An United Airlines Holdings Inc. aircraft Bombardier CRJ-550 stands at a gate of O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago, Illinois.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
United Airlines adds more than two dozen non-stop routes from the Midwest to popular coastal cities among tourists for the summer season, a bet that travelers will continue to gravitate outward.
The Chicago airline said Thursday that its global program for May will account for 52 percent of what flew in May 2019, which will fly the most in more than a year, when the pandemic shut down airlines and most air travel. Last May, it flew 14% of its capacity in May 2019. Its domestic program in May will be 58% of its capacity in May 2019.
Plans show that the carrier is focusing on domestic tourists for another summer, generally the most profitable season for airlines. Air travel has risen steadily as more people have been vaccinated in the last month, but business and international travel are still falling sharply compared to domestic holidays.
“We wanted to turn our assets to our request,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of networking and planning for United programs. He said the airline’s capacity to Florida is approaching almost 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. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. Destinations and frequencies vary by market two to four times a 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.
Other new nonstops include Houston at Kalispell, Montana, Washington at Bozeman, Montana and Chicago at Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Other carriers are also watching customers eager to get out. Delta Air Lines announced last week a series of summer services to destinations such as Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Glacier Park, Montana.
Budget-oriented leisure carriers, such as Spirit Airlines, also plan to grow this summer, while low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines is moving to United turf, entering hubs. at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
“There will be significant competition for all US customers,” Gupta said. “We think we have all the right ingredients.”
International travel continues to delay domestic travel due to continued travel restrictions and weak demand. May’s international schedule is 46% of its May 2019 schedule, although flights from Latin America and the Caribbean will exceed May 2019 levels as travelers search for vacations and visit friends and family.