United Airlines, Icelandair and Scandinavian Airlines plan to add new routes from, to and within the Americas region over the coming months.
Los Angeles-Beijing
United Airlines has scheduled the launch of a new route to China from May, linking Los Angeles and Beijing.
Flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) will commence on May 1, operating three times per week using Boeing 787-9 equipment.
United applied for the U.S.-China Zone 1 frequencies in early December 2024, saying it plans to down-gauge equipment on San Francisco-Beijing Capital to 777-200 aircraft if the request was granted. The Star Alliance member holds 28X-weekly U.S.-Beijing frequencies.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, the airline currently serves San Francisco-Beijing Capital daily, as well as offering daily flights to Shanghai Pudong International Airport from both Los Angeles and San Francisco.
However, the airline in September asked the Transportation Department to extend a waiver on six routes—Chicago-Beijing, Chicago-Shanghai, Newark-Beijing, Newark-Shanghai, Washington-Beijing and an additional seven weekly frequencies on San Francisco-Shanghai—as capacity between the countries continues to lag because of geopolitical issues and lower business travel demand.
Alongside United’s existing Los Angeles-Shanghai route, five other airlines serve the Los Angeles-China market. Air China serves the city from Beijing Capital and Shenzhen; China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai; China Southern Airlines from Guangzhou; Sichuan Airlines from Hangzhou; and Xiamen Airlines from Xiamen.
Reykjavik-Nashville
Icelandair is set to expand its North American footprint in summer 2025 with the launch of a new seasonal route to Nashville, Tennessee.
The airline will begin service between Reykjavik Keflavik Airport (KEF) and Nashville International Airport (BNA) on April 10, operating four weekly flights using Boeing 737-8 aircraft. The route will run through October, offering travelers from Tennessee a new transatlantic gateway to Iceland and onward connections to 34 destinations across Europe.
Nashville’s current European connectivity remains limited, with British Airways operating the only nonstop service—a daily flight to London Heathrow using Boeing 777 aircraft. However, alongside the planned entrance by Icelandair, Aer Lingus is also opening a route to BNA from Dublin Airport. Flights on that route will commence on April 12, operating 4X-weeky using Airbus A321XLR equipment.
According to Sabre Market Intelligence data, London was the largest O&D market from Nashville to Europe in 2024, recording 113,800 two-way passengers. Other top European markets included Rome, Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam, contributing to an overall O&D volume of 453,000 passengers between Nashville and Europe.
Icelandair’s expansion aligns with its strategy of targeting secondary U.S. cities with growing international demand, leveraging its KEF hub to offer one-stop connections to Europe. The move follows the carrier’s newly announced partnership with Southwest Airlines, which is set to launch in February, potentially boosting feeder traffic to Icelandair’s U.S. gateways.
In 2024, the two airlines signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership with Baltimore as the first connecting airport. Two additional connecting points have since been announced through Nashville and Denver.
Alongside the new KEF-BNA route, Icelandair will also launch its first route to Miami from October, running four times a week aboard A321LR aircraft.
Copenhagen-Seattle
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will resume flights to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in May 2025, reinforcing its transatlantic network following its entry into the SkyTeam alliance and new strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines.
Starting May 21, SAS will operate five weekly roundtrip flights between Copenhagen Airport (CPH) and SEA, marking its return to the Washington state airport after a 15-year absence.
Seattle will become the airline’s 10th North American destination, tapping into Washington state’s Scandinavian-American population of approximately 740,000, while offering one-stop connections via Copenhagen to 39 European cities, including Berlin, Helsinki, Milan and Zurich.
The route is aligned with Delta’s expansion at SEA, where the U.S. carrier operates its primary West Coast hub and eighth-largest network by capacity, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. Delta’s presence at SEA will provide SAS passengers with domestic and international connectivity.
The Seattle announcement follows SAS’s recent launch of flights to Delta’s Atlanta hub, while Delta is set to begin service between Minneapolis and Copenhagen in May 2025. SAS joined SkyTeam in September 2024 as part of a restructuring exercise that saw a 19.9% investment from Air France-KLM Group.
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