United Airlines will push back the resumption of its service to New York JFK by another month, citing low demand.
United Airlines Delays JFK Service Resumption
Last autumn, United announced it would return to New York JFK after a five year hiatus. 2x daily flights from both San Francisco and Los Angeles were to begin on February 1st. In January, United pushed back the start date to February 28th, citing tepid demand due to COVID-19 and associated restrictions.
In doing so, it also pared back the scheduled from 14x weekly to 5x weekly per station while noting, “Despite the delay of a few weeks, we’re still very much committed to our return to JFK after a five-year absence!”
But United has just delayed service by another month, pushing back its new launch date to March 28th. A spokesperson stated:
Due to the continued impact of COVID-19 on our industry, we are delaying the start of our service between New York’s JFK Airport and our hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles until March 28, 2021. Throughout the pandemic, United has been a leader in nimbly reshaping our schedule to match customer demand, and we look forward to offering this convenient service and a best-in-class product from New York City to the west coast.
United plans to use a specially-configured 767-300ER on the route featuring a high density of business class seats:
- 46 business class seats
- 22 premium economy seats
- 47 extra legroom economy seats
- 52 economy class seats
Those whose bookings are impacted will be offered a re-route through Newark or a refund.
CONCLUSION
Quite frankly, it would not surprise me if the new route was delayed further. Demand will come back later this year, but remains flat at this time. While United may be holding onto its slots precariously, running empty flights in this environment just doesn’t make sense.
At this point, if you’re a customer who is only willing to fly to JFK, why would you take a chance booking United?
Obviously there isn’t much demand right now, but at some point United just has to start flying the route so people believe they will actually honor their purchased ticket.
100% agree
Very fair point! I don’t know what the magic number was, but if looking at the seat maps and fare buckets was any indication, the flights were simply empty. Empty.
They definitely were empty, it’s clear the miscalculation was simply on what February demand would be in the first place. But they also know it’s going to be a money loser at first no matter when it starts, so I think they just need to pick a date and commit at this point.
Now that service isn’t even going to be offered daily, I just don’t see how this really will work for most people. If you’re a UA loyalist, you’d consider it. Otherwise, I’d book a more consistent carrier, since fares right now are low across the board.