By the Caribbean Journal staff

United Airlines is continuing its expansion in the Caribbean region.

The carrier will be launching new flights from Houston to St Thomas beginning as early as next week, according to the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.

Above: Magens Bay in St Thomas

The carrier will also be launching daily flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to St Thomas beginning this summer.

The new flights come as United has been ramping up its Caribbean service to match similarly rapid network expansions by carriers like Southwest Airlines, Delta and JetBlue.

Earlier this month, United announced that it would be adding a second nonstop flight on Sundays to the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.

At the beginning of the year, United began operating flights between Chicago and St Lucia on Saturdays,  along with Newark-St Lucia flights on Sundays.

That’s in addition to new service from both Washington Dulles and Chicago to Grand Cayman.

All of the flights operate on Boeing 737 aircraft.