The first United Airlines flight of the third summer season linking Malaga with New York is now on its way to Newark Airport. A few minutes before the scheduled time, at 7.32am, the Boeing 757-200 landed on the Costa del Sol, with a total of 176 seats, of which 16 are United Polaris business class beds, with a high occupancy "almost full", explained the company.

And with this same demand, it departed on schedule. A new season has begun, which will last until 24 September, in which Malaga will be linked with a direct flight to New York every day of the week. This is the only connection between the whole of Andalucía and the United States.

At check-in counter 318 early Friday morning, passengers who were to travel with United Airlines checked in their luggage in a season opener where there was no celebration of any kind, considering that this is already an established operation.

For many of them it was their first trip to the Big Apple, but they are all celebrating this connection, a route that the tourism sector and those in charge of the different administrations insist that they hope to keep operational all year round as soon as possible, hopefully, this year. However, this decision will be taken by the airline depending on the evolution and records of this new season, as well as the fleet it has available.

The company, which this summer will fly from Bilbao and Palma de Mallorca, as well as from Barcelona and Madrid, confirms that demand remains strong. This is in line with the boom in the arrival of American tourists on the Costa del Sol, even during the period when Malaga does not have direct flights to New York. It is worth remembering that last year the United States became the sixth most important market for hotels and flats in the province, after Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, after growing by ten per cent.

The head of sales of this American company in Spain, Antonio de Toro, announced a few days ago that 51,000 seats have been put on sale, a figure that represents 280 per cent more than those offered in 2023 and in 2024.