By the Caribbean Journal staff

In a major boost for one of the Dutch Caribbean’s hotspots, United Airlines has announced plans to launch new nonstop service to the island of Curaçao.

Curaçao will become United’s 21st destination in the Caribbean, with flights from Newark Liberty International Airport set to launch on Dec. 7.

In a statement, United said it would be operating the flights weekly on Saturdays using Boeing 737-700 aircraft.

Curacao has few luxury hotels — but the Baoase Luxury Resort, above, is one of the Caribbean’s best.

“United’s global network is a tremendous source of pride for our employees and loyal customers – we’re always looking for ways to grow and expand our network to connect our customers to more destinations around the world,” said United’s International Network Vice President Patrick Quayle. “These new additions help position United as the airline of choice for customers planning their business or leisure travel.”

The Old Quarry golfcourse at Curacao’s Santa Barbara resort.

While United has not been expanding its Caribbean network quite as quickly as competitors like JetBlue and Delta, the carrier has been quietly growing its Caribbean portfolio, most notably with recently expanded service to St Kitts.

Willemstad, Curaçao, the destination’s charming capital.

The new service to Curacao boosts United’s existing service to the Dutch Caribbean, which had consisted of weekly Saturday flights from Houston to Bonaire and daily nonstop flights from Newark to Aruba.

Curacao has seen strong growth so far in 2019, thanks largely to growth in new airlift at the island’s excellent (and newly transformed) Hato International Airport.

— CJ