By Alastair Dalton

Copyright scotsman

Glasgow has won back regular New York flights after a seven-year gap in a major boost for the west coast airport. United Airlines announced on Thursday it would resume its daily summer link to Newark in New Jersey – New York’s second busiest airport – from May 8 to September 23 next year. Passengers will fly in single-aisle Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft. United described the service as providing “an easy non-stop connection for US travellers who wish to explore the city, conduct business or reconnect with family and friends”. Glasgow Airport has said winning back the route was a “top priority”. In April, the new boss of its parent firm AGS Airports said he was having “good conversations” with US airlines on re-establishing such links and there was “a lot of demand” for a New York route. Since 2019, the airport has been left with a sole US route – Tui’s flights to Orlando in Florida – while seeing rivals Edinburgh steadily expanding its US network. This has included up to four flights a day from Edinburgh Airport to New York, including two operated year-round by United. Air travel overall has rebounded strongly since the Covid pandemic five years ago, with Edinburgh notching up record passenger numbers. However, Glasgow’s total remains below pre-pandemic levels. The terminal’s restored New York route could become a crucial test over whether it can win back passengers who have been forced to switch to Edinburgh or connect via hubs such as Heathrow and Dublin. Some experts had doubted whether Glasgow could attract back a New York route. Aviation analyst John Strickland, of JLS Consulting, said United’s announcement underlined the fact the route was a seasonal market and it did not mean that it could be sustained year-round. Subscribe to The Scotsman’s weekly Transport newsletter Continental Airlines, which since merged with United, launched Glasgow-Newark flights in 1998 after British Airways scrapped the route. United reduced the service from year-round to summer only in 2017 and did not resume it after the pandemic aviation shutdown in 2020. Delta Air Lines also operated a Glasgow New York JFK route from 2017-19. Global Airlines flew a one-off charter between Glasgow and JFK in May using an Airbus A380 – the world’s largest passenger aircraft – but no further flights have been announced. AGS chief executive Kam Jandu had told The Scotsman in April: “We’re working on long-haul connectivity, such as the east coast of the US. New York operated here previously and we know there is a lot of demand. “We are in good conversations with all the airlines in the US and also with the European airlines who take passengers from here to the US in terms of looking at having direct flights from Glasgow to the US.” AGS chief commercial officer Matt Hazelwood said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome United Airlines back to Glasgow Airport. “New York is the most requested destination from our passengers and the route represents a major opportunity for inbound tourism.” Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick said restoring the route was a “landmark achievement”, with the US east coast one of its priority export markets. Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said Americans spent £111 million a year in the city. She said: “There will undoubtedly be strong demand for this route.”