The inaugural United Airlines flight from New York-Newark will land at Palma Son Sant Joan this coming Friday (June 3). The success that the airline has had in marketing this new route is said to be arousing considerable interest among other US airlines. They are studying establishing other routes, e.g. from Los Angeles and Miami.
Andreu Serra, the Council of Mallorca's councillor for tourism says that he hopes this interest "will bear fruit due to the positive impact it would have on the tourism sector in Mallorca". He adds that United's connections with Toronto and airports on the west and east coasts of the US may well result in more flights to Palma. "We have opened a new market. All parties are satisfied with how this project has been managed."
Turespaña, Spain's national tourism agency, has given its full support to the new route, the Spanish Tourism Office in New York and other tourism offices in North America having been engaged in promotion of Mallorca as a destination.
As for the inaugural flight, the Council of Mallorca's director of tourism, Lucía Escribano, says that "everything has been perfectly organised" to guarantee the highest level of satisfaction for the American visitors. On arrival in Palma, the 204 passengers will receive a gift - a bag made by the Pollensa textile company Teixit Vicens with two containers of Es Trenc salt.
For 2023, United is looking at lengthening the Newark-Palma schedule - flights from May to October rather than June to September.