United reveals more of its winter plan with new flight additions
With record highs across the U.S., escaping the cold this winter may be the last thing on your mind.
But nevertheless, winter is coming, and United Airlines is getting ready.
The airline announced on Friday that it will add about 150 daily flights — mostly from its hubs — to warm-weather destinations across the U.S. and Latin America, starting in November and continuing through March 2022.
In total, the airline is adding 137 flights on peak days compared to its 2019 schedule, all heading to winter hotspots. According to United, the added flights include the following domestic additions:
From Chicago O'Hare (ORD)
- San Diego, California (SAN)
- Charleston, South Carolina (CHS)
- Destin, Florida (VPS)
- Key West, Florida (EYW)
- Fort Myers, Florida (RSW)
- Panama City, Florida (ECP)
- Miami, Florida (MIA)
- Sarasota, Florida (SRQ)
- Tampa, Florida (TPA)
- Phoenix, Arizona (PHX)
- St. Louis, Missouri (STL)
- Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS)
From Cleveland, Ohio (CLE)
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL)
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Orlando, Florida (MCO)
- Tampa, Florida
From Denver (DEN)
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Pensacola, Florida (PNS)
- Sarasota, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- New Orleans, Louisiana (MSY)
- Phoenix, Arizona
From Houston Intercontinental (IAH):
- Destin, Florida
- Key West, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Palm Beach, Florida (PBI)
- Sarasota, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
From New York-Newark (EWR):
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Key West, Florida
- Jacksonville, Florida (JAX)
- Orlando, Florida
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Sarasota, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Savannah, Georgia (SAV)
From Los Angeles (LAX):
- Fort Meyers, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
From San Francisco (SFO):
- Orlando, Florida
- Fort Myers, Florida
From Washington, D.C. (IAD):
- Charleston, Florida
- Panama City, Florida
- Key West, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Palm Beach, Florida
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Phoenix, Florida
- Pensacola, Florida
- San Diego, California
- Savannah, Georgia
The airline will also add or increase the following international routes:
From Denver:
- Belize City, Belize (BZE)
- San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
- Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
From New York-Newark:
- Barbados (BGI) beginning Dec. 5
From Washington, D.C.:
- Barbados (BGI)
- Aruba (AUA)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)
- Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
- Turks & Caicos (PLS)
From San Francisco:
- Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR) beginning Dec. 5
From Los Angeles:
- Belize City, Belize (BZE)
- Cozumel, Mexico (CZM)
- Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
- San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
- Zihuatanejo, Mexico (ZIH)
- Manzanillo, Mexico (ZLO)
The additions come as U.S. airlines continue to see high demand among domestic and short-haul international travelers for leisure destinations, and as domestic business travel continues to return at a faster clip than expected.
"As pandemic restrictions ease, people are becoming more confident in planning travel further in advance, so we want to make sure to offer our customers as much choice as possible," Ankit Gupta, United's vice president who oversees its domestic network, said in a statement.
Friday's announcement was the second time in a month that United added to its winter schedule; its last announcement focused on winter sports destinations.
Notably, however, long-haul international demand has remained severely depressed, with travel limited to the few countries that have reopened, such as Iceland, France, Greece and Italy.
Conspicuously absent from that list: the United Kingdom, despite reports this spring that a travel corridor between the U.S. and U.K. for vaccinated travelers was imminent.
More: Delta boosts 10 routes to 5 outdoor-friendly destinations for the winter
Although airlines have been updating their schedules and adding flights with less lead time than before the pandemic, recent months have seen passengers booking travel further out, airlines have said. The new flights suggest United is eager to capture leisure demand for the winter and is beginning to plan as uncertainty regarding long-haul travel continues.
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