United Airlines Adds 9 Special Point-to-Point Routes for College Football
Want to fly nonstop between Atlanta and South Bend, Indiana, on United Airlines? Or how about between Dallas/Fort Worth and Eugene, Oregon?
United will offer those and seven other special routes this fall as part of an ambitious special schedule to court travelers flying to see college football games.
Overall, United is adding nine temporary point-to-point routes (full list below) and about 10,000 additional seats on existing routes to airports near college football hot spots.
"It's exciting for football fans and even more exciting for United to be able to operate nonstop flights between these communities for the very first time," Ankit Gupta, United's vice president of Domestic Network Planning, said in a statement announcing the service.
The increased capacity will only be temporary, with United only adding seats to select routes around big games.
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For example, United says it will add extra flights to its schedule between Washington Dulles and Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina, on the days before and after Saturday, Oct. 26. That's to help accommodate the extra connecting traffic from passengers looking to fly on United to the Boston College-Clemson game on that day.
On other routes, United will swap in bigger planes to cities hosting big games. One such route will be United's service between Eugene, Oregon, and Los Angeles. The airline plans to move bigger planes onto those flights on the days before and after the Oregon-USC showdown in Los Angeles.
This marks the second year in a row that United has bolstered its schedule to accommodate passengers traveling to college football games. Last year, the airline said it added more than 200,000 seats to college football locales like State College, Pennsylvania; South Bend, Indiana; and Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Scroll down to see all nine of the special one-time-only routes United is adding for the 2019 college football season.
Eugene, Oregon, to Dallas Fort Worth
Game: Auburn vs. Oregon
Gameday: Aug. 31, played in Arlington, Texas
Outbound is Aug. 30; return is Sept. 2
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Austin, Texas
Game: LSU at Texas
Gameday: Sept. 7, played at University of Texas
Outbound is Sept. 6; return is Sept. 8
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
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Birmingham, Alabama, to Columbia, South Carolina
Game: Alabama at South Carolina
Gameday: Sept. 14, played at University of South Carolina
Outbound is Sept. 13; return is Sept. 15
Aircraft: Embraer regional jet (unspecified)
South Bend, Indiana, to Atlanta
Game: Notre Dame at Georgia
Gameday: Sept. 21, played at University of Georgia in Athens
Outbound is Sept. 20; return is Sept. 22
Aircraft: Embraer E175
Columbus, Ohio, to Lincoln, Nebraska
Game: Ohio State at Nebraska
Gameday: Sept. 28, played at University of Nebraska
Outbound is Sept. 27; return is Sept. 29
Aircraft: Embraer E175
Birmingham, Alabama, to College Station, Texas
Game: Alabama at Texas A&M
Gameday: Oct. 12, played at Texas A&M University
Outbound is Oct. 11; return is Oct. 13
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
Los Angeles to South Bend, Indiana
Game: USC at Notre Dame
Gameday: Oct. 12, played at University of Notre Dame
Outbound is Oct. 11; return is Oct. 13
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
Madison, Wisconsin, to Columbus, Ohio
Game: Wisconsin at Ohio State
Gameday: Oct. 26, played at Ohio State University
Outbound is Oct. 25; return is Oct. 27
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
South Bend, Indiana, to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
Game: Notre Dame at Duke
Gameday: Nov. 9, played at Duke University in Durham
Outbound is Nov. 8; return is Nov. 10
Aircraft: Embraer E175
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