United Airlines Rolls Out 11 International Routes Into March

United Airlines’ winter schedule took effect Oct. 25, opening a season of 11 international route additions and resumptions through March 27, 2027. But this was not an 11-route launch on a single day. Two Mexican routes have already returned; the remaining services begin in December, January or on the final day of the winter schedule, according to Simple Flying.

The publication’s Nov. 3 schedule analysis, citing Cirium Diio data, puts United’s average international departures at 350 daily during the season, up 2% from last winter. The routes span five hubs: Houston Intercontinental, Washington Dulles, San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles. They were previously announced; the report brings their operating dates and frequencies together.

For travelers, those dates matter more than the winter label. Some additions cover only a short holiday window. Others barely qualify as winter launches at all.

Mexico routes are already operating again

According to Simple Flying, Washington Dulles–Los Cabos resumed Oct. 25, 2026, with four weekly flights using Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft. United last served the route in 2019.

Houston Intercontinental–Tuxtla Gutiérrez followed Oct. 27, 2026, with three weekly flights operated by SkyWest Embraer E175 aircraft. United previously flew that route from 2012 to 2013. Its return after a 13-year absence brings United’s Houston network to 25 destinations in Mexico, the publication reported.

These are restored routes, not first-time United destinations. That distinction also applies to Houston–Caracas, which returns later in the season. The other eight routes in the winter list are new to United, according to Simple Flying’s table.

December adds Colombia and short holiday services

Cartagena gets new United service from two hubs on Dec. 17, 2026. Simple Flying lists Houston Intercontinental–Cartagena and Washington Dulles–Cartagena at four weekly flights each, with Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft assigned to both routes.

The paired launches give travelers a choice of United gateways to Cartagena, but neither route is daily. For a trip built around specific arrival and departure dates, the four-weekly schedule is a meaningful constraint, not a minor timetable detail.

The same report lists two other December additions with much shorter operating windows:

• Washington Dulles–Liberia: Daily Boeing 737 MAX 9 service begins Dec. 17, 2026, and runs only through Jan. 4, 2027.
• Houston Intercontinental–Santo Domingo: Three weekly Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights begin Dec. 18, 2026, and run only through Jan. 3, 2027.

These should not be read as full-season options for Costa Rica or the Dominican Republic. Their listed end dates fall well before the March close of the winter schedule. Simple Flying does not establish whether either service resumes after those dates.

Denver–Providenciales begins Dec. 19, 2026, with a weekly Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight, according to Simple Flying. It is the lowest-frequency addition in the list. Travelers considering that nonstop need to build around a weekly operation rather than assume the flexibility of a daily route.

Houston–Caracas returns in January

United’s Houston Intercontinental–Caracas service is scheduled to resume Jan. 12, 2027, with daily Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights, Simple Flying reported. The publication lists United’s previous operation on the route as 2012–2017.

Unlike the Houston–Santo Domingo holiday service, Caracas is listed without an early-January cutoff. It is also the only January launch among the 11 routes. For anyone comparing United’s additions by departure month, it belongs to a later phase of the rollout, not the December holiday expansion.

Japan expansion has two very different timelines

San Francisco–Sapporo begins Dec. 11, 2026, with three weekly Boeing 787-9 flights, according to Simple Flying. The publication identifies Sapporo as a gateway for skiing and other winter activities, making this the Japan addition squarely aligned with winter travel.

The other two Japan routes begin from California on March 27, 2027:

• Los Angeles–Osaka Kansai: Daily Boeing 787-9 service, operating year-round. The route is new to United, but Japan Airlines already serves the market.
• San Francisco–Okinawa: Three weekly Boeing 777-200ER flights, operating seasonally. Simple Flying describes it as a new nonstop market.

The timing needs a careful read. March 27 is the last day of the northern aviation winter under IATA slot seasons. Simple Flying reports that the first departures from Asia on both routes are March 28, the first day of the northern summer season.

In booking terms, Osaka and Okinawa are late-March additions, not options for the main winter travel period. Their inclusion in this list reflects the scheduling calendar. It does not make them available for a December or February departure.

Houston’s Mexico network is still changing

The Tuxtla Gutiérrez return expands Houston’s Mexico network, but the route map is not simply growing in every direction. Simple Flying reports that United will stop serving Tulum in January 2027 and return to Chihuahua at the start of the summer season.

The Points Guy places the Houston Intercontinental–Chihuahua return on March 28, 2027, one day after the winter schedule ends. That service will use a Bombardier CRJ-550 configured with 10 first-class seats, 20 extra-legroom economy seats and 20 economy seats. United last flew the route in 2020, according to Cirium data cited by the publication.

Chihuahua therefore sits outside this 11-route winter count. So does Newark–St. Croix, which Simple Flying excludes because the U.S. Virgin Islands route is domestic. The publication also excludes United’s three Las Vegas–Tokyo Narita flights in January 2027 for the Consumer Electronics Show.

The useful way to read this expansion is route by route, not as a blanket promise of more service all winter. Simple Flying’s schedule shows restored Mexico links already operating, December additions with sharply different frequencies and end dates, a January Caracas return, and two Japan launches at the season’s boundary. Match the route to the actual travel dates before treating it as a new booking option.