Bilbao and New York now linked by three direct flights a week
The first United Airlines flight between New York and the Basque city of Bilbao launched earlier this month.
With the rise in the number of American visitors to Spain, United Airlines has launched a new route between the Basque city of Bilbao and New York.
The inaugural flight arrived in Bilbao on June 1st and more flights will continue throughout the summer.
This is the first transatlantic flight to the US operated from Bilbao.
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United Airlines offers three weekly flights from Bilbao to New York on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 12:30pm, and from New York to Bilbao on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 9:15pm.
The round-trip ticket price costs €700, and the flight takes 8 hours and 30 minutes.
A total of 100 flights will be scheduled up until September 24th, with a total of 17,600 seats and the capacity of each plane at 176 passengers.
The mayor of Bilbao, Juan María Aburto, stated that this new route is an "opportunity for the internationalisation" of the country and that he hopes the service will be consolidated and continue beyond the summer.
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The United States set a new record in 2024, with 4.2 million American tourists visiting Spain, and even more are expected this year. This was already an 11.2 percent increase compared to 2023.
There are now direct flights to the US from five Spanish cities, including Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and Palma de Mallorca. From these cities tourists can fly to Boston, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Orlando, Charlotte, Dallas and Atlanta.
Bilbao is one of the top destinations in the Basque Country, known for its excellent cuisine, contemporary art and maritime heritage. It's also a good gateway city to explore the rest of the region including the foodie city of San Sebastián.
Its top sight is of course the Guggenheim, designed by Canadian American architect Frank Gehry.
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