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- United Airlines is expecting December to be its busiest holiday travel month in two years.
- The airline has scheduled over 3,500 flights daily domestic departures in December.
- United will offer nearly 70 daily flights to ski destinations, including a new route from California to Aspen.
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United Airlines announced on Thursday that it is planning its largest domestic schedule since 2019 in anticipation of a busy winter travel season.
United Airlines is expecting strong holiday travel this year, with a 16% increase in winter travel searches on its website and mobile app compared to the same time in 2019, according to the carrier. To prepare for the surge in demand, the airline said it has scheduled over 3,500 daily domestic departures this December, which is 91% of the flights offered in 2019.
While the schedule is still subject to change, United said it anticipates the busiest Thanksgiving travel days to be Wednesday, November 24, and Sunday, November 28. Meanwhile, the most popular winter travel days are expected to be Thursday, December 23, and Sunday, January 2.
“We’re seeing a lot of pent-up demand in our data and are offering a December schedule that centers on the two things people want most for the holidays: warm sunshine and fresh snow. We know families and friends are eager to reunite this holiday season, which is why we’re thrilled to add new flights that will help them connect and celebrate together,” said United’s vice president of network planning and scheduling Ankit Gupta.
The airline plans to resume routes it had suspended during the pandemic and introduce new ones, with the intent to connect the Midwest to warm-weather cities as well as offer more service to ski destinations across the US. New service to warm destinations includes direct flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix from Cleveland and Indianapolis to Orlando.
United also plans…