United Airlines to move to 22 Heathrow flights to the USA per day

United Airlines has announced a major ramping up of its Heathrow services as the restart of travel to the US gets nearer.

By Spring 2022, United will be offering 22 flights per day from Heathrow and will be the biggest airline between London and New York.

(This doesn’t mean much in itself, of course, since British Airways and American Airlines effectively operate as one on transatlantic routes, as do Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines. Between them, both groupings offer more flights and seats than United.)

The key announcement is confirmation of a brand new direct flight to Boston. Starting in March, it will be the first time in almost 20 years that United has flown the route from London.

This appears to be part of a concerted attack by the US legacy airlines to stifle JetBlue and its new low(er) cost services from London Heathrow and Gatwick to New York and – soon – Boston.

Today, the United schedule from Heathrow consists of:

• two daily flights to Newark
• two daily flights to Washington DC
• one daily flight to San Francisco
• one daily flight to Houston
• one daily flight to Chicago

By late Spring, this will have expanded to:

• one daily flight to Boston
• two daily flights to Denver
• seven daily flights to Newark
• three daily flights to San Francisco
• one daily flight to Los Angeles
• three daily flights to Washington DC
• three daily flights to Chicago
• two daily flights to Houston

United Airlines is a Star Alliance member, so you can’t redeem Avios on these flights. It is an option if you have Lufthansa Miles & More or similar miles.

There is still no date for the re-opening of the excellent United Club lounge at Heathrow Terminal 2, in the 2B satellite. Given the ramping up of flights, it can’t be too long now.

We are hoping to do a review of United’s Polaris business class seat at some point soon. (EDIT: Our review of United Airlines Polaris business class is here.)

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.

There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.

The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review