Delete
Passengers check in for the first United Airlines flight to New York from Malaga. Migue Fernández
United Airlines will consider more routes between Malaga and the USA if there is demand

United Airlines will consider more routes between Malaga and the USA if there is demand

Travel ·

The company is optimistic about the profitability of their new Costa del Sol connection and routes to Chicago and Miami are a possibility

Pilar Martínez

Malaga

Friday, 2 June 2023, 15:57

Compartir

The premiere of the new United Airlines connection between Malaga and New York marks the beginning of what is considered a litmus test to consolidate a route that can open new doors in the United States.

The company's vice president of Alliances and Planning, Patrick Quayle, does not rule out opening new connections from Malaga to the United States beyond the Big Apple, but said that first the recently launched flight must be consolidated. The first flight from New York to Malaga Airport arrived on Thursday 1 June and was full as was a return flight that left this Friday morning.

"The most important thing is to work on the Malaga-New York route and when this flight settles, we will be able to add more capacity in the market," Quayle said.

"We are delighted with the reception," he added.

In a press release, the Junta's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Arturo Bernal, praised the opening of this connection, which will offer 17,000 seats in both directions, in the 52 flights scheduled until 28 September. "It will make it possible to attract customers from a key issuer for the region, due to its capacity for deseasonalisation and its impact on the economy, as well as opening up new business channels with the United States," he said. "More will come," he added on his Linkedin account.

The new connection opens up new opportunities for the tourism sector of the Costa del Sol at a time when the arrival of American tourists far exceeds the data from before the pandemic in this first quarter in which hotels and tourist flats have already added 100,000 overnight stays, compared to the 405,347 recorded in the whole of 2022.

Data from the latest Turismo Costa del Sol report highlights that this is a market on the rise, experiencing a growth of 26.1% in travellers and 23.5% in stays above the levels reached in this same period in 2019. A boost with which the province of Malaga is gaining muscle and market share, concentrating between January and March 32.3% of the nights booked from the USA in Andalucía and 6.7% of those registered at a national level.

So far this year, 171,623 US travellers have stayed in Andalusian hotels, 11.4% more than in the same months of 2019. Overnight stays stood at 396,185, with increases of 15.5% compared to before the pandemic.

Reporta un error en esta noticia

* Campos obligatorios