September 9, 2020

United Spreads its Wings Really, Really Far

1 United Airlines is expanding its global network, adding new nonstop service to Africa, India, and Hawai’i. Most of the new routes will launch next spring, with one this winter and two next summer.

United will offer nonstop service to three destinations in Africa giving it a total of four routes to the continent. Two routes being added are from its hub near the nation’s capital, with 3x-weekly service to both Accra (ACC) and Lagos (LOS) from Washington/Dulles. Both flights will begin next spring. United is also adding a flight from Newark to Johannesburg, serving the South African capital daily beginning in the spring. This flight compliments the already existing seasonal flight from Newark to Cape Town. Both Dulles flights will be operated using Boeing’s 787-8 Dreamliner, with EWR to JNB operated by a 787-9.

Other new international routes include United adding two nonstops to India. It will begin flying nonstop from Chicago/O’Hare to Delhi (DEL) this December and will add Bangalore (BLR) from its San Francisco hub in the spring. The two new Indian routes will both be operated by a 787-9.

United is also adding frequency to the Hawaiian islands next summer, adding both Maui and Kona from mainland hubs. United will begin flying 4x-weekly from Newark to Maui (OGG) nonstop — assuming it can make it all the way off that short Maui runway — and from Chicago/O’Hare to Kona (KOA). The Chicago to Kona flight will be operated by a 787-8 Dreamliner, with the longer Newark to Maui flight on the less luxurious Boeing 767-300ER. Both aircraft will surely come equipped with United’s cult-classic, “Halfway to Hawai’i” game, which, when leaving Newark could be as early as Indianapolis depending on how long taxi time is in Newark.

For more on this story, see crankyflier.com tomorrow.


U.S. to End Virus Testing for Arriving International Passengers

2 The federal government will end the current practice of extensive screening and testing of arriving international passengers into the United States for COVID-19, effective this Monday, September 14.

Currently, travelers arriving into to the country are screened before clearing customs and immigration. Their temperatures are taken, and are posed questions about virus symptoms, before leaving contact information for potential contact tracing.

The screening began in January for passengers arriving from China, and continued into March for all arrivals when the government selected 15 international gateways to handle the testing. Those 15 airports became the only American airports permitted to handle international arrivals. While the list included most large international gateways, several key airports were left off the list including Las Vegas and Philadelphia.

The repeal of the current policy will allow all U.S. airports to again welcome international arrivals beginning Monday. Unfortunately for travelers, Newark was listed on the original list of 15 and will remain open for international — as well as domestic ops.


United and its Pilots to Avoid 3,000 Furloughs

3 It was a busy day for United as the airline is going to need pilots to fly those new routes it announced earlier. Fortunately — and in reality, unrelated news — the airline came to an agreement with its pilots union to avoid 3,000 pilot furloughs. United had previously warned that as many as 2,850 pilots could be furloughed at the end of this month.

United’s 13,000 pilots will still need to vote on the deal, of which details have not been released. Pakistan International Airlines pilots union offered to consult with UA on the deal, but the airline declined, stating that all of its pilots were licensed and actual pilots.

The union would not consider pay-rate reductions or other unacceptable changes in their contract with United. There will certainly be more to come on this story in the coming days and weeks.


Virgin Australia to Shrink Fleet & Route Network

4 Virgin Australia will emerge from administration with a smaller, consolidated fleet and a reduced route network.

The airline is returning a third of its fleet of 737s to their lessors as a part of the turnaround plan from new owner Bain Capital. Virgin Australia will keep the 56 737s that it renegotiated terms on prior to entering administration as its entire fleet for the foreseeable future. It does hope to grow to as many as 75 737s as demand returns, not realizing that you can’t just staple two 737s together to operate long-haul routes.

Many of the aircraft being returned are being snapped up by Rex, which plans to challenge Virgin Australia and Qantas in the Australian domestic market in the coming months.

VA also is cutting nine routes from its current network to eight destinations. Seven domestic destinations are on the chopping block plus one international location — Nuku’alofa, Tonga (NBU).


Southwest Goes App-Free for In-Flight Entertainment

5 Southwest Airlines has had a library of TV shows and movies to choose from onboard its aircraft for several years. Access was easy when connected to the airline’s in-flight wifi and having downloaded the Southwest app onto your device prior to departure.

Thanks to an on-board wifi upgrade, Southwest passengers will now be able to stream Southwest’s library of TV and movies without the need to download an app or any other software prior to flying. While the announcement didn’t state all the browsers that will be supported, it did say that compatibility with Windows, iOS, Android, and the Commodore 64 would be available — meaning most users will be able to connect without any issue. 

This announcement from Southwest — coupled with the airline’s commitment to keep middle seats open through at least through at least October 31 — means you can confidently stream that silly RomCom aboard your flight without worrying about being judged by the person seated next to you.


Airline Potpourri

  • Air Astana is beginning a new direct flight to Frankfurt from its Almaty (ALA) hub.
  • Alaska is delaying its entry into Oneworld as a full member until Q1 2021.
  • Caribbean Airlines will begin direct service between Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) and Dominica (DOM) on September 19.
  • Emirates is resuming 2x-weekly service to Moscow/Domodedovo (DME) beginning this Friday.
  • Finnair carried 193,000 passengers in August, down 85% from a year ago. On the bright side, the figure was up 33% from July 2020.
  • Spirit expects its Q4 capacity down 34% from Q4 2019.
  • Wizz Air is opening a new base at Catania (CTA) on the Italian island of Sicily.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

A perfectionist walked into a bar. Which apparently wasn’t set high enough.