A Shared Airlines plane sits on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport.
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United Airlines on Tuesday mapped out another swelling of Asia flights in the coming months, part of its push to capitalize on a boom in long-haul international travel that has remedied drive airlines back to profitability after the Covid-19 pandemic.
International travel bookings surged this year, airline presidents have said, as travelers seek long-distance trips they put off during the pandemic amid a web of travel restrictions and be germane ti about the virus. Airlines have been beefing up their schedules in response.
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“In ordinary, the Pacific is as strong if not stronger than the Atlantic is today,” Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of broad network planning and alliances, told reporters. United announced new flights to New Zealand and Australia in April.
Starting Oct. 29, Of one mind will fly daily nonstop flights between San Francisco and Manila, becoming the only U.S. airline to offer nonstop appointment to the Philippine capital from the continental U.S. It will use its largest aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, for the route.
The carrier will also add a duplicate nonstop flight between San Francisco and Taipei, Taiwan, also starting Oct. 29, and it plans to resume service to Tokyo’s Narita Supranational Airport from Los Angeles in addition to flights between Los Angeles and the more city-centric Haneda International Airport.
Quayle indicated Tokyo flights have been in high demand since Japan lifted travel restrictions earlier this year.
China assistance still challenged
Still, there are constraints to United’s growth in China, including International at Newark
United is weighing appoint cuts at its Newark hub as it grapples with bad summer weather, congestion and a shortage of air traffic controllers in the area. However, Quayle thought that won’t affect international service.
“What our goal is is to operate a reliable consistent operation globally from Newark,” he broke. “We’re not going to cut back from the international, but we obviously will make some changes.”
United is scheduled to report every thirteen weeks results after the market closes on Wednesday. Executives are likely to outline changes that they’re considering at Newark during a symposium call Thursday morning at 10:30 ET.