United adds new Dulles route, brings poshest plane to new destination

Fresh on the heels of an exciting long-haul expansion, United Airlines is back with another network update.

This time, the Chicago-based carrier is adding a new domestic route, and it'll also deploy its poshest plane to a new destination, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

To start, United will launch flights between Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) on Dec. 19, 2024. Daily year-round service will depart IAD at 5:30 p.m. and land at SLC at 8:20 p.m., all times local. The return flight will depart SLC at 11:30 p.m. and arrive at IAD at 5:30 a.m. the following morning.

United will deploy a mix of jets on the route depending on the time of year. For instance, in January, the airline has scheduled the Airbus A319, the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737-700 for the 1,827-mile route.

In addition to United, Delta Air Lines operates flights between IAD and SLC. Salt Lake City is a key Delta hub, and the carrier flies to both IAD and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in the Washington metro area. The additional competition from United should help lower fares in the market.

For its part, United last operated flights between IAD and SLC in December 2013, Cirium schedules show.

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In addition to the new flight from its Dulles hub, the airline is making a big change to its Boeing 767 deployment schedule. Next summer, the airline plans to fly the "high-J" Boeing 767-300ER between Newark and Athens, Greece, beginning March 31, 2025.

This will be the first time that United has scheduled the high-J Boeing 767 to Athens, and it represents an interesting move for this premium-focused configuration that has historically flown to major business hubs in Europe.

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The high-J Boeing 767-300ER features just 167 seats in one of the most premium-heavy configurations offered by a U.S. airline. There are a whopping 46 Polaris business-class pods (spanning 17 rows), as well as 22 Premium Plus recliners, 43 extra-legroom Economy Plus seats and 56 standard economy seats.

United's high-J Boeing 767 launched back in 2019, and it was designed to fly some of the strongest business-focused routes, such as Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Save for a short coronavirus pandemic-era stint, this high-J Boeing 767 variant routinely appears on flights to Frankfurt, Geneva, London and Paris, among other destinations.

Athens, on the other hand, is much more of a leisure destination, yet United seemingly thinks there will be enough premium leisure demand to fill the pointy end of the plane. (This week, the airline removed this variant from flights between IAD and LHR.)

It'll be interesting to see what happens, but these days, United and Delta are doubling down on premium leisure demand. Whether this move works for United is anyone's guess, but at a minimum, it should make it at least a little easier to find a business-class upgrade or award seat to Athens next summer.

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• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
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• How to survive basic economy on United Airlines