UMVA has learned that United Airlines is set to launch a new nonstop service to Sapporo, Japan, marking the carrier’s fifth Japanese destination.
The airline will deploy a sleek Boeing 787‑9 Dreamliner for the Sapporo route, joining its existing flights to Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports, as well as Osaka and Tokoname.
In a parallel move, United is expanding its Chicago‑Tokyo connection by adding a daily flight from O’Hare to Narita beginning October 24, complementing the current service to Haneda.
This new ORD‑NRT link will be operated with a Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner, giving travelers from the Midwest a broader choice of Tokyo gateways.
While Haneda sits closer to central Tokyo, Narita serves as United’s strategic hub, enabling fifth‑freedom flights to a network of Asian and South Pacific cities such as Cebu, Guam, Saipan and Ulaanbaatar.
With the addition of the Narita route, United will soon connect all of its U.S. hubs to the Japanese capital except Washington Dulles.
