United Airlines will commence a new seasonal summer service between Newark and Split next year, with the coastal city becoming its second destination in Croatia after Dubrovnik. It also marks Split’s first scheduled long-haul service. Operations will commence on April 30, 2026 and operate three times per week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays departing Newark and Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Split. The carrier will deploy its Boeing 767-300ER aircraft on the route, which can seat either 167 or 203 passengers, depending on the configuration. Further flight details can be found here. Tickets are now available for purchase through the airline's website.
Split forms part of the Star Alliance member's transatlantic expansion, which will include the addition of Bari in Italy and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Commenting on the network expansion, Patrick Quayle, United’s SVP of Global Network Planning and Alliances, said, "United has an unmatched international network, and we pride ourselves on connecting our customers to unique, trendsetting destinations no other US airline serves. With the addition of these new flights and the return of all of our new routes from last year, United now flies to 46 cities across the Atlantic, more than any other airline, and is the clear flag carrier of the US”.
United’s Boeing 767-300ERs feature a three-class cabin layout including the company’s flagship Polaris business class, premium economy and economy cabins. The business class cabin features fully-lie-flat seats in a 1-1-1 configuration, premium economy a 2-2-2 layout and economy boasts a 2-3-2 seating arrangement. All seats offer personal seatback entertainment screens, USB ports and power outlets. The aircraft are also equipped with onboard Wi-Fi.
 |
| United Boeing 767-300ER business class cabin |
 |
| United Boeing 767-300ER economy class cabin |
The new Split service will be maintained until September 5. Alongside Dubrovnik, the carrier will operate up to ten weekly rotations to Croatia next summer season. As reported by EX-YU Aviation News earlier this year, Croatia has been seeking to improve its nonstop connectivity to the United States. The country’s Foreign Minister, Gordan Grlić Radman, discussed the “potential establishment of nonstop flights between Croatian and American airports” during meetings with local leaders in Florida recently. The Croatian National Tourist Board noted that long-haul markets like the US are crucial for growth and that “we must actively encourage the launch of new routes” to improve accessibility. During the first half of the year, over 260.000 Americans visited Croatia, representing an increase of 16% on the same period last year.
United, which is one of the founding members of Star Alliance, boasts a wide-ranging codeshare agreement with Croatia Airlines in place since 2013. United has its codes and flight numbers on the Croatian carrier's services from Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Zurich and Dubrovnik to Zagreb, as well as from Frankfurt and Munich to Split and Dubrovnik. On the other hand, Croatia Airlines does not have its codes on United flights at present.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! Congrats!
Delete767 300 ce imati problem da poleti sa 2500 at mtow. There will be restriciton in fuel or load or no cargo. Landing is no issue
DeleteProbably no cargo. It's mostly leisure pax after all
DeleteThere are no restrictions because the passenger numbers won't be as high as you'd expect for a 767. The aircraft is gonna fly in a premium-heavy configuration. It's a great move by United because it's a perfect setup for Split.
DeleteCongratulations Split.
ReplyDeleteCrazy that Zagreb misses out again
ReplyDeleteZagreb has 20+ daily connections to AMS, FRA, MUC, ZRH, CDG, VIE and LHR so there is too much competition for United to make a direct flight work. The market isn't strong enough, especially in the premium cabin. Split has the leisure element so demand is ex-USA which means there is more money to be made.
DeleteIt shows how strong the coastal leisure demand is compared to the capital.
DeleteObviously, yes. Why would someone who lives in New York fly to Zagreb for their August holiday? They want sunshine, beaches, islands, etc. It is the American traveller's idea of the Mediterranean holiday.
DeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder considering the huge success that DBV has shown with a more than strong premium demand making it a cash cow for UA.
DeleteI wish it wasn't the dreadful 767. Those planes should have been retired years ago.
ReplyDeleteThey will be retiring them by 2030.
DeleteWhat is wrong with them? Haven't been on one but from pics the interior hardware seems good.
DeleteUA 767's have new interiors including the Polaris business class. That's a better product than you'll find on 90% of LH Group's longhaul fleet.
DeleteThe interior is irrelevant when the cabin pressure and the aircraft noise disturb your sleep. I will take an A350 in Economy over a 767 in Premium Economy.
DeleteLook at the seat map for the flights on ua.com. There you can see how premium these 767 are. Business and Premium Eco stretch way behind the wings. Eco is mini. Those are the ones flying int LHR. Love flying them since the eco is soo small.
Deletehttps://www.united.com/de/de/fsr/choose-flights?f=EWR&t=SPU&d=2026-04-30&r=2026-05-15&sc=7%2C7&px=1&taxng=1&newHP=True&clm=7&st=bestmatches&tqp=R
2-3-2 seat configuration in Economy is the best configuration you'll find on any long haul aircraft.
