New York to Valencia and Ibiza: United’s biggest-ever international expansion adds two Spanish firsts

A new nonstop flight from New York is about to make the island of Ibiza easier to reach from America than ever before. Valencia also gets the same route in 2027, a city that has spent years chasing exactly this connection.

Nonstop flights to Ibiza begin on Monday May 31, 2027

United Airlines will fly nonstop from Newark to Ibiza four times a week from Monday May 31, 2027, becoming the first and only airline to connect the island directly with the United States. The seasonal route runs into early October and will use United’s new Airbus A321XLR jets.

Until now, anyone flying to Ibiza from the US has had to change planes, usually in Madrid, Barcelona or a European hub such as London or Amsterdam. United’s announcement removes that step entirely for New York-area travellers for the first time.

Valencia follows two days later, as part of United’s biggest-ever expansion

A second new Spanish route starts shortly after on Wednesday June 2, 2027, when United begins flying nonstop from Newark to Valencia three times a week, also on the A321XLR and also seasonal. United says it is the only US carrier offering nonstop service to either city.

The two routes form part of what United is calling the largest international expansion in its history. 10 new cities have been added as destinations across Europe and Asia for 2027, including Luxembourg, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Toulouse and Marseille in France, and Olbia and Catania in Italy. Chief executive Scott Kirby said Newark was “the best Atlantic gateway in the country”. A seasonal service to Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, is also returning in summer 2027, giving United three Spanish destinations from Newark. 

The new jet making routes to smaller cities possible

The Airbus A321XLR is a narrowbody aircraft with the range to fly routes that previously needed a larger widebody jet, which is what allows United to justify flying to smaller markets such as Ibiza and Valencia rather than only major hubs. 

On board, the aircraft carries United’s Polaris business suites with privacy doors, complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members, and an Economy Plus cabin with extra legroom across an open middle seat, a configuration United says no other major US airline currently offers. 

Ibiza’s route arrives amid a rental squeeze for residents

The timing could seem awkward for Ibiza. Short-term holiday rental listings on the island fell by nearly 50 per cent in 2025 compared with the year before, and supply is now 80 per cent lower than in 2017, according to figures reported by the Spanish tourism alliance Exceltur. Authorities have ramped up inspections to weed out unauthorised listings, part of a wider push blamed on residents’ complaints that tourist demand is driving up rents and home prices.

The Balearic regional government has also faced pressure to cap total visitor numbers to the islands, after tourism reached close to 19 million arrivals in 2025. A new nonstop link from one of the world’s biggest travel markets lands directly into that debate, even though it only adds a few flights a week during the summer season.

Valencia has been chasing this connection for years 

Valencia’s experience is quite the opposite. The city’s tourist board has said for some time that it wants to become “more known, and more accessible” to North American visitors, who tend to default to Madrid or Barcelona when planning a trip to Spain.

However, that doesn’t mean Valencia has merely waved through unlimited tourism. The city has capped new holiday flats at 2 per cent of housing in any one neighbourhood, with Mayor María José Catalá saying the rules would keep at least 98 per cent of homes for residents. The strategy appears to favour hotel-based, higher-spending visitors, such as those a direct US route is likely to bring, over the kind of rental-driven tourism now being restricted.

For British and local owners with property in either city, the extra transatlantic traffic could mean renewed interest from buyers and holidaymakers alike, though in Ibiza’s case it arrives just as the island tries to manage exactly that kind of pressure. United has not yet said when tickets for either route will go on sale.