Flying to Europe just got easier in 2027, especially if you’re looking to visit under-the-radar destinations. Alaska, American, Delta, and United are all dramatically increasing their flight offerings, with new nonstop flights to cities that allow travelers to bypass connections at European mega-hubs like London Heathrow or Amsterdam. The trade-off is that some of these cities will be served by narrow-body planes with a single aisle, including United and American’s Airbus 321XLR. This week we break down the new routes, and discuss the pros and cons of flying on one of these smaller planes across the ocean.
New routes announced for 2027:
Alaska Airlines: Seattle-based Alaska will see new nonstop flights to Athens and Paris on their flagship Boeing 787. These planes include new business class suites which feature lie-flat seats and premium meals, as well as an expanded premium economy section. Flights to Athens run on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday from May 12 through October, and to Paris on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from May 25 through October.
American Airlines: While DFW has several established direct flights to Europe already, Philadelphia is seeing an expansion with daily direct service to Reykjavik, Iceland and Porto, Portugal during summer 2027, and daily flights to Vienna from summer 2027 through the holiday season 2028. American is also adding nonstop flights from New York to Amsterdam and Nice, France, and Charlotte will see new daily direct routes to Barcelona, Spain beginning in late May.
Delta Airlines: Delta is making inroads into the Austin, Texas market and will be flying nonstop to Paris daily starting in March 2027 through the fall. Delta has gone all-in on their wide-body aircraft, and this route will fly on the Airbus 330-900 plane. Even if Paris isn’t your final destination, this new route opens Austin to one-stop options through most of Europe.
United Airlines: United is going big on new routes in summer 2027, focusing on their narrow-body aircraft to reach smaller cities. This includes nine new destinations and eleven new routes. Newark (New York) is seeing the largest expansion, with new direct flights to Catania and Olbia, Italy; Ibiza and Valencia, Spain; Luxembourg; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Marseille, France; and Terceira Island, Portugal – all from March 2027 through June, except Luxembourg which will be year-round. Additionally, Washington will see new flights to Toulouse, France, and Milan, Italy, and Denver will see daily summer/fall flights to Paris.
Narrow-body versus wide-body planes
Delta and Alaska are sticking to their traditional wide-body planes for their new routes. One of the benefits of the traditional two-aisle plane is additional room for crew to navigate, more lavatories, and some extra space available especially for premium seats. Delta has been particularly adamant about sticking to their wide-body planes, saying that it offers a better product.
On the other hand, United and American are embracing single-aisle planes on some routes by offering direct service to smaller European cities. This means you can possibly avoid a layover, which is a benefit that the airlines are betting you’ll take. The downsides include less galley space for the crew to prepare meals, fewer lavatories per passenger, longer flight times because the plane cannot fly as fast, and potential traffic jams in the single aisle. If an 8-hour flight is now 9.5 hours, are you interested to avoid a layover?
United emphasizes that the smaller planes still offer full international amenities including 12 Polaris suites, lay-back seats for business travelers, and a walk-up snack bar for coach passengers. They are also allocating some rows where the middle seat is guaranteed to be blocked off.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if getting a direct flight from the U.S. to a smaller European city is worth the potential downside of a smaller plane. Regardless, if Europe is on your destination list, 2027 is a great year to travel with many new routes to choose from. It may be a chance to see a part of Europe you’ve never visited before!
Would you fly on a smaller plane to bypass a layover? Leave us a comment on Facebook to start the discussion!
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