In September 2020, the carrier unveiled plans to connect Newark (EWR) and Maui (OGG) as well as Chicago (ORD) and Kona (KOA) with new nonstop service. At the time, Hawaii had proven to be a popular pandemic-era destination, and United was ready to try its hand at connecting two of its largest hubs with additional cities in Hawaii.
Both routes launched with plenty of fanfare, and they've kept the momentum going long enough to be coming back for another season.
Specifically, the Chicago-based carrier just renewed both routes for winter 2023, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by an airline spokesperson.
United will operate the two flights on Saturdays from Jan. 7, 2023, to Feb. 4, 2023. Service from Chicago will continue to operate once weekly through February, while the Newark route will be flown four times a week for much of February.
Then, in March, as spring break vacations ramp up, United will fly the Chicago and Newark routes five and six times a week, respectively.
United isn't ready to call these routes a "permanent" addition, though it certainly appears that there's been enough demand to warrant bringing them back for another season. "We continue to keep a close eye on these routes and will adjust our schedule as appropriate," a United spokesperson shared.
Interestingly, United has experimented with several new long-haul routes throughout the pandemic.
When the first batch of European destinations started opening to vaccinated Americans, United was the first to announce limited-time long-haul routes to three popular countries (Croatia, Iceland and Greece). These flights quickly became a hit, and they're all slated to return this summer.
Additionally, United's planning eight new transatlantic flights for the summer, including five all-new European destinations, such as Ponta Delgada in the Azores and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
As much of Asia remains closed and off-limits to tourists, United has opportunistically been looking for routes that could be a good fit for its widebodies. (The airline has the most twin-aisle jets of the Big 3 U.S. carriers.)
Plus, with a recovery in business travel still lagging, the airline has extra planes to deploy on leisure-focused routes.
Hawaii has been an especially popular choice, with its plethora of outdoor-friendly activities and access to many of the conveniences found on the mainland. Plus, there's no testing requirement before heading home.
Related: Traveling to Hawaii just got a whole lot easier; TPG was among the first to try it out
United will continue flying a 243-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on the Chicago route, which features 28 Polaris business pods, 21 Premium Plus recliners, 36 extra-legroom coach seats and 158 standard coach ones.
Meanwhile, the carrier will deploy the swanky "high-J" Boeing 767-300 from Newark to Maui. The jet sports a massive 46-seat business-class cabin that spans 16 rows, along with a 22-seat premium economy cabin, 43-seat extra-legroom coach cabin and a 56-seat standard economy one.
The "high-J" 767 was originally configured for high-value business routes, like those between London and both Newark and Chicago, but the airline has seemingly found a great fit with this leisure route as well.
While United's focus on long-haul leisure travel is seemingly paying off, it's anyone's guess how long it'll last. Once business travelers return to the skies, the airline may shift gears to chase those higher margins and stronger yields.
For now, though, it means expanded access with nonstop connectivity to popular tourist destinations.
That said, it's not entirely good news for United's Hawaii network. The carrier pulled back its newest Hawaii route, from Orange County (SNA) to Honolulu (HNL) as part of this weekend's schedule adjustment.
United was planning to fly the 2,584-mile route once daily this fall, though it'll now be operated on a once-weekly basis on Saturdays between Sept. 6, 2022, and Dec. 14, 2022.
