Video: United Airlines to add 25,000 flights globally in August as demand grows
The move will see the airline add nearly 25,000 domestic and international flights compared to July 2020.
United said it plans to fly 40% of its overall schedule in August, as compared to August 2019.
While travel demand remains a fraction of what it was at the end of 2019, the airline said, customers are slowly returning to flying with a preference for leisure destinations, trips to reunite with friends and family, and getaways to places that encourage social distancing.
According to TSA, more than 600,000 passengers passed through airport security checkpoints on Monday, June 29, the first time since March 19 that those numbers exceeded 25% of pre-COVID levels.
United said it has overhauled its cleaning and safety procedures under United CleanPlus and is giving customers more flexibility when booking by extending its waiver of change fees and award redeposit fees for reservations through July 31.
In a massive increase to operations, United plans to add more than 350 daily flights from its U.S. hubs in August, including doubling the number of flights from New York/Newark compared to July.
This increase includes more flights to mountain and national park destinations like Aspen, Colorado; Bangor, Maine; Bozeman, Montana; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Internationally, United’s August schedule will include a return to Tahiti and additional flights to Hawaii, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Across the Atlantic, United will add more flights and options to Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris and Zurich.
“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 United’s vice president of Domestic Network Planning, Ankit Gupta.
“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,” Gupta said.
Here is a full run-down of the additional United Airlines flights being added in August 2020.
Domestically, United plans to fly 48% of its 2019 schedule in August compared to 2019 levels, up from 30% in July.
Travelers in search of more socially distant vacation options like beach, mountain and national park destinations will see more opportunities for leisure travel in United’s August schedule.
United is adding more than 600 daily flights to more than 200 airports across the United States, including the resumption of 50 routes from July to August.
The airline will expand flights at 147 airports across the United States, increase connectivity in United’s mid-continental hubs (including Chicago, Denver and Houston) and double the number of flights from New York/Newark.
Around 90 aircraft will be put back into service, including adding more CRJ-550 service between New York/Newark and St. Louis; Indianapolis; Richmond, Virginia; Cincinnati; Norfolk, Virginia; and Columbus, Ohio.
There will also be increased service between Hawaii and its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, while
United will resume service to more Hawaiian destinations, including Lihue from San Francisco and Hilo from Los Angeles.
Internationally, United is scheduled to fly 25% of its schedule in August, up from 16% in July.
“United’s international schedule continues to be guided by customer demand as we add back capacity in regions with relative strength,” said United’s vice president of International Network and Alliances, Patrick Quayle.
“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.”
Across the Atlantic, United plans to offer customers more opportunities to get to Europe and beyond, with more flying from Chicago, New York/Newark and San Francisco.
Highlights include resuming service between Chicago and Brussels and Frankfurt; between New York/Newark and Brussels, Munich and Zurich; and between San Francisco and London.
Upon government approval, United says it will restart daily service between Delhi and San Francisco and New York/Newark.
Across the Pacific in August, United is scheduled to restart three-times-weekly service connecting the mainland United States and Tahiti.
In July, United made several changes to its Asia Pacific schedule.
Highlights include: starting new service, five times weekly, between Chicago and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport; continue operating daily service to Tokyo Narita from New York/Newark and San Francisco; resuming service between Hong Kong and San Francisco five days a week, with service continuing to Singapore; resuming service to Seoul, South Korea three days a week; and service to Shanghai from San Francisco two days a week.
Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, United is expanding across each region with a total of 35 new routes for August.
United says it is committed to putting health and safety at the forefront of every customer’s journey, with the goal of delivering an “industry-leading standard of cleanliness” through its United CleanPlus program.
United has teamed up with Clorox and Cleveland Clinic to redefine cleaning and health safety procedures from check-in to landing and has implemented more than a dozen new policies, protocols and innovations designed with the safety of customers and employees in mind.
These include requiring all travelers – including crew members – to wear face coverings and potentially revoking travel privileges for customers who do not follow these requirements, as underscored in a recent video from United CEO, Scott Kirby.
United is also using state-of-the-art high-efficiency (HEPA) filters on United aircraft to circulate air and remove up to 99.97% of airborne particles.
The airline is also using electrostatic spraying on all mainline aircraft before departure for enhanced cabin sanitation.
Adding a step to the check-in process, based on a recommendation from the Cleveland Clinic, United is requiring customers to acknowledge they do not have symptoms for COVID-19 and agree to follow our policies, including wearing a mask on board.
United is also offering customers a touchless baggage check-in experience at more than 200 airports across the United States, the first U.S. airline to make this technology available.