United Boosts Routes to the Coasts in Time for Summer

As vaccinated travelers are expected to head out for their long-awaited getaways with family and friends in the coming months, United Airlines is getting the edge on vacation season with a robust May schedule that includes the addition of 26 new nonstop routes between Midwest cities such as Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee and popular vacation destinations such as Hilton Head, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Portland, Maine. The airline also plans to resume more than 20 domestic routes and will start new service between Orange County, Calif., and Honolulu.

The ramp up in vacation flights comes as the airline resumed service last week to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) for the first time in over five years, running two roundtrip routes from Los Angeles and San Francisco to JFK. United closed its gates at JFK in 2015 to consolidate all of its New York-area operations from hubs at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Light airport traffic at JFK has made it possible to re-enter that busy anchor location.

The trans-continental flights are both aboard Boeing 767-300 aircraft, featuring 46 Polaris business class seats, 22 Premium Plus seats, 43 Economy Plus seats and 56 regular economy seats.

Internationally, starting in May United will be flying and adding to its pre-pandemic schedule to Latin America, including more flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The airline also plans to resume flights between Chicago and Tokyo Haneda, resume passenger flights between New York/Newark and Milan and Rome, and restart service between Chicago and Amsterdam. In total, United plans to operate 52 percent of its overall schedule compared to May 2019, whereas in May 2020 United operated 14 percent of its overall schedule compared to May 2019.

“In the past few weeks, we have seen the strongest flight bookings since the start of the pandemic,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of United’s domestic network planning and scheduling. “As we rebuild our schedule to meet that demand, adding in seasonal point-to-point flying is just one of the ways we are finding opportunities to add new and exciting service. And as we have done throughout the entire pandemic, we will continue being nimble and strategic with our network to add the right service to the destinations our customers want to visit.”

Beach Bound Flights

Starting May 27, United will begin point-to-point service to Charleston, S.C.; Hilton Head, S.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla. and Portland, Maine from seven cities including Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis, Mo.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Milwaukee, Wis. and Indianapolis, Ind. United plans to operate these point-to-point routes through Labor Day weekend. Most of these flights will employ the airline’s new Bombardier CRJ-550 – a novel 50-seater aircraft with two cabins, equipped with 10 first class seats, 20 Economy Plus seats, 20 standard economy seats. The cabin will have Wi-Fi, decent legroom and enough overhead bin space for every customer to bring a roller bag on board.

United also continues strong service to Hawaii, offering more than 200 weekly flights, including new service between Orange County and Honolulu. In May, United will begin offering United Premium Plus service on select Hawaii routes, which includes a bigger, more comfortable seat and a complimentary meal. United Premium Plus will be available for customers traveling to Honolulu and Maui from Chicago and Denver and will be expanded in June to flights between Chicago and Kona, Houston and Honolulu, and New York/Newark and Maui. United allows customers with valid negative COVID-19 tests to pre-clear before departing to Hawaii so they can save time and skip document screening lines upon arrival in the islands.

United Flies International Skies in May

United will fly 46 percent of its international schedule compared to its May 2019 schedule. As customers continue to travel to warm beach destinations, United will operate more flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America than the carrier flew in 2019, providing more options to travel to Central America than any other U.S. carrier. Across the Pacific, United will resume flights between Chicago and Tokyo’s Haneda airport and increase service from Los Angeles to Sydney and Tokyo Narita. Across the Atlantic, United will resume service between Newark and Milan and Rome as well as between Chicago and Amsterdam, Munich and Tel Aviv.

UAL’s New Summer Point-to-Point Frequencies in the US