The first New York-area nonstop in over 30 years starts October 31, 2026.

The escape math for the New York area.

For thirty years, getting from New York to St. Croix meant a connection — Miami, Charlotte, or the San Juan hop. That changes on October 31, 2026, when United begins Saturday nonstops from Newark, the first New York-area nonstop to the island in more than three decades. Leave Newark in the morning and you're on island time in about four and a half hours — no customs line, no passport, because St. Croix is as American as the borough you left.

A January Saturday in New York averages a high around 40°F, and the light is gone by 5 p.m. The same afternoon on St. Croix's East End runs about 83°F, with the sea at 80°F and the sun setting past six. The math is four and a half hours of flying for a forty-degree swing — and because the island runs on Atlantic Standard Time, the jet lag is one hour or none at all.

Until the Newark nonstop begins, the fastest itineraries from JFK or LGA connect once through Miami or Charlotte on American, through Atlanta on Delta, or via JetBlue to San Juan with the short Cape Air hop across.