Mexico dominance: These United Airlines' busiest routes to Latin America

   

United Airlines has a robust route network throughout Latin America. According to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, Mexico was the dominant country across the airline's Latin American route network in November 2024.

This comes after the airline's previous plans to increase flights to Latin America, especially from its Houston (IAH) hub. Below is an analysis of some of these routes.

Cancun, Mexico City, and Monterrey are the most frequently serviced Mexican cities by United Airlines this month.

The most frequently operated route in November was from Houston George Bush Airport (IAH) to Cancun International Airport (CUN), with 180 scheduled flights.

The airline typically deploys its fleet of Boeing 737-900ERs to operate on this route. It is worth noting that United Airlines serves Cancun from eight different US cities.

Routes

Number of flights in Nov 2024

Seats

Available Seat Miles (ASMs)

Houston (IAH) to CUN

180

32,220

26,162,640

Newark (EWR) to CUN

90

25,794

19,680,822

San Francisco (SFO) to CUN

65

11,635

28,017,080

Denver (DEN) to CUN

60

16,290

27,188,010

Washington DC (IAD) to CUN

60

10,740

14,541,960

Los Angeles (LAX) to CUN

60

10,740

22,758,060

Chicago O'Hare (ORD) to CUN

60

16,290

23,522,760

Cleveland (CLE) to CUN

5

895

1,283,430

 
 
The second most frequent route was from IAH to Mexico City International Airport (MEX), with 179 flights. United Airlines operates flights to MEX from five US destinations. The fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is frequently deployed on this route.
 

Routes

Number of flights in Nov 2024

Seats

Available Seat Miles (ASMs)

Houston (IAH) to CUN

179

25,794

19,680,822

San Francisco (SFO) to CUN

90

13,500

25,393,500

Newark (EWR) to CUN

60

9,960

20,676,960

Chicago O'Hare (ORD)

60

8,976

15,133,536

Washington DC (IAD) to CUN

30

4,500

8,388,000

Meanwhile, the third most frequently operated route was from IAH to Monterrey International Airport (MTY), with a total of 147 scheduled flights this month. The Chicago-based airline serves MTY from three US cities.

Routes

Number of flights in Nov 2024

Seats

Available Seat Miles (ASMs)

Houston (IAH) to CUN

147

14,218

5,843,598

San Francisco (SFO) to CUN

52

3,952

6,078,176

Chicago O'Hare (ORD) to CUN

29

2,204

2,898,260

Other high-demand Mexican routes operated by United Airlines serve Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and Los Cabos (SJD).

Other popular routes in the United's Latin America network include destinations in Costa Rica and Guatemala.

According to Cirium data, United operates flights to two cities in Costa Rica. The most frequent route is between Houston and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), with 80 scheduled flights in November 2024. Notably, SJO is served not only from Houston (IAH) but also from Newark, Denver, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago.

Another popular destination in the United's Latin America network is Guanacaste Airport (LIR). Again, the most frequently served route is the IAH to LIR, with a total of 60 scheduled flights this month.