United to add direct flights from Chicago to popular European destinations beginning summer 2023

CHICAGO - United Airlines announced additional direct flights from Chicago to Ireland and Spain with their 2023 summer schedule Wednesday. 

Beginning May 25, United will add more seasonal flights to Shannon, Ireland with new daily flights from Chicago O’Hare – giving customers more options to explore the country’s western coast including Limerick and Galway. United will fly a Boeing 757-200 on this route.

Next summer, United will feature new direct, daily flights to Barcelona from O'Hare on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, starting May 25. 

United will fly to 14 destinations in Europe from Chicago. This new flight builds on United’s existing service to Barcelona from New York/Newark and Washington Dulles.

"O'Hare International Airport has long served as the connective tissue between our city and the rest of the world," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. "Through United's expanded summer schedule, Chicago will have direct connections to Ireland and Spain—which will provide more exciting and convenient opportunities for travelers to go and come from overseas. I thank the entire team at United for their continued commitment to Chicago's airports and look forward to welcoming visitors coming in from Ireland and Spain the very near future."

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In addition to the new flights from Chicago, United plans to add flights from its other domestic hubs, including more flights to some of the most popular destinations in Europe, including Rome, Paris, Barcelona, London, Berlin, and Shannon. In total, United will fly to 37 cities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East next summer.

"Next summer United is offering the best of both worlds: we’re making it easier for our customers to visit the most popular cities in Europe, but we’re also expanding our reach to give travelers access to new places they might not have been able to fly to directly before," said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of global network planning and alliances at United. "We expect another busy summer for international travel and are proud to build on our industry-leading global network to offer our customers the widest range of destinations and most convenient travel options." 

United saw historic levels of demand for travel to Europe in the summer peak, up 20% compared to 2019, and is focused on developing its network to serve continued demand strength.

This past summer, United added direct service to Milan and Reykjavik, Iceland from O’Hare, both routes which will return next summer. With more than 14,000 employees based in the Chicago, United is dedicated to being a force for good in this community, the airline said. 

Tickets for United’s new summer 2023 flights are on sale now.