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United Airlines prunes Dayton service with Houston axe

Edward Russell
Edward Russell
Contributor
Edward Russell is a contributor for TPG. An AvGeek at heart, he covered the airline business at FlightGlobal for eight years and previously covered finance in New York and Hong Kong.
Dec. 31, 2019
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3 min read
Colorado Scenics
United Airlines prunes Dayton service with Houston axe
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United Airlines is pruning its operation in Dayton, Ohio, in 2020, adding Houston to the list of routes it will drop from the Ohio city in the new year.

The Star Alliance carrier will end service between Houston Intercontinental (IAH) and Dayton, Ohio (DAY) on March 26, according to Cirium schedules. The axe comes two months after United ends flights between Newark Liberty (EWR) and Dayton in January.

United offered daily service with a 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 on the Houston-Dayton route, schedules show.

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The Chicago-based carrier has previously told TPG that it continuously reviews its network, making changes based on each individual route's performance. Dayton appears to be a weak performer with the multiple route cuts.

United will continue to serve the Ohio city from its Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), and Washington Dulles (IAD) hubs, according to Cirium.

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In addition, the airline will also not resume service between Houston and Columbia, South Carolina (CAE) on March 5 as previously planned, the schedules show. Daily service with 50-seat regional jets is now scheduled to return on Oct. 1, though schedules that far out are subject to change.

Related: United Airlines drops three Newark and Washington routes this winter

Even with the reductions to Columbia and Dayton, United plans to grow capacity by 4-6% year-over-year in 2020. The elevated rate of growth is part of an effort by the airline to regain what executives see as its "natural share" of the U.S. market.

United will add service to Dodge City, Kansas (DDC) from Denver, and Decatur, Illinois (DEC) from Chicago O'Hare under the federal government's Essential Air Service subsidy program early in the new year, Cirium schedules show. The airline's regional partner, SkyWest Airlines, will serve both cities with 12 flights a week on 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft.

Other planned network additions in 2020 include more domestic flights on Boeing 777 widebody jets, a new shuttle-like service between Newark and Washington Reagan National (DCA), and new or resumed service from its Dulles hub and five cities in its network.

United was not immediately available to comment on the Columbia and Dayton reductions.

Related: The 10 longest (and 10 shortest) United Airlines flights

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