United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) is adding more than two dozen non-stop routes from the Midwest to coastal cities popular with vacationers for the summer season, a bet that travelers will continue to gravitate toward the outdoors.
The Chicago-based airline said Thursday that its overall May schedule will be 52% of what it flew in May 2019, which will be most flying in more than a year, when the pandemic shut down businesses and most air travel. Last May it flew 14% of its May 2019 capacity. Its domestic schedule in May will be 58% of its May 2019 capacity.
The plans show the carrier’s focus on domestic vacationers for another summer, generally the most lucrative season for airlines. Air travel has steadily climbed as more people were vaccinated over the past month but business travel and international trips are still down sharply compared with domestic vacation spots.
"We wanted to point our assets to where the demand is," said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of network and schedule planning, adding the airline’s capacity to Florida is almost back to the same level of 2019.
Starting May 27, United plans to add new nonstop flights from Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. Destinations and frequencies vary by market from 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 its 50-seat CRJ-550 jet.
UAL was grounded $1.06, or 2%, Thursday to $52.77
