With a vaccine ready for distribution, United Airlines sees light at the end of the tunnel. Nevertheless, new pandemic-related travel restrictions and more reported cases have prompted United to shrink its international schedule in January 2021.
United Airlines Shrinks January 2021 International Schedule
Blaming a “recent spike in COVID-19 cases” for causing a “slight reduction in bookings,” United will operate 43% of its international schedule compared to January 2020. With Europe and Asia still prohibiting most travelers from North America, United will shift its focus and capacity to “popular warm-weather destinations that have experienced the fastest recovery.” These include beach destinations in Mexico, Central America, and Brazil.
Temporary suspensions include:
- Chicago (ORD) – AUA (Aruba)
- Service suspended effective January 2, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in spring 2021
- Chicago (ORD) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- 3x weekly service suspended effective January 2, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in summer 2021
- Chicago (ORD) – Brussels (BRU)
- Service suspended effective December 24, 2020
- United anticipates resuming service in summer 2021
- Houston (IAH) – Oaxaca (OAX)
- Service suspended effective January 3, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in spring 2021
- Houston (IAH) – AUA (Aruba)
- Service suspended effective January 2, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in spring 2021
- San Francisco (SFO) – London (LHR)
- Service suspended effective January 4, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in spring 2021
- Washington (IAD) – London (LHR)
- Service suspended effective January 4, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in summer 2021
- Washington (IAD) – Zurich (ZRH)
- Service suspended effective January 4, 2021
- United anticipates resuming service in summer 2021
- Guam (GUM) – Palau (ROR) + Yap (YAP)
- Service suspended effective Dec. 27, 2020
- United “will continue working with local officials to determine a time frame for resuming service.”
In a statement to Live and Let’s Fly, United pointed to nimbleness in adjusting schedules to match demand that began even before the pandemic:
Throughout the pandemic, United has been a leader in nimbly reshaping and adjusting our domestic and international schedules. The temporary adjustments to the January schedule reflect our continued practice of matching capacity with demand. We will continue to carefully evaluate and analyze demand trends and will adjust our schedules accordingly.
Three New International Routes Launch In January 2021
United will add three new routes next month, including:
- Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Belize City, Belize (BZE)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
> Read More: United Airlines Adds Four New International Routes From Los Angeles
CONCLUSION
With harsh travel restrictions in place, it is not surprising to see United pare back many international routes. Nevertheless, cuts like recently-introduced Chicago to Tel Aviv or mainstays like San Francisco – London represent just how critical this period is. In terms of travel demand, expect a dark winter before spring.
Wow, surprised about IAD-LHR. Seems like of any market that this one will come back very fast for business/diplomatic as the vaccine ramps up. I bet this changes and they end up restoring it right away. No way they are going to hand the second biggest corridor to London in the east to BA and Virgin for six months.
They have been losing their ass on IAD and Sfo to LHR only on the odd day was IAD looking like a revenue maker as for SFO that has been as low as 11 passangers EWR’s international flights are not any better with exception of DEL, BOM and TLV so they will probably funnel passangers thru there and be able to have a decent load
can you really blame UA when even BA has unimaginably paltry frequencies on LHR-JFK
Are LHR slots usage requirements still waived for the foreseeable future?
Yep just got notification that my flight January 11th from Zurich to Washington DC has been canceled. United’s response to me was just fly to Zurich. and after you get there we’ll see about refunding either the money to purchase another ticket. No help rebooking, United’s customer service has really gone downhill since the pandemic. They are about to loose a faithful customer.
Try Twitter – they are far more responsive and you might get a better outcome.
Howdy John Edward Wright lol i’ve already experienced twice in the past two months your situation with UA . One thing I give UA they wont argue with You here’s the money You pay all fare rules n restrictions they throw right down the toilet because it suits them perfectly…but just try doing their trick when it suits You…lol….anyway they dont care You stuck in Indonesia or Majuro or in Johanesburg….they also dont care that the money theyd refund You wont cover even 10% of a new ticket on any other airline due to closeness of date of travel.
re:dealing with their phone agents…am sorry but the last 3 times I had to call UA their agents are just…DUMB they repeat like AI the same script over n over to You because theres no other way to defend themselves from your ironclad arguments….I cant blame the agents really …for being A-undereducated (twice the agents tried to AD COL me $900 and $2300 on a $200 economy class ticket and once ADCOL $ 1700 on a $600 tiket when simultaneously im on the UA website and clearly there is either no ADCOL or it is less than $100) WHO IS UA FOOLING? After the next (and last flight on UA where Me & Hubby who has severe disability are separated on the transborder flight and we pass US immigration in Canada and he wont make it on his own….I can asure You & all that will be the END OF MR KIRBYs CAREER….because of some stupid UA underpaid call centre THIRD PARTY agent!!!) which proved to me that hiring a third party call centre agents =BAAAD IDEA…
Virgin is relaunching their own IAD-LHR service on 1/1, so United probably realizes there’s going to be way too much capacity on the route with two other airlines offering daily service.
