airport to Seattle Tacoma International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Airbus A350-900
Start Date	March 15, 2021
Number of Weekly Flights	4x
Flight Length/Flight Time	7411 Miles 14h 10m/14h 20m
In-Flight Experience	This flight will be operated by one of Qatar Airways’ QSuite configured A350-900s, often considered to be the world’s best business class. Qatar Airways’ QSuites are staggered and in a 1-2-1 configuration alternating between forward and rear facing. However, what makes their seats special is that they have closing doors, and the seats in the center section of the aircraft can combine to make a four-person seat, and seats closer together in the center section can create a double bed. There are 36 QSuites onboard and 247 economy class seats which are in a standard 3-3-3 configuration. In-flight entertainment (personal screens) are available at all seats.
What Makes This Flight Special	This flight was clearly launched as a part of Qatar Airways’ new partnership with Alaska Airlines, which has their main hub in Seattle. as a part of Alaska’s entry into OneWord. While this is good for Alaska Airlines loyalists, it remains to be seen if they will retain their partnership with Qatar’s main competitor, Emirates. I would place my bets on Qatar Airways actually managing to launch this route, as they already launched San Francisco flights in December of 2020, showing that they aren’t afraid to start flights during the pandemic. Plus, Seattle is one of the last major US cities which Qatar doesn’t fly to, and with a new strategic partnership with the hometown airline of Seattle, this flight makes perfect sense.

4: Washington Dulles To Lagos & Accra On United

Airline	United Airlines
Flight Route	Washington Dulles International Airport to Accra Kotoka International Airport & Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 787-8 (Both Flights)
Start Date	May 15, 2021 (Accra) TBA (Lagos)
Number of Weekly Flights	3x (Both Flights)
Flight Length	5296 Miles (Accra); 10h 35m; 10h 50m 5442 Miles (Lagos); TBA
In-Flight Experience	Both flights will be operated by the 787-8, of which United has two configurations. The Accra flight will use United’s retrofitted version, and while the Lagos flight isn’t on sale yet, I would presume that it will also use the same configuration. The aircraft is fitted with 28 seats in Polaris (it makes sense that United is using their less premium heavy for this route, given that most of the traffic will be VFR), 21 seats in Premium Plus, 36 seats in Economy Plus, and 113 seats in Economy. United’s retrofitted 787-8s are equipped with their new Polaris seats, which are in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, while Premium Plus consists of recliner seats in a 2-3-2 configuration, and economy class is in a 3-3-3 configuration. Personal in-flight entertainment screens, personal device entertainment, and WiFi are available onboard.,
What Makes This Flight Special	The start of these two flights makes sense, as South African Airways had previously operated a flight from Johannesburg to Accra to Washington, and they most likely will never come back (same logic with UA’s new flight to Johannesburg). Washington DC has a relatively large West African diaspora, especially from Ghana, so the start of these two routes makes sense, especially as airlines are focusing more on VFR and leisure routes, as opposed to business routes in this day and age. United actually used to operate a triangle flight from Washington to Accra to Lagos a decade ago onboard a 767-300, so these actually aren’t new flights; they are just route resumptions. However, this time around, United is operating two completely separate flights to both destinations. While there used to be flights between Dulles and Lagos, there hasn’t been a nonstop option between Washington and the most populous country in Africa in a decade. United also operated a route between Houston and Lagos (obviously an oil route) in 2016, though the Dulles route makes some more sense, as it can more conveniently capture traffic from across the U.S. United will compete with Delta on flights to Accra and Lagos; they operate flights between JFK and Accra, as well as between Atlanta and JFK with Lagos.

3: United & Air India From San Francisco To Bangalore

Airline	United Air India
Flight Route	San Francisco International Airport to Bangalore Kempegowda International Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 787-9 (United) Boeing 777-200LR (Air India)
Start Date	January 11 (Air India) May 8 (United)
Number of Weekly Flights	2x (Air India) 7x (United)
Flight Length	8694 Miles
In-Flight Experience:	United will use a Boeing 787-9 for this route with new Polaris and Premium Plus seats. While most of United’s 787-9s have Diamond seats in business and don’t have premium economy, United will use a sub-fleet of its 787-9s that are equipped with new software that allows the aircraft to fly slightly further for its new Johannesburg and Bangalore routes. It turns out that all of the aircraft with the new software have Polaris and Premium plus seats, so you won’t have to guess whether United will schedule a Polaris or non-Polaris configured aircraft on their longest routes. I reviewed Polaris on United’s 787-10, and the experience on the 787-9 should be the same, though United has 46 Polaris seats onboard their 787-9 instead fo 39 on the -10. Polaris is in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, while there are 21 Premium Plus recliner seats onboard in a 2-3-2 configuration, while there are 39 Economy Plus seats and 149 Economy seats. Meanwhile, Air India will use one of their Boeing 777-200LRs, of which they only have three aircraft. The plane is quite dated, with 8 first class open suites (which lie fully flat) that are in a 1-2-1 configuration, along with business class consisting of angle-flat seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Economy class is fortunately in a 3-3-3 configuration, which by today’s standards is rather spacious. Personal on-demand entertainment is available at all seats onboard.
What Makes This Flight Special	With Air India’s new service, they will mark the first nonstop flight between the US and Bangalore. Apparently there is a large market between Bangalore and San Francisco (I think because of tech), so it’s somewhat surprising that there’ve been no nonstop flights before, though it is a very long route (United’s 787s need to be modified to fly it). While United announced the flight before Air India (largely to compete with American, which will launch flights from Seattle), Air India soon after followed. While both airlines are part of Star Alliance, they don’t exactly have a close relationship, so they probably will end up competing with each other on this route. This will be Air India’s second flight to SFO (after Delhi) and will also be their longest flight, while United also currently flies from SFO to Delhi, though they don’t fly to Bangalore yet. If American, United, and Air India launch flights, there will be 16x weekly nonstop flights between the US and Bangalore by the end of next year, which is incredible as there (still) have never been any nonstop flights from the US to Bangalore.

