United Airlines resumes its direct daily flight from Malaga to New York City with high occupancy

Tourism

The aircraft departed from Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday with 90 per cent of seats booked, linking both destinations until next September

Pilar Martínez

Malaga

Malaga is once again connected to New York with a direct daily flight. Airline United Airlines has resumed this service with an aircraft that departed on Thursday from Newark Liberty International Airport and will leave today, 1 May, from the capital of the Costa del Sol for the Big Apple.

This marks the fourth season of an operation that will continue until the end of September, and the tourism sector hopes it will be the last to run only during the peak season — a matter to be determined in October, when the airline decides its schedule for 2027, explains United Airlines’ sales director for Spain, Antonio de Toro.

At 5.55pm New York time, the first flight of the season departed from Newark Airport bound for Malaga, where the Boeing 757-200 operating this route was scheduled to land at 7.35am local time on 1 May. At 9.35am, the first outbound flight departed from the Costa del Sol to what remains the only destination connecting Andalucía with the United States.

De Toro said that these initial flights are operating at 90 per cent and 85 per cent occupancy respectively.

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“We are very pleased with the response. Average occupancy across the entire Costa del Sol operation is above last year’s figures. The outlook up to 23 September is stronger than in 2025,” he explained, adding that “on the Costa del Sol, operations will continue without any significant changes compared with last year”.

It is worth remembering that last year the airline put 51,000 seats on sale, a figure representing a 280 per cent increase compared with 2023 and the same capacity as in 2024.

“This route is performing brilliantly. 30 per cent of ticket sales for this flight have been made in Spain, which is a higher percentage than on United Airlines’ other routes in the country. The performance of the flight has been very positive for Spanish travellers,” explained De Toro.

Regarding the impact of the war in Iran, he said there has been no noticeable effect on bookings. Nor is there concern over the shortage of aviation fuel.

“We will adapt to market conditions. Headquarters have not notified us of any supply problems. We are continuing our work as normal,” he said.

“The average flight occupancy for the whole season in Malaga is already higher than last year’s”

Faced with persistent calls from the tourism sector to make this route permanent, De Toro added, “If I had a crystal ball, I could give an answer, but that will have to wait until October.”

However, he pointed out that the airline is due to receive an order of 50 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, which “will give us a lot of scope because they mean a 20 per cent reduction in operating costs”.

De Toro said that 46 per cent of passengers stay in the New York City area, while the remaining 54 per cent continue their journey to Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Cancún, Mexico City, Chicago, Tampa and Nashville, the capital of Tennessee.

He also noted that the airline has added new destinations in Spain for this peak season. In addition to flying from Malaga, it is operating for the first time from Santiago de Compostela, while continuing its summer routes from Bilbao and Palma de Mallorca. From Madrid and Barcelona, flights are scheduled all year round.

“We’re pleased with the launch in Santiago de Compostela. It has been very well received,” he declared.