DeleteI never got this obsession with configuration. Surely the age of the aircraft is much more important.
DeleteSurely it is not. Try LH and their wooden benches on brand new, bright and shiny 320 neo family. Pure disaster
DeleteTry TAP eco. It feels even worse. hahaha
DeleteBeen on a Delta 767 and iberia a350. delta was hands down a better product and 767 better aircraft in my opinion.
Delete@23:01 I am talking about long-haul red-eye flights and you are giving me A320s on Lufthansa (average flight duration less than 2 hours) as a counter-argument.... thanks for your contribution
DeleteHardware, product... I guess all of you guys feel so smart when using these posh (poser) words
Delete21.57 and 11.09
DeleteWe don't have crystal ball to read your thoughts. In both your posts you didn't mention with a single word about aircraft type, or short or long haul. It was just about configuration and age. But once beaten with arguments you invent new criteria to prove right by any means. Btw my LH experience on A321 neo was night flight, delayed, with duration of almost 5 hours. Thanks for your contribution.
Bravo Croatia
ReplyDeleteNo, no, you mixed something up, it's not Croatia, it's United
DeleteI meant Croatia like country, honey. :)
DeleteI know. And you know I know, honey 🙂
DeleteNice! Hope it grows like their Dubrovnik route.
ReplyDeleteThis is completely unexpected! Will they crew spend 2 days in split?
ReplyDeleteWhy not? It's not such a long layover
Delete2 days is standard for long-haul layovers.
DeleteÅ uti I radi, zlatno pravilo.
DeleteThis was't on my bingo card at all.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteWith all due respect, the previous CEO of Split Airport was very much against long haul flights. Considering he passed away, perhaps the mood among the rest of the management was different.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I understand his concern of long haul aircraft taking up a lot of ramp space but routes like this really help tourism develop. United flying American tourists for almost 5 months is huge
DeleteWhy would an airport have that as a priority? Their priority has to be airport operations. Using a lot of ramp space in Split is a BIG deal because they cannot fit all the aircraft onto the apron as it is. When there is a storm or ATC delays or any kind of irregularity that causes knock-on delays, the airport has to use very distant stands to get passengers to the aircraft. A wide-body would wipe out multiple parking positions for multiple A320s because the turnaround times are higher.
DeleteRemove Croatia's Dashes and replace them with one widebody.
DeleteKeep Dashes and add widebody would be much better option. But neither will happen. They will single type A220 continue feeding Mutti at Minken and Vrankvurt
Delete@17:30 What a ridiculous idea. Croatia Airlines NEEDS Dashes or small Embraers much more than it needs a wide body. If it's going to get a wide-body then it needs both.
DeleteOh my god... This is not about OU but about Split Airport. I said they should rather use their parking positions for widebodies than Croatia's Dashes.
DeleteSome people here with their obsessions, unaware that OU flies to many destinations outside of Germany.
Delete"Some people here" don't have obsessions but criticize missed potentials and opportunities, and incompetence and corruption, which led OU to be tiny irrelevant miserable feeder which has more than half of its international traffic to LHG hubs, instead spreading its own wings and having its own developed network. On the other hand, we have "some people here" advocating OU as it is. Sad.
DeleteWhere outside the German-speaking world does Croatia Airlines fly from Split? One weekly flight to Heathrow in the winter and Rome. Rome can now be considered a LH group destination too, so it's basically just Heathrow once a week from November to January.
DeleteI just hope this does not turn out like Air Transat which scheduled flights to Split and then just removed them. This is an excellent addition for Split.
ReplyDeleteUnited is a much more serious airline than Air Transat.
DeleteFew months ago I hoped for this and here it is even if some people were saying that it is not possible as Split airport doesn’t have capability to handle bigger airplanes. Amazing news! Congratulations
ReplyDeleteJust goes to prove that if you really hope for something it will come true. 👌
Deletehahahaha
DeleteMy jaw dropped when I saw the UA announcement earlier today. Fantastic news for SPU and finally a long-haul service for this much-deserving airport!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! :-)
DeleteGreat news for Split! It’s about time the city got a direct connection to the U.S. — this will be a huge boost for tourism and the local economy.
ReplyDeleteAgree, especially considering that it's almost flying from 5 months. I just hope they don't reduce DBV because many passenger on that route traveled to Split by boat or bus
DeleteDBV is still daily in the reservation system so they probably won't reduce it.
