United Airlines Brings Back 777-300ER To Newark
Intro
There is an exciting development for United Airlines and its largest jet, as the 777-300ER hasn't been flying out of Newark for the past 2 years. As of next summer, this variant of the 777 will be making its comeback to Newark to three destinations. I'm excited but also a little hesitant in one area.
The Details
Starting March 2025, United Airlines will be deploying the 777-300ER on the following routes:
March 29th: Newark-Dubai
March 29th: Newark- Frankfurt
May 22nd: Newark-Rome
While the 777-300s haven't been stationed at Newark since 2022, United used to operate quite a substantial fleet before COVID-19 out of Newark. One of my fondest flights on United was flying Polaris from Newark to Sao Paulo in March 2020, when the plane had 30 passengers onboard. Additionally, United has served Hong Kong and other destinations with the -300 in the past.
Obviously, United will have to downgrade some existing routes to make space for these new additions, but as of now, this has not been reflected in the schedule. If I had to make a guess, we might see some TPAC routes get downgraded.
My Thoughts
On paper, all of these new routes seem to make sense. Serving Rome throughout the summer with a 777-300ER seems to be one of the most beneficial routes in the world (in terms of premium demand). Italy is crawling with tourists (too much so), and people are willing to pay a premium to fly business during their summer vacations.
Originally, when I read that they added Dubai, I was a little hesitant. However, with United's joint venture, and the flight selling decently well, this might be a good move. Same thing with Frankfurt, as the airport is already served twice daily by a UA 777W.
With United adding the 777-300ER, this opens up potentially more upgrade space to Polaris for passengers seeing as the jet features 60 Polaris seats. However, that also means that the Polaris Lounge will become even busier at Newark, which is becoming an ongoing issue in the evenings...
Final Thoughts
United Airlines has decided to bring back its largest aircraft to its Newark hub beginning in 2025. As of now, the 777-300 is scheduled to fly from Newark to Rome, Frankfurt, and Dubai as of March (June for Rome) 2025. Overall, this is a nice addition for passengers as there is more of a chance for upgrades, but boy oh boy do we need a Polaris Lounge expansion (which seems to be coming).
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