United Airlines Begins Service to Greenland on June 14, 2025
| United Airlines | UA 80 | UA 81 |
|---|---|---|
| Route | EWR-GOH | GOH-EWR |
| Departs | 11:30am EDT | 9:00am WGST |
| Arrives | 6:45pm WGST | 10:30am EDT |
| Duration | 4h15 | 4h30 |
| Equipment | B737-MAX 8 | B737-MAX 8 |
| Frequency | Tue, Sat | Sun, Wed |
| Season | Jun 14 to Sep 23, 2025 | Jun 15 to Sep 24, 2025 |
| Inaugural Flight | June 14, 2025 | June 15, 2025 |
As part of its pioneering Summer 2025 schedule, United Airlines will launch twice-weekly flights between New York Newark (EWR) and Nuuk (GOH), the capital of Greenland. Apart from fuel stops made by Pan Am in the 1950s, no commercial passenger airline has connected the US and Greenland before. Tickets are open for booking at united.com.
A rendering of Nuuk’s new International Airport which will open November 28, 2024. Photo by Greenland Airports
Greenland, the largest island in the world, is surprisingly hard to get to from the US and Canada even though it’s part of North America. With the opening of Nuuk’s new International Airport on November, 28 2024 and the rising popularity of Greenland as a travel destination, more direct routes from North America to Greenland are likely to appear in the next few years.
The sun sets over Nuuk, Greenland, with Sermitsiaq mountain in the background. Photo by Aningaaq Rosing Carlsen
United’s 1,860-mile route from Newark to Nuuk is a quick 4 hours and 15 minutes — the same length as a flight from Newark to Denver.
UA 80 departs Newark at 11:15am EDT and touches down in Nuuk at 6:45pm Western Greenland Summer Time (WGST). The return flight departs the next morning at 9:00am WGST and arrives Newark at 10:30am EDT.
UA 80 is The Second Nonstop Flight from North America to Greenland in 2025
Air Greenland’s route from Northern Canada to Greenland came back into service in the summer of 2024 after a long hiatus. This Dash-8 two-hour flight from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada (YFB) to Nuuk (GOH) operates once a week on Wednesdays from April 2 to October 22, 2025.
While not likely to be the most direct choice except for passengers from Ottawa and Montreal, this route offers possibilities for travelers who want to explore both Nunavut and Greenland. Throughfare tickets from Ottawa and Montreal can be booked on either canadiannorth.com or airgreenland.com.
Connecting to United’s Flight from Newark to Nuuk
Same-day connections to Greenland from most US East Coast cities are possible by taking an early morning flight to Newark. West Coast and Central US passengers must take a red-eye to Newark the night before in order to connect with UA 80’s 11:15am departure to Nuuk. Red-eye passengers should search departure dates of Mondays and Fridays (June 13-Sep 22, 2025) on united.com.
Examples of good connecting flights to UA 80 include:
| Origin | Route | Flight | Departs | Arrives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | BOS-EWR | UA 570 | 7:30am | 8:50am |
| Chicago | ORD-EWR | UA 1254 | 6:00am | 9:06am |
| Denver | DEN-EWR | UA 1291 | 11:40pm | 5:17am +1 |
| Los Angeles | LAX-EWR | UA 2303 | 11:15pm | 7:35am +1 |
| Miami | MIA-EWR | UA 2332 | 7:00am | 9:58am |
| Phoenix | PHX-EWR | UA 1375 | 10:59pm | 6:41am +1 |
| Portland | PDX-EWR | UA 1802 | 10:56pm | 7:02am +1 |
| San Francisco | SFO-EWR | UA 549 | 11:40pm | 8:22am +1 |
| Seattle | SEA-EWR | UA 341 | 10:26pm | 6:31am +1 |
| Washington | DCA-EWR | UA 4430 | 8:00am | 9:20am |
Total travel time to Nuuk using the above connecting flights to UA 80, including the layover in Newark:
Boston to Nuuk: 8h15
Chicago to Nuuk: 8h45
Denver to Nuuk: 14h05
Los Angeles to Nuuk: 13h30
Miami to Nuuk: 8h45
Phoenix to Nuuk: 13h46
Portland to Nuuk: 13h49
San Francisco to Nuuk: 13h05
Seattle to Nuuk: 14h19
United Will Fly the Boeing 737-MAX 8 from Newark to Greenland
United Airlines’ B737-MAX 8 offers United Economy and United Premium Plus on its flights between Newark and Nuuk
United Airlines will use the Boeing 737-MAX 8 on its 4h15 flight to Nuuk. Most flights from the US and Canada to Iceland use the B737 or B757.
United’s B738 typically offers three classes of service, however on EWR-GOH, seat maps are showing a 116-seat configuration with United Economy (150 seats) and United Premium Plus (16 seats).
Connecting from UA 80 to Domestic Flights Within Greenland
Onward flights from Nuuk on Air Greenland to destinations like Narsarsuaq, Ilulissat, Upernavik and Qaanaaq depart in the morning or early afternoon, necessitating at least one night’s stay in Nuuk upon arrival from Newark.
Alternate One-Stop Routes to Greenland via Iceland
The ability to fly on United’s service from Newark to Nuuk in the summer is a significant timesaver for most US passengers. However, due to the immense popularity of Iceland over the past two decades and the success of Icelandair’s US flights, plenty of one-stop routes to Greenland via Reykjavik (KEF) exist.
Nonstop flights from the USA to Reykjavik (KEF) in 2025 include:
United Airlines from Chicago (ORD) and Newark (EWR)
Icelandair from Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Nashville (BNA), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Orlando (MCO), Pittsburgh (PIT), Portland (PDX), Raleigh-Durham (RDU), Seattle (SEA), Washington (IAD)
PLAY from Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), New York (SWF) and Washington (IAD)
Delta Air Lines from Detroit (DTW) and New York (JFK)
From Reykjavik, passengers can book tickets to Greenland on Icelandair or Air Greenland. Destinations from KEF include Nuuk (GOH), Kulusuk (KUS) in East Greenland, Narsarsuaq (UAK) in South Greenland and Ilulissat (JAV) in North Greenland.
How Many United MileagePlus Miles Does It Take to Fly to Greenland?
United MileagePlus reward redemption to Greenland starts at 40,00 miles one way in Economy
United’s MileagePlus reward program offers roundtrip Economy redemption from Newark (EWR) to Nuuk (GOH) starting at 80,000 miles +$100.
This same Saver Award redemption level applies for departure cities across the continental US — for instance, Los Angeles to Nuuk could also be found in Economy for 80,000 miles +$100 (but finding the nonstop redeye segment from LAX-EWR at this reward level was difficult).
United Premium Plus Economy could be found for 226,300 miles +$100 roundtrip (EWR-GOH) on certain dates.
There is no Business/First cabin on this route.
—Tim Haig