DeleteThey will most likely increase the DBV flights judging by their performance. Let´s remember that the second year of ops already saw an increase. to daily
DeleteWhat nonsense is this? "Most likely" based on what exactly? Let them keep flights at daily and everyone will be happy. Anything more than daily becomes a problem for network management, crew scheduling, yields, loads, airport operations
DeleteThis is great news for central Dalmatia, not just for Split.
Delete21.52
DeleteNo, second daily flight every day or on certain days of the week is not problem at all for network management, crew scheduling, yields and airport operations. Loads only could be a problem. However I believe DBV will not see frequencies increase. But not because of mentioned "problems" but because those frequencies have just been re-directed to SPU.
Is the runway long enough when it's really hot?
ReplyDeleteI think a 767 can land.
DeleteWas thinking taking off 8n hot weather
DeleteSeriously, what do you think?
DeleteWith high temperatures and a strong headwind its problematic. High J is best configuration so plane is lighter
DeleteAlso the loads seem pretty low, 160-200 people probs means they need a shorter runway than normal regardless
DeleteIt can be an issue, they will just delay the dep until it gets cooler. I know Qantas delays departure out of Dehli due to hominid hot weather until it cools down. Happened to me now long ago!!
DeleteGreat news!
ReplyDeleteHigh spending tourists is exactly what Dalmatia needs. Hopefully DL and AA will follow suit once they got more long haul aircraft.
United clearly sees potential in the Croatian market. Dubrovnik has been performing well for years, so Split seems like a logical next step with similar passenger structure.
ReplyDeleteNow is the moment when we’ll see if croatia would remain “idiote”. The best move they can make would be a codeshare on this route.
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines has a million better moves to make first.
DeleteBut a great opportunety to start as a *Alliance member.
DeleteAs for example more Minken and Vrankvurt 15.29
DeleteZagreb - Newark with a layover in Split? :D
DeleteWhy not?
DeleteWon’t work. Over 4 hours long layover in one way. On the other way there isn’t a morning flight Zagreb Split. Only one at night, a day before.
DeleteAs for example... E moj pir...
DeleteYour attempt to move focus from miserable feeder role of OU failed big time. This is not linguistics blog, it's aviation blog, and OU is shame not only for Croatia but for entire ex-yu aviation world. No matter how desperately you try to hide it
Delete20:03 Instead of making fun of his English, focus on his argument
DeleteHis points about aviations are always nonsensical. Guy thinks year round flights from Zagreb to Rio should be establish by OU.
DeleteYup, his "arguments" are as nonsensical as they are repetitive.
DeleteDon't forget about the OU's year round flights to Australia, Los Angeles and Singapore too.
@An.01.15&03.28
DeleteThe only "nonsensical" thing is advocating crime, corruption, incompetence, political influence, inertness, mindset stuck in 1950's and many more, which led to OU being tiny, irrelevant, miserable feeder. You can insult as much as you want, you can lie I said things I never did, but it will not change sad truth about OU which had potential to be minimum 3 times bigger and much much better
Fantastic development. Split is growing fast and now having a long haul link puts it on the map with other major Mediterranean destinations.
ReplyDeleteSplit is beautiful. It has interesting charm.
DeleteI hope this route will encourage other US carriers to look at Croatia. Maybe Delta or American could consider Zagreb.
ReplyDeletePula next? :D
ReplyDeleteIstria is lovely.
DeleteZadar is an option but I don't know if ZAD can handle full wide bodies.
DeleteHaha Zadar was going to get China flights when that government woman was in charge. Never mind the runway was too short...
DeleteCongrats Split!
ReplyDeleteThree weekly flights sound like a good start. Hopefully, the route will prove successful and go daily in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a smart move by United. The Adriatic coast is becoming increasingly popular with American tourists, and Split is a perfect gateway.
ReplyDeleteYes, now you can combine flying into DBV and out of SPU or vv. without having to go back on your roadtrip. Plenty other possibilities for flying a circle trip remain from other tourist spots around the Mediterranean.
DeleteAmericans don't combine Dubrovnik and Split, they combine Dubrovnik and Rome or Athens, or they go to Sicily and Malta and Mykonos. It's all "Europe" for them.
DeleteHundreds, maybe thousands of Americans, especially younger, combine Dubrovnik and Split. But, hey, you know the best
DeleteI know as much as you do, unless you have access to a statistical report that proves there are thousands of Americans whose holiday consists only of Dubrovnik and Split. And by car (!!). If you think that's true, then you really have no clue what you're talking about.
DeleteI'm not the guy that wrote about people combining the two cities but many do. I was walking with an American friend and other Americans on the streets of split were talking about going to Dubrovnik. I also took catamarans between islands that ho from Split to Dubrovnik and many people were taking that
DeleteI can assure you that they will go to both Split and Dubrovnik but that will not be their whole trip. They will do it as part of a EuroMed tour.
