According to the Azores Tourism Association (ATA), the flights will be operated between Newark airport and Ponta Delgada airport, with "three weekly frequencies on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, from 13 May to 3 June", becoming "a daily frequency" from 4 June to 28 September, with a total of 114 flights. The connections will be performed with a Boeing 737-MAX with 166 seats, which will allow "a capacity in terms of number of seats of 18,924", indicates the ATA. In a statement, the ATA stresses that the operation is the result of a partnership between the association, ANA Airports and Tourism of Portugal, in conjunction with the Government of the Azores, with the aim of "consolidating air accessibility to the archipelago" in order to boost tourism.
For the president of the ATA, Carlos Morais, "the presence of UNITED in the Azores in the Summer of 2022 demonstrates the consolidation work of the promotion of the Azores" that the association has been developing in particular in the United States". “It is a great opportunity for the tourism sector of the Azores as the United States of America is the second outbound international market for tourists in the Azores and UNITED is one of the most important American airlines," Carlos Morais stressed.
In order to boost tourist demand in the market, and in addition to the joint marketing campaign that will be carried out with UNITED Airlines, the ATA will develop promotional activities in partnership with tour operators in the American market. The ATA reveals that direct online marketing campaigns are also planned "with a view to the necessary increase in awareness of the Azores as a destination in that market. Having always in mind the promotion of the destination, the increase of accessibility and the attraction of new routes, this is another achievement of the Azores Tourism Association that aims to contribute to the success of the sector's recovery in the Autonomous Region of the Azores," the association said.