United Airlines to Increase Flights in May

United Airlines' May 2021 schedule includes the addition of 26 new nonstop routes between Midwest cities such as Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee and popular vacation destinations such as Hilton Head, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Portland, Maine.

The airline also plans to resume more than 20 domestic routes and will start a new service between Orange County, Calif., and Honolulu.

Internationally, United Airlines will fly more than 100% of its pre-pandemic schedule to Latin America compared to what it operated in 2019, including more flights to Mexico, Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Across the Pacific, United will resume flights between Chicago and Tokyo's Haneda airport and increase service from Los Angeles to Sydney and Tokyo Narita. Across the Atlantic, United will resume service between Newark and Milan and Rome as well as between Chicago and Amsterdam, Munich and Tel Aviv.

In total, United plans to operate 52% of its overall international schedule compared to May 2019, whereas in May 2020 United operated 14% of its overall schedule compared to May 2019.

"In the past few weeks, we have seen the strongest flight bookings since the start of the pandemic," said Ankit Gupta, vice president of United's domestic network planning and scheduling. "As we rebuild our schedule to meet that demand, adding in seasonal point-to-point flying is just one of the ways we are finding opportunities to add new and exciting service. And as we have done throughout the entire pandemic, we will continue being nimble and strategic with our network to add the right service to the destinations our customers want to visit."

Starting 27 May, United will begin point-to-point service to Charleston, S.C.; Hilton Head, S.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla. and Portland, Maine from seven cities including Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis, Mo.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Milwaukee, Wis. and Indianapolis, Ind.

United plans to operate those point-to-point routes through Labor Day weekend. Most customers on the flights will experience United's new Bombardier CRJ-550 – the world's first 50-seater aircraft with two cabins. The CRJ-550 is equipped with 10 first class seats, 20 Economy Plus seats, 20 standard economy seats, Wi-Fi, more legroom and enough overhead bin space for every customer to bring a roller bag on board.

United also continues to be a leading airline to Hawaii, offering more than 200 weekly flights, including new service between Orange County and Honolulu. In May, United will begin offering United Premium Plus service on select Hawaii routes, which includes a bigger, more comfortable seat and a complimentary meal.

United Premium Plus will be available for customers traveling to Honolulu and Maui from Chicago and Denver and will be expanded in June to flights between Chicago and Kona, Houston and Honolulu, and New York/Newark and Maui.

United allows customers with valid negative COVID19 tests to pre-clear before departing to Hawaii so they can save time and skip document screening lines upon arrival in the islands.

In addition to the new point-to-point service, United will resume 20 domestic flights to popular destinations and introduce three new domestic routes. This new nonstop service includes flights between Houston and Kalispell, Mont.; Washington, D.C. and Bozeman, Mont.; and between Chicago and Nantucket, Mass. Overall, United plans to operate 58% of its domestic schedule compared to May 2019.

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