I don’t buy this. With the feeder traffic to IAD for United, and the odds that as of February traffic will start to explode to LHR from IAD, the idea that they don’t see the potential to compete against two other daily flights from foreign carriers is beyond me. Especially given Govt employees have no choice but to fly a U.S. carrier when the option is there. So much for Scott Kirby being an optimist, lol
Wondering if this is the beginning of the end for the United Hub at Dulles. When you surrender on the second biggest intl. corridor on the east coast you need to question the long term commitment.
I do think traffic will bounce back and IAD will remain a smaller hub, but I think United opens the door for defection when it cedes routes to the competition. Some commenters think we should just “trust” United but I don’t think it is unreasonable to question this strategy, even though I have great faith in Patrick Quayle and even Herr Kirby. I do hope that the flight banking and funneling NE and SE connections via IAD versus EWR returns once travel demand picks up.
Left to be seen. But we have all lived here for some time with the idea that United has long been eyeing an end to Dulles and focusing more on EWR. For many of us in the DMV it’s based on the fact that they refuse to invest anything to improve the experience on the C concourse. It’s abysmal, and the A and B Terminals are wonderful in comparison. Nor does the Washington Metro Airport Authority seem to care…as if they know the writing is on the wall and don’t want to invest in something that might turn into a ghost concourse.
They’d be fools to walk away from IAD with the booming Virginia suburbs of DC + new rail service. They aren’t investing in a terminal upgrade because they want to bring down the airport fees per enplanement to make IAD more competitive as a connecting hub vs. CLT and ATL. That’s more important and drives more service than a terminal upgrade.
I doubt that they will reduce costs and make IAD as profitable as CLT or ATL. Charlotte heavily banks (no pun intended) the airport to subsidize growth in the region and it’s worth it for them to give AA a cushion for a steady stream of flights and make it an alternative city to Atlanta in the south. ATL is just so purely controlled by Delta that they call the shots no matter what.
Bottom line is that if UA pulls out you can bet a number of carriers will be eyeing it quickly, even with its costs. Yes, you are right, our region is booming and lucrative. United is playing a fickle game with us though and may get their bluff called. And it will not be like when Independence Air tried to go head to head and got their butts handed to them. Let’s see what happens if JetBlue comes in and tries to build out a system there, including with intl flights as seems to be their aspiration. United would be toast.
There’s literally 10-15 people per flight. there’s no “defection” to be had. again, TIMES ARE NOT NORMAL. This would not be happening save for Covid. United is not walking away from the Dulles hub, it is just being realistic given the environment. They will be back as soon as there’s traffic to be had. There is simply none to be had now. And for those who think United is leaving Dulles, ridiculous. They were expanding prior to covid – had already announced at least 10 new cities for 2020 – and even during covid have launched/ announced new cities such as Pensacola, increased other Florida flying, and announced new service to Lagos and Accra. Nothing to be alarmist about, it’s just the times we are in.
Also – United is stopping SFO-LHR but BA is keeping SFO-LHR. I dont see anybody here screaming doom. It’s just prudent when there literally no passengers. It’ll all return when traffic returns.
Because SFO is not a gateway to LHR. Dulles had, in the days before Covid, as many as 7 -8 flights or more each day plying the route (add an additional from BWI). And it was a significant feeder hub. The Govt contracts alone for United were hugely lucrative. It’s like comparing Tokyo flights from SFO vs IAD…of course Tokyo is more important to SFO with frequency and demand. For here, to sacrifice London completely (even if temporary) is like handing the keys of your Porsche to a teenager on a Saturday night.
Further, no one in DC, and I mean no one, will ever connect in EWR for a flight to LHR. But SFO people will.
It’s more like handing your Porsche keys to your teenager when he’s already left home on his bike. There is no feed from LHR and no demand. Not even Brits like me are going there.
I was talking more come February. With the vaccines implemented so quickly in both countries it seems the timing is off. I can see stopping now perhaps for a period until Feb 1 or March 1, latest. But summer 2021? I’ll bet my Porsche (which I don’t actually have) that BA and Virgin flights will be running close to 100% full by mid February.
I hope you’re right, but I’m not as optimistic as you. I don’t see lower-priority people being offered the vaccine here until the summer, and even then there will be a sizable group of people who don’t want to take it. I doubt the UK will end their quarantine requirement until the late summer or fall at the earliest. I haven’t been back in over a year, but I’ve been happy to visit other European countries that don’t require a quarantine from the US.
I remember still our passing each other on the runway this summer. You on the KLM and me on Austrian.
Of course, I am being optimistic. No doubt. But given the UK just lifted quarantine restrictions for highly valued business and other travelers, along with the vaccine ramping up at record speed (who would have thought this just a few months ago) I would bet decent money that by March 1, United will be regretting their decision and backtracking fast.