In another sign that the reopening of Asia will continue to lag behind the rest of the world, United Airlines has updated its transpacific schedule, with many flights to Asia now dropped during the spring and summer months.
United Airlines Cuts Flights From 2022 Transpacific Schedule
United Airlines’ extensive route network to Asia has been on hiatus for two years during the pandemic (with Hong Kong on hold even longer). While United has maintained limited service to most nations in the Asia-Pacific region, its schedule is just a shell of what it once was.
Prior to the omicron variant, United expressed optimism that travel would return sooner than anticipated and we’ve seen United load 2019 schedules in by default for those looking several months out to book.
While United typically finalizes its international schedules 30-60 days prior to travel, Simply Flying notes that United has dropped many transatlantic flights all the way until the end of October, which technically marks the end of the summer schedule.
This impacts a number of flight, including:
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Chicago (ORD)
Beijing (PEK) – pushed to October 29th
Shanghai (PVG) – pushed to October 29th
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Houston (IAH)
Sydney (SYD) – pushed to October 28th
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Los Angeles (LAX)
Melbourne (MEL) – pushed to October 28th
Shanghai (PVG) – pushed to October 29th
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Newark (EWR)
Beijing (PEK) – pushed to October 29th
Hong Kong (HKG) – pushed to August 1st
Shanghai (PVG) – pushed to October 29th
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San Francisco (SFO)
Beijing (PEK) – pushed to October 28th
Chengdu (CTU) – pushed to October 30th
Hong Kong (HKG) – resumes on May 28th with one daily flight (down from two)
Seoul (ICN) – one daily flight until late October (down from two)
Shanghai (PVG) – continues to operate via Seoul (ICN) 4x per week
Singapore (SIN) – one daily flight from May through October (down from two)
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Washington D.C. (IAD)
Beijing (PEK) – pushed to October 29th
Don’t necessarily expect these flight to resume in November 2022 – it is simply too soon to finalize those schedules and United has left in its 2019 schedule as a placeholder.
This schedule update went out over the weekend, before Australia announced its imminent reopening on February 21st. United has been known to be nimble in both adding and removing flights, so I would not necessarily count out the LAX-MEL or IAH-SYD flight if we suddenly see a demand in travel for Australia.
As for Asia, the glacial pace we have seen re-opening does not leave me optimistic about those flights resuming anytime sooner.
CONCLUSION
Throughout the pandemic, United has removed international flights from the schedule roughly 30-60 days in advanced. But over the weekend it has removed flights up to nine months in advance, recognizing the weak demand for transpacific travel is unlikely to rebound in 2022.
If you are booked on one of the cancelled flights, check to see what United has rebooked you on and if you are not satisfied, used the United app or call reservations to check on alternate options, including refunds or rebooking on a Star Alliance partner.
image: United Airlines