May 7, 2022, 3:00 pm

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Active thread; UA-Schedule changes; +25% TATL 2022 capacity, Q2 TPAC down 65% vs 2019; June changes

UA publishes a schedule for 330 days in advance (called Beginning of Schedule) and in the past would make tweaks quarterly and things would be fairly settles 3-4 months out. Updates would occur Friday evening / Saturday morning (Chicago time). Routine additions could occur anytime.
20 Oct 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by EWR764

In the earnings call today, UA noted that has been transitioning back to its 'normal' (pre-pandemic) 90-day schedule load process, which should be complete in the very near future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UA Insider

The only thing constant is change and at United Airlines, some of the fees associated with changes related to flying are gone for good. The carrier announced today that it is permanently getting rid of change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., effective immediately. And starting on January 1, 2021, any United customer can fly standby for free, regardless of fare type, on a flight departing the day of their travel, a first among U.S. carriers, while MileagePlus® Premier® members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.

United is also extending its waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020, to permit unlimited changes with no fee. This policy applies to all ticket types issued after March 3, 2020 and is valid for domestic and international travel.

The new change fee policy applies to all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and customers will not be limited in the number of times they adjust their flights.

Additionally, United is giving customers more flexibility to change their flights on the day of their travel so they can head home if a meeting ends earlier or enjoy a few more hours on vacation. With the ability to list for same-day standby for free, customers will now have an option to take a different flight with the same origin and destination airports as their original itinerary if space is available at departure. This enhanced option will be available to all customers for travel within the U.S. and to and from international destinations beginning on January 1, 2021. Customers who want to switch flights will be able to add themselves to the standby list through United’s award-winning mobile app, on united.com or at the airport no later than 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights and one hour before departure on international flights.

The carrier is also improving the travel experience for its MileagePlus members including waiving all redeposit fees on award travel for flights changed or cancelled more than 30 days before departure and allowing all MileagePlus Premier members to confirm a different flight on the day of their travel. As a way to thank MileagePlus Premier members for their loyalty, beginning January 1, 2021, all Premier members will be able to confirm a seat for free on a different flight with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket. This expanded option will allow MileagePlus Silver members and above to confirm a new seat in the same ticket fare class if space is available. Earlier this year, United announced that it will extend status for MileagePlus Premier and United Global Services® members through January 2022. United also reduced thresholds for Premier qualification by 50 percent for each status level, to make reaching an even higher status tier easier.

For more information on United’s new flexible travel policies, visit https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/change-fee.html.

Quote:

Change is here. Change fees are gone.We’re permanently getting rid of change fees for most Economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the United States. This includes Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more

For all other destinations, change fees are waived through December 31, 2020. See terms and conditions

Quote:

We’re extending electronic certificatesTo give you more flexibility when you travel, electronic certificates are now valid for 24 months from the date they were issued. This includes all currently valid electronic certificates and all new ones issued on or after April 1, 2020.

This policy change will automatically appear, but it may not be reflected everywhere right away. We’d appreciate your patience as we work to make that happen.

Quote:

Award flight redeposit fees waived

We’re waiving redeposit fees for award flights issued on or before December 31, 2020, that are canceled at least 30 days before the departure date. You can also change your award flight with no fee. Learn more about changing or canceling your award flight.

International travel advisories and waivers

For more information about international travel:

View our current travel waivers
See our country-specific travel updates
Search by destination for passport, visa and health requirements provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Visit the U.S. Department of State’s website for detailed information on coronavirus by country[/quote]

CARES service exemptions for United
United Exemption 042520 FINAL ISSUED.pdf
United Airlines 2nd Exemption_051220_FINAL ISSUED.pdf
latest (tentative) -2020-5-5 Order to Show Cause

Other Resources and Statistics

COVID19 UA-Schedule {Archive}

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Aug 24, 2020, 1:15 pm

#3031

lincolnjkc

Join Date: Feb 2005

Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet

Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC

Posts: 4,162

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobOnLI

Surprised (I guess) to see United still cancelling flights on the day of departure due to the 'unprecedented circumstances". LGA-ORD and LGA-IAH (inbound & outbound) have both had cancellations today. The flights were in the schedule and taking bookings last night. I understand UA can't right-size their schedule from the start but the last minute cancellations had pretty much died down based on what I was seeing. I do wonder if this is a prelude to how bad things will get in September again when school is back in session and family trips take a nose dive. Because we all know business travel is not picking up any slack right now.

-RM

Do you have flight numbers? I'm not seeing any LGA-ORD or LGA-IAH showing flifo as cancelled (the closest I'm seeing is if you were doing LGA-ORD-AUS-IAH the AUS-IAH leg is showing a delay)

Leaving from IAD this morning they were making PAs about how New York has a mandatory quarantine, must fill out declaration card online prior to departure or paper forms would be available on the aircraft, etc.) so it wouldn't surprise me if New York airports were seeing dips in traffic from the "I don't gotta be there and I don't want to deal with this" portion of the population especially since EWR isn't a terrible option for getting to the metro.

