Bilbao Airport to fly to New York this summer
Bilbao Airport is in luck. This Thursday, one of its great historical longings, which it has been pursuing for a long time, was made official. This summer, La Paloma will have direct flights to New York. This is undoubtedly great news. This has been confirmed by United Airlines, which will be the company in charge of operating this exclusive route three times a week between 31 May and 24 September. The destination aerodrome will be Newark, New Jersey.
This move is part of the airline’s strategy for the 2025 summer season, in what will be ‘the most extensive transatlantic programme in its history’, according to a statement. It is also the result of the hard work of all the agents involved in the promotion of Bilbao Airport.
After several previous unsuccessful attempts, this will be the first transoceanic route that Bilbao Airport will have. A long-standing aspiration that will finally be fulfilled this summer. An important first step towards the future.
Reactions
Reactions to the news have not been long in coming. Inés Zalbide, director of Bilbao Air, has highlighted the fact that ‘this is the result of many years’ work and of many people, a triumph for the Bilbao-Bizkaia Routes Committee’. ‘It is a route that we have been working on for a long time and which has been made possible thanks to the support we have received at international fairs from the Provincial Council’s Department of Tourism and Aena’, he said.
Likewise, Zalbide points out that ‘the best thing about this route is not only the arrival in New York, but also that United is a great company with a large number of domestic flights, a capillarity that allows us to reach a lot of points in the United States’.
Also, the director of Bilbao Airport, Iván Grande, has assured that ‘it is magnificent news, it is a route that we have been working on for a long time and we can be very happy with the joint work carried out by the institutions and Aena’.
‘We are pleased to announce this new expansion of our route network from Spain to the U.S. and our first service from Bilbao,’ said Marcel Fuchs, United’s general manager of international sales.
‘During the summer of 2025, our customers from Bilbao will be able to enjoy greater travel options and convenient connections to our 59 destinations throughout the Americas with a stopover at our U.S. hubs,’ he said.
Three flights per week
The route between Bilbao and New York will have three weekly connections. From La Paloma, planes will depart on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 pm. In the opposite direction, flights from Newark to the Biscayan capital will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 21:15. Tickets are not yet on sale, as they still require approval from the US government.
To operate this connection between Bilbao Airport and Newark Airport, United Airlines will charter Boeing 757-20 aircraft with capacity for 176 passengers.
United Airlines will thus be ‘the only US airline with a direct service to Bilbao’, as they point out in the communiqué issued. In it, they define the Biscayan capital as ‘a centre of architecture, culture and gastronomy’. From visiting the iconic Guggenheim Museum to enjoying the famous Basque pintxos, this gem offers a cutting-edge urban experience,’ they add. ‘United’s new thrice-weekly flight will provide unparalleled access to northern Spain,’ they congratulate.