Major Carriers Add Over a Dozen Transatlantic Routes
The transatlantic market is set for a major expansion in May 2025 as the three largest U.S. carriers introduce more than a dozen new services to Europe. Delta Air Lines will spearhead the surge by launching six routes, including Boston–Barcelona, Minneapolis–Copenhagen and Detroit–Dublin. It will also deepen its footprint in Italy with flights from New York JFK to Catania, Atlanta to Naples and Minneapolis to Rome Fiumicino. The Minneapolis–Copenhagen connection begins May 22, operating three times weekly on Airbus A330-300s and marking Delta’s second gateway to Denmark alongside its seasonal New York link. The move follows Scandinavian Airlines’ September 2024 entry into SkyTeam, enabling codeshares that grant Delta passengers access to 50 northern European destinations via Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.
United Airlines will boost its European network from Newark Liberty with new nonstop service to Bilbao, Faro and Palermo. In addition, United will launch flights from Denver to Rome, Washington Dulles to Nice and Washington Dulles to Venice. Beyond Europe, United will inaugurate a Los Angeles–Beijing Capital route on May 1, its second service to Beijing after San Francisco, using Boeing 787-9s. That same day a fifth-freedom flight between Tokyo Narita and Ulaanbaatar will begin, operating three times weekly with Boeing 737-800s. This step taps into Mongolia’s burgeoning tourism sector, which grew from roughly 650,000 foreign visitors in 2023 to over 727,000 in 2024, and advances United’s strategy of leveraging Narita as a bridge to underserved Asian markets.
American Airlines will join the expansion with daily transatlantic services from Philadelphia to Edinburgh and Milan Malpensa, as well as a Chicago O’Hare–Naples route. JetBlue Airways will add Boston–Edinburgh and Boston–Madrid, while Germany’s Discover Airlines opens a Frankfurt–Minneapolis/St. Paul connection. Each carrier is targeting high-demand leisure and business corridors to capture incremental traffic and diversify their transatlantic portfolios.
Aer Lingus will inaugurate its second U.S. route with A321XLRs when Dublin to Indianapolis commences May 3 four times weekly, delivering the only nonstop link between the Hoosier State and Europe. TAP Air Portugal will strengthen its North American arm with Lisbon–Los Angeles service beginning May 16. Initially three weekly, TAP will ramp up to four roundtrips from May 25 on A330-900neos, making LAX its eighth U.S. destination. According to Sabre Market Intelligence, the Portugal–Los Angeles market recorded nearly 72,000 two-way passengers in 2024, making it the largest previously unserved city pair between the two countries.
Additional carriers are also adding transatlantic breadth. WestJet launches Halifax–Amsterdam service, Hawaiian Airlines connects Seattle and Tokyo Narita, and KLM begins flights between Amsterdam and San Diego. Air Canada’s summer schedule will see new Montreal–Naples flights, and Air France will commence Paris–Orlando and Paris–Riyadh services.
With these launches, the major airlines are responding to robust post-pandemic leisure and business demand, offering travelers more nonstop options than ever before. By aligning equipment deployment, codeshare partnerships and seasonal capacity adjustments, carriers aim to fill pent-up demand, smooth peak-season congestion and drive year-round revenue growth. As the new services take to the skies in May, the transatlantic landscape will be richer than ever, underscoring the enduring appeal of nonstop connectivity between North America and Europe.
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