DeleteLike New York-Dubrovnik-Athens-Rome-Venice-Vienna-Prague-Split-NewYork?
DeleteDo you realize how pointless your claims are?
What are the fares like?
ReplyDeleteTake a look!
DeleteCrazy good news for the ex-yu region. Yesterday Toronto and today Newark. I hope we see more long haul routes.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Short-haul P2P routes are much better news for the ordinary person living here. You can already get from Belgrade to Toronto and from Split to USA via Frankfurt or Amsterdam or Paris or London many times a day every day of the year.
DeleteGetting from London to Split direct isnt possible most days of the week during winter. During Winter getting just about anywhere from Split direct is rather hard.
DeleteBut why not having both options so that you can choose. Direct flights are better for me if I can afford it.
Delete@16:44 Your argument makes no sense because United is also summer-seasonal. If United flights were year-round then it would be a bigger deal.
DeleteYou can get to London via Frankfurt and Munich every day from Split all winter multiple times per day. If you mean getting to London to transfer to the US, you do not need to do that because you still have FRA, MUC, ZRH, AMS, FCO etc. Every day, multiple times a day. From those cities you can get almost anywhere.
But direct flights from Split in the winter are limited. Sure connecting is possible but winter in Split airport is a rather sad picture. I agree p2p is more important - especially in winter.
DeleteCongratulations Split. While I could have envisaged Split-US flights, I definitely didn't foresee Santiago de Compostela!
ReplyDelete"Split forms part of the Star Alliance member's transatlantic expansion, which will include the addition of Bari in Italy and Santiago de Compostela in Spain."
This is certainly fascinating news -- especially for us Croats from Dalmatia. But I also think we will see many more direct flights from US cities to airports all over Croatia once the 321XLR becomes widely available to more airlines. So I think that fascination will end in the next 4-5 years as we start to see more and more flights like this. It will eventually become a pretty standard thing, much like flights are to Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't think the XLR will reach Croatia
DeleteIf only an XLR could reach Croatia, but I guess the resident CEO knows best
DeleteHow can 767-300ER have a capacity of 167-199 pax? Ex-Yu, is this a typo?
ReplyDeleteThey have two configurations on the 767-300s. So the number of seats varies.
DeleteI have edited the text to make it clearer. Thank you.
DeleteThese jets are quite premium-heavy. Take a look at the seatmap on any of the days of ops.
DeleteCroatia Airlines should really take advantage of this and coordinate better with United to improve connectivity through Zagreb and Split.
ReplyDeleteIt's too early
DeleteAnd it's dangerous as well. Mutti might get angry!
DeleteNot to sound pessimistic, but can SPU afford closing up 4 narrowbody parking spots in the middle of the summer for one 767? Is there enough space?
ReplyDeleteFrom where tf you got an idea that four positions should be cleared for widebody?
DeleteI think the OP is not wrong in questioning the space issue, but I agree 4 positions is a bit much :D When was the last time Split was served on a regular by a widebody?
Delete^ never
DeleteConfor was coming from DUS with b767. There is parking position called A for widebody. Not an issue for SPu at all to handle 767. Comments are stupid.
DeleteIt's exactly the same comments former CEO Luksa Novak gave just a few years ago.
DeleteThe 767 will not be parked in front of the terminal. They will put it far along the apron where no aircraft would be anyway. So it will take up a lot of space but it won't push any aircraft out of position.
Delete21.15
DeleteIt's not the same. Quantity of fuel needed for 2 hours flight on Condor and 10 hours flight on United make quite a difference
"The country’s Foreign Minister, Gordan Grlić Radman, discussed the “potential establishment of nonstop flights between Croatian and American airports” during meetings with local leaders in Florida recently."
ReplyDeleteI can assure you that this incompetent and clueless individual contributed absolutely nothing to the launch of this route. I'd be surprised if he even knew what United Airlines was.
+1000
DeleteWooow!! Congrats Hrvatska! Best regards from Skopje.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! Puno pozdrava iz Hrvatske :)
DeleteFantastic news! All the best to SPU, it deserves it.
ReplyDeleteThe Business Lounge is an embarrassment in SPU, sandwiches that last for months, very poor good and drink. Surely they won’t let premium Americans endure this?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that Hamburg, 2nd most populated city in Germany, has not been able to restore these flights since losing those in Autumn 2018, but Split, 2nd most populated city in Croatia, is now getting them. Well done SPU!
ReplyDeleteThat’s good news. Americans are known to be big spending tourists compared to those who fly in on Ryan Air or any of the LCC.
ReplyDelete