United Airlines announced it plans to resume service on several international routes in September, including flights to Asia, India, Australia, Israel and Latin America. The airline expects to fly 37% of its overall schedule in September as compared to the same period last year and is a 4% increase in capacity compared to what is planned for August 2020. It is also extending its waiver of change fees and award redeposit fees for reservations through August 31.
“In September, we’re adding even more options for leisure travelers or those who want to visit friends and relatives, whether that’s within the United States or around the world,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network and Alliances
In the US, United plans to add more than 40 daily flights on 48 routes to locations including Austin, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Santa Barbara, California. Internationally, the airline will fly 30% of its schedule as compared to September 2019, which is a 5-point increase compared to August. United expects to resume service on 20 routes in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as new nonstop service between Chicago and Tel Aviv and resume eight routes in the Atlantic and Pacific, including the return of European service from Houston with flights to Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
Health and Safety Measures
United is committed to putting health and safety at the forefront of every customer’s journey, with the goal of delivering an industry-leading standard of cleanliness through its United CleanPlus program. United has teamed up with Clorox and Cleveland Clinic to redefine cleaning and health safety procedures from check-in to landing and has implemented more than a dozen new policies, protocols and innovations designed with the safety of customers and employees in mind. Some of those measures are:
- Requiring all travelers – including crew members – to wear face coverings and potentially revoking travel privileges for customers who do not follow these requirements
- Using state-of-the-art high-efficiency (HEPA) filters on most United mainline aircraft to circulate air and remove up to 99.97% of airborne particles.
- Using electrostatic spraying on all mainline aircraft before departure for enhanced cabin sanitation.
- Adding a step to the check-in process, based on a recommendation from the Cleveland Clinic, requiring customers to acknowledge they do not have symptoms for COVID-19 and agree to follow our policies, including wearing a mask on board.
- Offering customers a touch-less baggage check-in experience at more than 200 airports across the United States; United is the first and only U.S. airline to make this technology available.
