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United Airlines plane prepares for departure to New York at Malaga Airport. Salvador Salas
United Airlines delighted with response to increased number of direct flights between New York and Malaga
Air travel

United Airlines delighted with response to increased number of direct flights between New York and Malaga

The peak-season connection between the Costa del Sol and the USA ended last week after a gamble in which the airline went from three flights a week in 2023 to one every day this summer

Pilar Martínez

Malaga

Wednesday, 2 October 2024, 13:34

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An increase to capacity on the United Airlines direct flight route between New York and Malaga has produced good results, according to the American airline.

Following the carrier's final summer season flight on Friday 28 September, United Airlines is taking stock of a strong high season after carrying out its largest increase in its offer in Spain, which involved bringing forward the start of the route by one month on 2 May, and going from three flights a week in its debut on the Costa del Sol in 2023 to one flight every day this summer.

The leap meant putting 280% more seats up for sale on this route. "The market on both sides of the Atlantic has responded very well to the increase in capacity on the flight from Malaga to New York," the carrier said.

The end of operations coincides with the success of the first year of United Airlines' presence in Malaga to connect it direct with Newark Airport and with the first flight this summer, which landed with an occupancy rate of over 90% and with 95% of the business class seats full. The Boeing 757-200 has a total of 176 seats, of which 16 are the United Airlines Polaris business class beds; 160 are economy class seats, including 42 economy plus seats.

In an interview with SUR a few days before United Airlines resumed the direct flight from Malaga to New York last May, the head of sales of the American carrier in Spain, Antonio de Toro, already advanced the good expectations they had for this second incursion. He did so with a headline as clear as: "the flight from Malaga to New York has gone off the map in terms of occupancy". At the same meeting, he pointed out the commitment to the Costa del Sol was estimated at 51,000 seats between New York and Malaga throughout the season and recalled that the partnership with Malaga began in June 2023, with three flights a week and more than 18,300 seats, 9,150 seats in each direction. "The increase is beastly," he added.

After successfully managing this increase in demand, it is now time to wait for the carrier's decision on its new plans for Malaga Airport. Expectations are high and the sector is clamouring for this route to stop being temporary and remain active all year round.

The increase in capacity this summer has been noticed on the Costa del Sol. In July, Malaga city council announced that the United States had become the second largest tourist market for Malaga city. It referred to data from Spain's INE national institute of statistics regarding hotels in June, which showed that 8,073 people arrived from the US, recording 17,667 overnight stays, behind only the UK where 12,859 people arrived from and booked 31,331 overnight stays.

Malaga's provincial authority president Francisco Salado and Malaga city council councillor Jacobo Florido recently held a meeting at a travel fair in San Diego with executives of United Airlines to discuss the possible all-year-round extension of the flight.

Both pointed out the importance of this direct flight and advocated to continue working to have new direct flights to other cities in the US, taking advantage not only of the "unbeatable tourist offer" of Malaga province, but its technological and business development and its connectivity to nearly 140 cities in the world from Malaga Airport. Salado said the Costa del Sol is a safe bet and it is only a matter of time until there is a permanent connection and more direct connections with other hubs in North America.

United Airlines flies in Spain from Madrid and Barcelona all year round, as well as connecting Tenerife, Palma de Mallorca and Malaga with Newark Airport in summer.

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