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A United Airlines Holdings Inc. Bombardier CRJ-550 aircraft sits at a gate at O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago, Illinois.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
United Airlines is adding more than two dozen non-stop routes between the Midwest and coastal cities popular with vacationers for the summer season, a bet travelers will continue to gravitate towards the outdoors.
The Chicago-based airline said Thursday its overall schedule for May will be 52% of what it flew in May 2019, which will fly the most in more than a year, when the pandemic put an end to businesses and businesses. most air travel. Last May, it flew 14% of its May 2019 capacity. Its domestic schedule in May will be 58% of its May 2019 capacity.
Plans show the carrier to focus on domestic vacationers for another summer, typically the most lucrative season for airlines. Air travel has grown steadily as more people have been vaccinated over the past month, but business travel and international travel are still down sharply compared to domestic vacation destinations.
“We wanted to direct our assets to where the demand is,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network planning and scheduling at United. He said the airline’s capacity to Florida was almost back to the same level as in 2019.
Starting May 27, United plans to add new non-stop flights from Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. Destinations and frequencies vary by market two to four times per week and include Portland, Maine, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Pensacola, Florida.
Most of the service will be on his 50-seat CRJ-550 jet.
Other new nonstop include Houston in Kalispell, Montana, Washington in Bozeman, Montana and Chicago in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Other carriers are also preying on customers wanting to go out. Delta Air Lines announced a slew of summer services last week to destinations including Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Glacier Park, Montana.
Leisure-oriented budget carriers like Spirit Airlines also plan to expand this summer, while budget carrier Southwest Airlines is launching into United’s territory by entering hubs at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
“There is going to be significant competition for all customers in the United States,” Gupta said. “We think we have all the right ingredients.”
International travel continues to lag behind domestic travel due to continued travel restrictions and weak demand. United’s international schedule in May is 46% of its May 2019 schedule, although its flights to Latin America and the Caribbean are above May 2019 levels as travelers seek vacations and visit friends and family. their family.
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