United Airlines plans to grow at Newark Liberty International Airport, with more flights, more clubs, and more premium seats.
United Airlines Eyes Growth At Newark Airport
This autumn, United expects to resume its full pre-pandemic schedule of flights out of Newark. In November 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) slot waiver period ends, meaning United must “use or lose” its slots.
Newark is already United’s largest global gateway with 430 daily flights that include international destinations like Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Mumbai, and Tel Aviv. But United does not just want Newark to be a global gateway, but wants to dominate at Newark, hoping it can drive more carriers to reduce schedules or even potentially out as it did to Southwest Airlines.
> Read More: Southwest Hands United Airlines A Free Gift
United expects the number of Newark departures on mainline aircraft to increase from 55% in 2019 to 70% by 2026.
By late 2021, United expects 100% of Newark departures to be on dual-class aircraft, including the 737 MAX and the dual-class 50-seat CRJ-550 jet.
Discussing today’s new order for 270 jets, United said:
Today’s aircraft order means the airline can create quality, union jobs, as well as grow domestic and international capacity from Newark for years to come by replacing smaller mainline jets with larger aircraft, while at the same time driving international growth, by connecting more customers from U.S. cities to Newark/NYC for their international flights.
Specifically, United plans to create up to 5,000 new union jobs based in Newark by 2026.
United is in the midst of a long-term upgrade project at Newark. The work includes renovating an existing United Club location in Terminal C and building a brand new United Club in Terminal A where United will operate from 12 new gates. But the centerpiece of the work will be a new lounge in Terminal C that will accommodate 500 travelers and offer panoramic views of Manhattan.
While United has not announced a completion date for that project, work is underway and desperately needed as travel demand surges and United’s single lounge in Terminal C is simply not able to accommodate the influx of passengers.
CONCLUSION
By the end of 2021, United Airlines will stop operating single-cabin aircraft from Newark, adding more mainline flights and regional flights using two-cabin aircraft like the CRJ-550.
Over time, United intends to add capacity through more mainline flying and create a new club that will finally eliminate crowding issues that have plagued EWR even before the Continental – United merger.
What do you make of United’s growth plans at Newark Airport?
Hopefully EWR airport can handle the increase. Earlier this month on a Friday afternoon I went to EWR Terminal C and the TSA security line was crazy for the regular economy folks as only 2 x-ray stations were open. People running late were jumping the line thanks to CLEAR.
TSA precheck was shorter but still had a line. Regardless, there were several X-Ray stations not being used but I guess TSA just doesn’t have the labor to use all of them open during peak hours.
United is certainly heading in the right direction:
*Operationally sound compared to their peers right now
*Most economy plus seats (by far)
*Best Int’l business class lounge of US carriers, maybe most foreign carriers as well.
*New interiors should be awesome
*First airline to being back full Meal service to most flights
*Only US airline that lets you buy hot food in coach (pre pandemic) hope they bring it back
*Service push is happening, I do believe the culture is changing for the good. Employees are taking pride.
–Frequent Flyer program..forget about it… No one cares about those anymore. Same across all the majors. It will keep getting destroyed.
I work for a UAX Carrier, but will be joining mainline in a few years and I am excited that UAL is heading the right way!
While I can see the importance of growing UA’s share of the NY metro area market, positioning EWR as a connecting hub for anything beyond international flights is a mistake in my view. That’s because the airspace in the NY area is a nightmare; so many aircraft for so little space. Therefore, EWR is infamous for massive delays and traffic jams. As a hub, it sucks and is to be avoided. If you want to connect people from, say BDL-TYS, then IAD is the better potential east coast hub. EWR is logical to connect people from Columbus to Tel Aviv or Prague, but not from Columbus to Providence. Your delay in EWR can easily be longer than it takes to rent a car there and drive to Providence.
Pretty sure the shift too iad for connecting was covered in the investor day presentation.
Not on my phone call.
Or, better, take AirTrain to the Newark Airport Rail Station, and ride a train to Providence.
United used to have a code-share with Amtrak between Newark and Stamford, New Haven, Philadelphia and Wilmington DE. Wonder why that went away.
It’s going to get very interesting at EWR as United ramps back up given that JetBlue has thrown a metric ton of flying at that airport. That could lead to delays of an epic scale and the re-implementation of slot controls like those at JFK and LGA.
And United really needs to fix the design of the terminal which dumps international connectors on the street and into the regular TSA ,one with everyone else.
If only UA could use a temporary EWR pop up club to help the crowds prior to the new club being built. Oh yeah they have one but refuse to open it.
Such pandering to the unions! The unions don’t go one step out of the way to help United but United is going to back the unions up all the way. Nonsense! We will see how United reacts when all this construction at EWR is stopped in it’s tracks by one of the dozens if not scores of unions that have contacts for everything from cleaning the toilets to putting up a cardboard sign to every jot and tittle of construction worj at EWR. Perhaps the correct shade of paint was not delivered for a wall. If one union walks off the job they all walk off the job. It’s called solidarity, a common term in communist regimes. Terminal A construction will most likely be at fits and starts for years to come.
Also explain to your readers what a United pop-up club is or would be? Wham! Pop goes the weasel! We now have a “pop-up” clubs to accommodate crowds of United flier. Has anyone checked to see if coffee or spirits can be served anywhere at EWR without about twelve unions giving their okay?
Oh puh-lease Enoch. You must be a republican. Unions built this country and a livable wage is impossible without them. Moreover, a contract = respect, something you know little about. So keep your radical right wing rot to yourself. I’ll fly on United because of their unions and avoid anti-union airlines at all cost.