United Airlines connects the US to Greenland in historic new nonstop flight

If the pilot is excited, that’s a pretty good indication it’s going to be a memorable flight. This weekend, passengers on board a United Airlines jet were treated to a trip the captain called the “absolute privilege of his career.” The flight in question: the first nonstop service between the U.S. and Greenland in nearly …

Jun 15, 2025 - 13:32

United Airlines connects the US to Greenland in historic new nonstop flight

If the pilot is excited, that’s a pretty good indication it’s going to be a memorable flight. This weekend, passengers on board a United Airlines jet were treated to a trip the captain called the “absolute privilege of his career.”

The flight in question: the first nonstop service between the U.S. and Greenland in nearly 20 years.

It’s among the most head-turning in a series of borderline obscure routes United has launched in recent months in hopes of connecting passengers — especially those with a hearty stash of MileagePlus miles — to more off-the-beaten-path places.

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Saturday’s inaugural service from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) fit the bill, with passengers touching down to applause in the Greenlandic city of Nuuk.

While hot summer temperatures engulfed much of the continental U.S., coats were necessary here, less than 200 miles outside the Arctic Circle; temperatures this weekend have hovered right around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, despite the sun barely setting this time of year.

No airline had flown between the U.S. and Greenland since Air Greenland’s short-lived 2007 nonstop flight to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

Why United is flying to Greenland

Adding America’s first nonstop link to Greenland in decades was part of a larger bet by United: that its core customers were ready for something beyond Europe’s most popular destinations which, in recent summers, have brimmed with tourists.

“London, Rome, Paris they’re always going to be popular,” the carrier’s top route planner, Patrick Quayle, told me Saturday. “Our customers have been there so many times, they want something that’s a bit different.”

But Greenland may be the most different of all.

While United had clear data showing travelers were already connecting on to destinations it recently launched — from Palermo to Dakar, Madeira and Bilbao — CEO Scott Kirby’s take on this latest flight was a bit more simple.

“Expanding to places like Nuuk,” Kirby told Wall Street this month, “…is just cool.”

United’s inaugural flight to Nuuk

That excitement was palpable inside Terminal C at Newark on Saturday, where balloons, décor and a host of Greenland-inspired cuisine lined the boarding area.

This first flight to Nuuk International Airport (GOH), Quayle noted, sold out faster than any past United inaugural in history.

“It really captures people’s imagination,” he said just before cutting the ribbon which commenced the boarding process.

On board

United is flying its Greenland route with one of its narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which is equipped with its standard domestic-style first-class recliners up front.

However, the carrier technically branded the front-cabin experience on this flight as “Premium Plus,” which is how it labels its long-haul premium economy product on larger widebody planes.

In what’s become a well-practiced ritual, United had a wide range of commemorative inaugural-themed tokens for passengers at their seats, including a Polaris teddy bear dressed for the flight. The carrier also had its Therabody amenity kits waiting in the spacious recliners up front.

The flight number for the EWR-GOH trek — UA80 — had special meaning, the cabin crew explained: It was an ode to the 80% of Greenland’s land mass that’s covered in ice.

The uniqueness of that was part of what made this flight a career highlight for Capt. Miles Morgan, who commanded the flight deck on this Saturday.

“I have never been more excited for a day of flying than I am today,” Morgan told the cabin before pushing back in Newark for an on-time departure — itself worth noting following a tumultuous month of May at the airline’s busy East Coast hub (though things have improved more recently).

Inflight service

Inflight, United offered a dedicated menu for the Nuuk route.

Though the carrier doesn’t often get accolades for its cuisine, I had no complaints about the pan-roasted halibut, butter-poached yellow baby potatoes and asparagus.

But it wasn’t the food that passengers came away talking about: it was the full-scale, cocktail hour-esque soiree of a vibe the cabin descended into after mealtime — a product of an aircraft full of well-acquainted media members, United employees, social media influencers and Premier elite travel gurus.

“We booked it the day they announced it,” United 1K member Chuck Powers, of the Washington, D.C. area, said.

“We’d been talking about wanting to take an inaugural flight and we’d also been talking about wanting to go to Greenland, so, it just all lined up,” Powers’ husband, Jamie Richards, explained.

United actually offered a second meal service prior to landing, but I — like most passengers around me — passed on that, still digesting lunch.

Besides, most were preoccupied, at that point, by the stunning imagery that had appeared out the window as our MAX 8 made its descent into Nuuk, where it landed after 3 hours and 46 minutes of flying time.

A historic arrival in Greenland

The significance of this arrival was not lost on locals, who lined the rocky cliffs overlooking the brand-new runway and terminal— which opened last year, paving the way for this new link between Greenland and the U.S.

Despite Greenland being just a four-hour short-haul flight from the New York City area, travelers until now had to venture through Iceland or Europe to travel between the two regions.

“We hope many will come and experience our country from north to south, from east to west,” Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland minister of business, said Saturday, noting the “first-class” fish and seafood, local artisans, hiking and natural exploration travelers who fly to Nuuk will find.

“We have a fine-tuned approach to life that helps us to separate what is important, from what is less so,” Nathaielsen added, alluding to recent Trump administration rhetoric about the island, which is an independent territory that’s part of the Kingdom of Denmark:

“This is a very good skill to have,” she quipped. “Especially since we are at the receiving end of a lot of attention these [days].

Suffice to say, politics didn’t seep much into this occasion, which culminated in a rush of cool air as the aircraft doors welcomed passengers to the northernmost destination most of us had ever experienced.

“I think what we’re building at United is an airline that is aspirational and inspirational,” Quayle told me on the ground in Nuuk. “I think Greenland fits that designation.”

Booking United’s Greenland flight with points and miles

Travelers who want to book United’s new flight to Greenland with points and miles have a variety of options.

You can book directly through its MileagePlus program, though this route has certainly been in high demand from the outset. One-way economy redemptions are hovering around 40,000 miles, one-way, for much of the summer.

You can also check redemptions through United’s Star Alliance partners, such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Avianca LifeMiles — among others.

Each of those programs offer transfers of flexible rewards currency from major credit card issuers.

United’s Greenland flights will operate twice weekly during the summer flying season.

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