2: Newark To Maui (Kahului) On United

Airline	United Airlines
Flight Route	Newark Liberty International airport to Kahului Airport
Type of Aircraft	Boeing 767-300ER
Start Date	June 3, 2021
Number of Weekly Flights	4x Weekly
Flight Distance/Time	4897 Miles 9h 30m (Eastbound), 10h 55m (Westbound)
In-Flight Experience	Untied will use one of their standard Boeing 767-300s, in other words, not one of their High-J 767s which have 46 business class seats. Their normal 767-300s have 30 Polaris seats (all 767-300s should have the true Polaris seats by then) which are in a 1-1-1 staggered configuration, making it an excellent seat for a domestic (albeit a long one) flight (I reviewed this product in 2019). Economy class is in a 2-3-2 configuration, and 767s generally have very wide seats, making it good for most travelers. While there is no premium economy (aka Premium Plus on United), there is an Economy Plus cabin of 46 seats. IFE, WiFi, and Personal Device Entertainment are all available onboard.
What Makes This Flight Special	United announced new flights to Hawaii as part of their re-distribution of their route network, focusing on markets which they believe will return by then (and even starting new ones which have more point to point demand), rather than resuming many of their previous long-haul routes which they don’t forecast will have sufficient demand by then. My guess is that this flight will primarily be targeting the leisure travel segment in This is the first flight from the East Coast to an airport in Hawaii in New York and the Northeast. Honolulu (and ergo also to Maui, and joins United’s flights (in normal times) from Newark to Honolulu, making this their third flight from the East Coast to Hawaii. United also currently serves San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago from Kahului.

1: JetBlue From New York JFK & Boston To London

Airline	JetBlue
Flight Route	New York JFK To London Gatwick Boston Logan To London Stansted
Type of Aircraft	Airbus A321LR
Start Date	TBA
Number of Weekly Flights	TBA (though they were granted enough for 2x daily flights between JFK and Gatwick, along with 4x daily flights between Boston and Stansted, though it’s doubtful that they’ll use all of them at first)
Flight Length	3458 Miles (JFK to Gatwick) 3273 Miles (Boston to Stansted)
In-Flight Experience	JetBlue announced that they will introduce new on-board cabins on their A321LR, including a new Mint business class product, though known details are limited. They currently use the Thompson Vantage seat onboard their current A321s, used for transcontinental flights, though they will be using a new seat for the flight. It’s anyone’s guess as to what it will be, though it seems that it’s likely that the seats will have all aisle access, and it’s quite likely that they’ll also have doors. It seems like the two most likely options are the Thompson Vantage Solo and the STELIA Opera seats, herringbone and reverse herringbone seats, respectively. In terms of economy class, I would be willing to be a million dollars that it will be in a 3-3 configuration and will be equipped with top-of-the-line personal on-demand entertainment.
What Makes This Flight Special	JetBlue has long been considering adding transatlantic flights, and last year they announced that they would begin flights in 2021 to London. The reason why this flight is at the top of the list, despite being a market that already has plenty of competition, is in doing so, JetBlue will become only the fourth US commercial airline to offer transatlantic service. Additionally, like they did with the premium transcontinental market where they innovated with their then-new Mint produce, creating a world-class business class product that was cheaper than their competitors (such as United and American), JetBlue aims to shake up the Boston and New York market by adding their fantastic products across the board to the route. However, there may be one thing standing in their way of doing so: Heathrow Airport slots. Unfortunately, Heathrow Airport put a freeze on their harsh slot rules, meaning that airlines temporarily don’t have to operate flights to keep their Heathrow slots. With Heathrow slots also normally being extremely expensive, JetBlue was only able to manage to acquire slots at Gatwick and Stansted, which are much less desirable for the business traveller. They plan to operate flights from JFK to Gatwick, which is much more respected than Stansted (which makes sense, as the New York-London market is more prestigious), and flights from Boston to Stansted. While this gives them significantly decreases their competitive advantage with business travelers, they still should be able to compete competitively in the leisure segment and certain business segments. JetBlue has 13 A321LRs on order, which they plan to initially use for their London flights, which they will start to take delivery of next year, though they also have 13 more A321XLRs on order, signifying that they likely won’t stop in Europe with London. It still seems likely that they’ll start London flights in 2021, though there’s definitely a very large possibility that they will postpone until 2022.