United Airlines has flipped to its winter schedule, and it comes with a proper expansion: 11 new or returning international routes running between October 25, 2026 and March 27, 2027, across five US hubs. Cirium data puts the airline at around 350 daily international departures this winter, a 2% bump on last year.

Japan is the headline act. San Francisco to Sapporo starts December 11, timed neatly for Hokkaido's famous ski season, while San Francisco to Okinawa and Los Angeles to Osaka Kansai both launch on March 27, the very last day of the aviation winter. Okinawa will be seasonal; Osaka runs year-round and will sit alongside Japan Airlines on the same route.

The Caribbean and Latin America get plenty of attention too. Cartagena, Colombia, is the surprise winner, with brand-new four-weekly services from both Houston Intercontinental and Washington Dulles from December 17. There's also a first-ever Dulles to Liberia, Costa Rica link (daily until January 4), Houston to Santo Domingo (three weekly until January 3), and a weekly Denver to Providenciales in Turks and Caicos from December 19. Come March 27, Los Angeles to Osaka rounds off the batch.

Closer to home, Mexico remains United's biggest international play. The airline averages 86 daily departures there, and 46 of those leave from Houston. The relaunch of Houston to Tuxtla Gutiérrez in late October — after a 13-year gap — takes the hub to 25 Mexican destinations, though the airline is dropping Tulum in January 2027, following other US carriers out of that market. Dulles to Los Cabos also returned on October 25 after a seven-year absence, and Houston to Caracas resumes daily service on January 12, its first run there since 2017.

So what does this mean if you're actually booking a winter trip? Options are genuinely better in a few spots. Skiers can now reach Sapporo nonstop from the West Coast without backtracking through Tokyo. Cartagena is suddenly reachable nonstop from two East-facing hubs right at the height of dry season. And if you've been eyeing Providenciales from the Rockies, there's now a direct weekly flight. Note that several of these are limited-run winter services with January end dates, so if Liberia or Santo Domingo appeals, book inside that window or risk losing the option.

Worth keeping an eye on: two earlier additions didn't make the official list. Newark to St. Croix launched October 31 (it counts as domestic, since the US Virgin Islands are US territory), and United is putting on three Las Vegas to Tokyo Narita flights in January 2027 to ferry people to the Consumer Electronics Show.

Details first reported by Simple Flying.