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United Airlines has announced that it plans to continue its expansion across the Pacific later this year when it adds two new services to Japan. One service will boost the airline’s presence in Tokyo while the other will add a new dot on the United Airlines route map.
United adds winter service to Sapporo
The most noteworthy aspect of today’s announcement is that United Airlines will launch a new seasonal winter service between San Francisco (SFO) and Sapporo (CTS) later this year.
Starting 11 December 2026, United will operate this route three times per week on the following schedule:
UA234 SFO 10:30 – 14:15+1 day CTS (Wed, Fri, & Sun)
UA235 CTS 16:15 – 08:20 SFO (Mon, Thu, & Sat)
The route is currently scheduled to end on 26 March 2027 (the last flight from Sapporo will be on 27 March) and it will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner offering 48 Polaris Business Class seats, 21 Premium Plus (Premium Economy) seats and 188 Economy Class seats.
This route launch marks the first time an airline has offered nonstop flights from the continental United States to Hokkaido and, according to United, is being added to give visitors to the island and option that doesn’t include a stop in Tokyo.
Interestingly, and this may have played a part in United’s thinking, Air Canada is also launching a route between Vancouver and Sapporo this winter.
The Air Canada route was announced at the beginning of the year, so United will not have the North America – Sapporo market to itself and given that United and Air Canada are Star Alliance partners, it will be interesting to see how similar the fares on their Sapporo routes will be.
United brings back service to Tokyo Narita
While the Sapporo service is the more eye-catching part of today’s announcement, the news that the airline will also begin serving Narita (again) will probably interest some.
A new daily service between Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT) is expected to launch on 24 October 2026 and as things stand, this is what the schedule is expected to look like:
UA867 ORD 10:40 – 15:15+1 day NRT (Daily)
UA868 NRT 18:00 – 14:50 ORD (Daily)
Unlike the new Sapporo route, the new service to Narita is expected to be offered year round and also unlike the Sapporo route, it will be the smaller Dreamliner (787-8) which United uses to link O’Hare and Narita.
The United Airlines 787-8 offers 28 Polaris Business Class seats, 21 Premium Plus (Premium Economy) seats, and 194 Economy Class seats.
United already offers its customers a Chicago – Tokyo-Haneda (HND) service with Haneda being the preferred gateway for those whose final destination is central Tokyo, but Narita remains a vital hub for connecting traffic throughout Asia and that’s what United is tapping into here.
By becoming the only US airline to serve both Tokyo airports from Chicago, United is providing its customers with two distinct options:
Haneda (HND): Best for travelers whose journey ends in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Narita (NRT): Best for those utilizing United’s expanding network of secondary destinations, such as Cebu, Palau, and Ulaanbaatar and good for passengers connecting on to destinations served by ANA – United’s transpacific joint venture partner.
United leads its domestic competitors on US – Japan routes
United’s leadership in the Pacific is becoming increasingly difficult for its competitors to ignore. According to the airline, it transported more than 1.8 million passengers between the US and Japan in 2025 and that’s a figure that surpasses the combined total of all other US carriers.
The expansion also highlights the importance of United’s joint venture with ANA.
By serving five Japanese airports (Sapporo, Narita, Haneda, Osaka, and Nagoya), United is has created a comprehensive network that offers significantly better connectivity to Southeast Asia its domestic peers.
Bottom line
United Airlines will launch a new route between San Francisco and Sapporo in December 2026 and will launch a service between Chicago and Tokyo Narita in September 2026.
Overall, it’s pleasing to see United Airlines continuing to diversify its international route network by adding a destination like Sapporo rather than simply increasing frequency on existing routes to build passenger numbers.
United is clearly betting that there is sufficient high-value demand to justify a dedicated nonstop from the West Coast to Sapporo during the winter months and, presumably, Air Canada feels the same way, so for the sake of customers, let’s hope that the demand is really there and that Sapporo remains on the route maps of both airlines for more than a single season.
