United Airlines has announced that it is adding 25,000 flights to its August schedule. This, in effect, triples the number of flights that the Chicago-based carrier operated in June.
After seeing an uptick in bookings for flights to leisure destinations, the “Friendly Skies” airline is increasing its flights to keep up with demand. Despite more people flying again, United Airlines will only operate at 40% of the level of flights this August that were operational the same month in 2019.
United Airlines is doubling the number of flights out of Newark
In its August schedule, United Airlines plans to fly 350 daily flights from its North American hubs. This includes doubling the number of flights operating out of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) compared to July.
These flight increases are to Rocky Mountain and national park destinations that include the following:
- Aspen, Colorado
- Bangor, Maine
- Bozeman, Montana
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
With regards to international destinations, United Airlines will resume flights to Tahiti while adding additional service to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Hawaii. Across the pond, United will add more flights to the following cities:
- Brussels, Belgium
- Frankfurt, Germany
- London, England
- Munich, Germany
- Paris, France
- Zurich, Switzerland
“We’re taking the same data-driven, realistic approach to growing our schedule as we did in drawing it down at the start of the pandemic,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of Domestic Network Planning.
“Demand is coming back slowly, and we’re building in enough capacity to stay ahead of the number of people traveling. And we’re adding in flights to places we know customers want to travel to, like outdoor recreation destinations where social distancing is easier but doing so in a way that’s flexible and allows us to adjust should that demand change.”
United Airlines domestic flights
Within the United States, United plans to fly 48% of the August schedule it flew in 2019, which is up 30% on its July schedule. Again, emphasizing outdoor recreational areas, passengers will have the opportunity to select from some of America’s most popular vacation destinations.
Highlights of United Airlines August schedule include:
- 600 daily flights to more than 200 airports
- Increasing connectivity in Chicago, Denver, and Houston
- Doubling the number of flights out of New York/Newark
- Bringing back into service 90 aircraft that will include a CRJ-550 service between Newark and Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Norfolk, Richmond, and St Louis
- Resuming service to more Hawaiian destinations from Los Angeles and San Francisco
United Airlines international flights
“United’s international schedule continues to be guided by customer demand as we add back capacity in regions with relative strength,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network and Alliances.
“For August, we’ve seen increasing demand for leisure travel and have added options to places like Cancun and reinstated service to Tahiti. Additionally, we are further building out service to partner hubs like Frankfurt and Zurich, where customers can connect on to a wide array of destinations.”
United Airlines flights across the Atlantic
Regarding transatlantic flights, United will operate 25% of its pre-coronavirus schedule in August up 16% more flights that it has scheduled for July.
Transatlantic highlights include:
- The return of flights between Chicago, Brussels, and Frankfurt
- A resumption of service to Brussels, Munich, and Zurich from New York/Newark
- Bringing back a regular flight between San Francisco and London
After receiving governmental approval, United will restart its daily service between Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in Delhi, India, and San Francisco and New York/Newark.
Pacific flights
From August United will offer a three-time weekly service between the United States mainland and the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. Other Pacific highlights include:
- A five times weekly flight between Chicago and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
- Five flights per week from San Francisco to Hong Kong, and Singapore.
- Three weekly flights from San Francisco to Seoul, South Korea.
- Two weekly flights between San Francisco and Shanghai.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Starting in August, United Airlines will be flying 35 new routes Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Highlights include the following:
- Resuming service between Houston and Lima, Peru
- Resuming service between New York/Newark and Sao Paulo, Brasil
- Reintroducing flights between Mexico City, Chicago, New York/Newark, and San Francisco
- Adding more flights to Cancun, Mexico from Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, and San Francisco
- Bringing back flights from Houston, New York/Newark, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. to San Salvador, El Salvador, and Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Increasing the number of flights from Houston to Mexico City, Cancun, Guadalajara, Leon, and Panama City, Panama
- Increasing the number of flights from New York/ Newark to the Dominican Republic
In its statement, United Airlines failed to mention the European Union’s decision to bar all American visitors from the bloc of nations starting July 1. Perhaps they are hoping that the ban will be lifted before August. The same goes for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut’s decision for a mandatory 14-day quarantine on people arriving from individual states with high COVID-19 numbers.
