United Airlines has just announced a sizeable expansion of its flight operations to meet the anticipated air travel demands of the summer season. In June, the carrier will begin flying its most robust schedule since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The airline plans to add more than 480 daily flights to its U.S. flight schedule, operating an average of over 3,100 total daily domestic flights to more than 240 U.S. destinations. It will restart 16 former routes, plus add in nine brand-new routes to such popular destinations as Hawaii, Alaska and Montana.
United intends to fly 67 percent of its domestic schedule and 60 percent of its overall network in comparison with the same period in 2019. The nine new routes that will commence in June include two new direct flights connecting the U.S. mainland with Hawaii: Chicago to Kona on the Big Island and from New York/Newark to Maui.
As peak travel season to Alaska arrives, United will also restart its service from Chicago to Fairbanks, and from Chicago, Houston, New York/Newark and San Francisco to Anchorage; as well as introduce a brand-new route between Fairbanks and Anchorage in June.
The introduction of these new routes continues United's strategic capitalization on Americans' pent-up desire for leisure travel with their friends and family members. When the airline announced the addition of 26 new direct flights for Summer 2021, connecting Midwest cities with seven coastal destinations in New England and the Southeast, United received almost 5,000 bookings on these routes within the first 48 hours.
"As leisure travel continues to return this summer, we are adding more flights to our June schedule to national parks, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida and other popular destinations," said Ankit Gupta, vice president of domestic planning and scheduling at United. "June is historically the beginning of the peak summer travel season, and ramping up to over 3,500 total daily flights across the system this June underscores the continued demand for leisure travel and our responsiveness to meeting that demand."
Highlights of United's June Domestic Schedule:
-On peak days in June, United will operate over 40 flights to the Hawaiian Islands, including new service from Chicago to Kona and New York/Newark to Maui (United will be the only carrier flying these two routes)
-From five of its hubs (Chicago, Denver, Houston, New York/Newark and San Francisco), United will operate 12 daily/69 weekly flights to the state of Alaska.
-United's service will include over 500 daily flights to 66 national park destinations, including a brand-new route between Denver and West Yellowstone, Montana. That makes it the airline that will fly to more national parks this summer than any other U.S. carrier.
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