< Reveal sidebar

United Airlines Delays JFK Return

A United 767 taxis out as seen from Passport to Dulles 2018. United is only removing change fees from domestic services, not international routes. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Craig Fischer)

United Airlines revealed Wednesday it is delaying its return to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in an internal memo viewed, per Airline Weekly. The delay will last about a month, with inaugural flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco now scheduled for Feb. 28 instead of Feb. 1.

The move comes amid continued fears of the coronavirus, especially “new travel restrictions and the continued impact of Covid-19 on customer demand” as noted in the memo.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been a leader in nimbly reshaping our schedule,” the carrier said in its email.

Besides delaying the flights’ launch, United will also shrink its initial schedule out of JFK to just five weekly flights serving both Los Angeles and San Francisco. This is down from the twice-daily flights originally planned for both routes. Frequencies should increase by the end of March.

United left JFK in October 2015 to put more focus into its hub at Newark Liberty Airport, which sees a large number of United’s domestic and international service. While this change enabled United to make greater use of its hub, the airline also saw a chunk of its business customers leave to fly with competitors who remained at JFK. In 2017, then-President Scott Kirby admitted that leaving JFK was a bad decision, though the carrier couldn’t return at the time due to slot restrictions.

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has seen a drop in flights at JFK, which means some airlines, especially foreign carriers, have ceded slots either because they couldn’t afford them, they didn’t use them or they didn’t see value in them. United says it is working to hold slots permanently after March.

United plans to launch JFK flights with Boeing 767-300ER planes, which feature the airline’s expanded first-class cabins.

“Throughout the pandemic, United has been a leader in nimbly reshaping our schedule, and we look forward to offering this convenient service and a best-in-class product from New York City to the west coast in the coming weeks,” United said.

John McDermott
Latest posts by John McDermott (see all)

Author

  • John McDermott

    John McDermott is a student at Northwestern University. He is also a student pilot with hopes of flying for the airlines. A self-proclaimed "avgeek," John will rave about aviation at length to whoever will listen, and he is keen to call out any airplane he sees, whether or not anyone around him cares about flying at all. John previously worked as a Journalist and Editor-In-Chief at Aeronautics Online Aviation News and Media. In his spare time, John enjoys running, photography, and watching planes approach Chicago O'Hare from over Lake Michigan.

    View all posts

Subscribe to AirlineGeeks' Daily Check-In

Receive a daily dose of the airline industry's top stories along with market insights right in your inbox.

Related Stories

Canada-China Flights Set to Increase as Restrictions Ease

The Canadian government has lifted pandemic-era caps on flights between Canada and China, paving the way for an increase in…

American Bolsters London Service

Following seven new European route announcements, American is also adding more service to London Heathrow. The carrier is scheduled to operate…

American Adds New European Routes

American is doubling down in the U.S.-Italy market with new routes starting next year. The announcement comes just over a…