CHICAGO, Nov. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines
expects the week of November 23 will
be its busiest since March as customers travel to visit friends and
family for the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, United is
anticipating approximately 50% of United customers flying for
Thanksgiving are booking travel less than 30 days prior to
departure compared to last year when around 40% of Thanksgiving
travelers booked less than 30 days before departure. To help
customers reconnect with loved ones this holiday season, United is
adding more than 1,400 domestic flights during the week of
Thanksgiving and is monitoring bookings in real-time to swap in
larger aircraft when needed to accommodate last-minute demand.
"We know that for many customers, this holiday season may be
their first time back on a plane since the start of the pandemic,
and we're committed to helping provide flexibility and a safer,
clean, travel experience," said Ankit
Gupta, United's vice president of Network Planning and
Scheduling. "While this holiday travel season looks quite different
than recent years, we're continuing to follow the same playbook we
have all year long – watching the data and adding more flights,
adjusting schedules and leveraging larger aircraft to give
customers more ways to reunite with family or reach their
destinations."
In December, the airline expects to see a similar travel pattern
with customers booking holiday vacations closer to departure opting
for warmer weather and ski destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico. Popular destinations include cities in
Florida, Hawaii, Colorado, Montana, Costa
Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. United expects to fly 48%
of its overall schedule in December compared to 2019, adding more
than 140 daily flights and increasing capacity on more than 350
routes.
December Domestic Schedule Highlights
In December, United intends to fly 52% of its domestic schedule
compared to December 2019, which is a
3-point increase compared to November
2020.
One of the biggest changes holiday travelers may notice this
year are additional flights on peak travel days from United's
Chicago, Denver, Houston and Washington Dulles gateways. The
airline is adding more departures to provide customers with more
options to get to their destination this holiday season. With these
changes, United expects to operate more than 200 additional
departures on peak days during the holiday period. Highlights of
United's December schedule include:
- Additional service to popular warm-weather destinations in
Florida and Hawaii, including: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Meyers, Tampa, Miami
and Palm Beach in Florida and Honolulu, Maui, Kona and Lihue in Hawaii.
- In Hawaii, United will
reintroduce service between Los
Angeles and Hilo,
Chicago and Maui, as well as between New York/Newark and Honolulu for the holiday period. United will
also increase service on 13 Hawaii routes beginning December 17.
- United will also begin six new routes between Fort Myers, Florida and Columbus, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, between New York/LaGuardia and Palm Beach, and between Milwaukee and Tampa beginning December 17.
- United will increase service to popular ski destinations,
including Aspen, Jackson Hole,
Steamboat Springs and Vail, with over 580 weekly roundtrips
beginning December 17.
December International Schedule
Highlights
In December, United intends to fly 43% of its international
schedule compared to December 2019,
which is a 4-point increase compared to November 2020. The airline is seeing an increase
in demand to beach destinations internationally as well,
specifically to Central America,
Mexico and the Caribbean. December international schedule
highlights include:
- Operating 40 additional daily international roundtrips compared
to November.
- Launching 36 new and returning routes including eight new
destinations in Latin
America.
- Increasing service on 84 additional routes to 33 destinations
in Latin America including
Liberia, Cancun, Aruba, Nassau
and Punta Cana.
- Growing service to India, with
new nonstop service between Chicago and New
Delhi starting December 10 and
increasing service between San
Francisco and New Delhi to
daily.
- Increasing service between San
Francisco and Taipei;
Los Angeles and Sydney; and New
York/Newark and
Brussels, Belgium.
Studies show COVID-19 exposure risk is minimal when air
filtration systems and masks are in use. The latest research
demonstrates that United's aircraft are among the safest of public
indoor environments. A recent study conducted by the U.S.
Department of Defense (DOD) revealed the risk of COVID-19 exposure
on board aircraft is almost zero due to United's advanced air
filtration systems, required mask-wearing and the airline's
diligent cleaning protocols.
Since the start of the pandemic, United has been a leader in
enacting new policies and innovations designed to keep employees
and passengers safer when traveling. It was the first U.S. airline
to mandate masks for flight attendants, quickly following with
customers and employees. United was also among the first U.S.
carriers to announce it will not permit customers who refuse to
comply with the airline's mandatory mask policy to fly with them
while the face mask policy is in place. United was also the first
U.S. airline to roll out touchless check-in for customers with
bags, and the first to require passengers take an online health
assessment before traveling. The airline also recently announced it
plans to apply Zoono Microbe Shield, an EPA-registered
antimicrobial coating that forms a long-lasting bond with surfaces
and inhibits the growth of microbes, to its entire mainline and
express fleet before the end of the year. For more details on all
the ways United is helping keep customers safe during their
journey, please visit united.com/cleanplus.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the
World." For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on
Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of
United's parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., is traded on the
Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
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SOURCE United Airlines