United Airlines adds 3 more routes to growing Washington Dulles hub
United Airlines continues to build up its Washington Dulles hub as a major north-south connecting complex on the U.S. East Coast, adding new flights to Akron/Canton, Philadelphia and West Palm Beach.
Starting Feb. 13, the Star Alliance carrier will offer one daily round-trip flight between Dulles and West Palm Beach (PBI) in Florida, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and United confirmed. Beginning May 8, United will add three daily flights between Dulles (IAD) and Akron/Canton (CAK) in Ohio and four daily flights between Dulles and Philadelphia (PHL).
United will operate 50-seat regional jets on the Akron and Philadelphia routes, and a 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 on the West Palm Beach route.
Related: United Airlines has saved 40,000 connections by holding flights
The three cities, all of which United already serves, are the latest route additions to the connecting hub it's building at Dulles. The airline begins service to Fort Myers (RSW) and Sarasota (SRQ) later this month, and added service to five other cities earlier this year: Asheville, North Carolina (AVL); Elmira, New York (ELM); Hilton Head, South Carolina (HHH); Lexington, Kentucky (LEX); and Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT).
United is returning to the Dulles-Philadelphia market, which it dropped in January. Airline spokeswoman Kimberly Gibbs said the resumption is part of a continuous review of customer demand.
"Dulles… is a great connecting hub for us," Ankit Gupta, vice-president of domestic network planning at United, told FlightGlobal in 2018. "We want to position Dulles as somewhere you can travel from across the globe… but also be able to connect to from all up and down the East Coast."
United will fly roughly 5% more seats at Dulles this year versus 2018, according to Diio by Cirium schedules. Flight numbers will be up roughly 5.2%.
The carrier's seat growth in Dulles is second only to Denver (DEN), the focus of its vaunted mid-continent hub expansion, among its seven domestic hubs this year, the data shows.
To accommodate the growth at Dulles, United added two gates to its portfolio of roughly 75 gates there in June. A new Polaris lounge for international business class passengers is under construction.
The airline is studying adding two or four more flight "banks" — a period of time when a number of arriving and departing flights are scheduled to connect — at Dulles, executives have said since 2018. Adding flight banks would allow United to grow more efficiently by better utilizing its facilities at the airport throughout the day, instead just select periods.
Related: The eight best credit cards for flying United
The potential growth is part of a resurgence for United at Dulles. Set up as first an East Coast hub in 1986 and a transatlantic gateway from 1990, the hubs fortunes have risen and fallen with the carrier. Most recently, seats were cut by nearly a fifth from 2010 to 2015 in the years immediately following United's merger with Continental Airlines, according to Diio.
United will face no direct competition on any of the three new routes from Dulles, Diio schedules show. However, American Airlines flies between Washington National (DCA) and all three cities; and JetBlue Airways between National and West Palm Beach.
Southwest Airlines also flies between Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and West Palm Beach, according to the data.
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- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.