Aug 24, 2020, 10:58 pm

#3032

PHXFFLYER

Join Date: Aug 2020

Posts: 8

United airlines announces september schedule reductions to hawaii and canada

This is why I never book a two leg to YYZ with a stop anywhere but ORD

Air Canada is still advertising their nonstop from Phx but that’s just a cash grab

Hawaii:

SFO ⇄ HNL: 2x daily
LAX ⇄ HNL: 1x daily
DEN ⇄ HNL: 1x daily
ORD ⇄ HNL: 3x/week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)
SFO ⇄ OGG: 1x daily
SFO ⇄ KOA: 1x daily

Canada:

IAD ⇄ YYZ: 1x daily
ORD ⇄ YYZ: 2x daily
ORD ⇄ YUL: 5x/week
SFO ⇄ YVR: 2x daily
DEN ⇄ YYC: 1x daily

Aug 24, 2020, 11:02 pm

#3033

geckoflyer

Join Date: Sep 2002

Location: CHS

Posts: 2,246

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHXFFLYER

This is why I never book a two leg to YYZ with a stop anywhere but ORD

Air Canada is still advertising their nonstop from Phx but that’s just a cash grab

Hawaii:

SFO ⇄ HNL: 2x daily
LAX ⇄ HNL: 1x daily
DEN ⇄ HNL: 1x daily
ORD ⇄ HNL: 3x/week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)
SFO ⇄ OGG: 1x daily
SFO ⇄ KOA: 1x

<clip>

My booking at the end of September OGG-DEN-XXX-XXX still shows normally. Going to try to look at it more, but hopefully that OGG-DEN flight comes back when it’s on the schedule for.

ETA: OGG-DEN is bookable starting 9/16

Aug 25, 2020, 8:59 am

#3034

RobOnLI

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Oct 2003

Location: Floating around

Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT

Posts: 10,344

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear96

How do you know these weren't one-offs due to a mechanical issue or something like that?

Well that's easy. United tells you why they cancelled flights. The text is "due to these unprecedented circumstances related to travel, we have had to cancel your flight...". It's cancelled because of bookings. Any other reason like weather, mechanical, etc. are clearly called out in the reason text for the cancellation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNE

Family trips nosedived months ago. The real test will be Thanksgiving travel and the holidays thereafter.

No, that's not true IMO. TSA just reported it's highest screenings since March 17 this week. No doubt a slight amount of business travel has picked up but it's the family trips causing the summer spike. Once that falls off in the next couple of weeks we will see April/May levels all over again IMO. It's why the airlines have all said they are seeing a nose dive of bookings again starting in September.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lincolnjkc

Aug 24: UA1927 (ORD-LGA at 11am) cancelled due to the virus.
Aug 24: UA327 (IAH-LGA at 250pm) cancelled due to the virus. I inadvertently listed this as LGA-IAH. There was no LGA-IAH cancellation on this day, just the reverse route.
Aug 24: UA2110 (LGA-ORD at 305pm) cancelled due to the virus. This would have been the return leg of UA1927.

I flew to NY last week and while I did fill out the virus questionnaire online and had a screenshot of my device saying I did not have to quarantine, there wasn't a single person from the NYS Dept of Health at LGA to look at the forms or screenshots. However, flying out this weekend I did see an arrival from ORD met with two NYS DoH employees who collected paper forms but most people never stopped, didn't show screenshots if they filled out their data online, etc. Half ...'d to say the least.

-RM

Aug 25, 2020, 9:50 am

#3035

lincolnjkc

Join Date: Feb 2005

Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet

Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC

Posts: 4,162

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobOnLI

Aug 24: UA1927 (ORD-LGA at 11am) cancelled due to the virus.
...
Aug 24: UA2110 (LGA-ORD at 305pm) cancelled due to the virus. This would have been the return leg of UA1927.

Interesting because I'm putting off finishing an email... 1927 is also cancelled today (8/25) but is "on schedule" for tomorrow as a 319 -- with a total of 14 seats in Y and 6 seats in F blocked/occupied using ship #4031 ; if it cancels it will be interesting to see what, if anything, that ship does instead. Ditto for the 27th with ship 4001

It's conceivable based on how open-ended the message is (but unlikely all else considered) that there were aircraft/crew availability issues, they stole the frame/crew for another destination, and they're just sticking this on anything that cancels. Cancellation message on the website for today is similar:

Quote:

UA 1927: During these difficult and uncertain times, travel has been severely affected. We're sorry to let you know your flight on August 25 has been canceled. To rebook your flight or apply the value of your ticket toward another destination, please use the United app, visit united.com or call us at 1-800-UNITED-1. We appreciate your patience and loyalty during these challenging times.

2110's cancel message on both days is a much more terse:

Quote:

Your flight is canceled due to the unprecedented circumstances currently affecting travel. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

And 2110/26's seat map is the same number of blocked seats but a few are in different places suggesting that there are at least a handful of people expecting to do LGA-ORD.

Aug 25, 2020, 10:22 am

#3036

RNE

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: JZRO

Posts: 9,169

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNE

Family trips nosedived months ago. The real test will be Thanksgiving travel and the holidays thereafter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobOnLI

No, that's not true IMO.

It's not a matter of opinion. Here are the numbers 2019 vs 2020... https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput
Note spring 2020's 90% nosedive compared to 2019.

Like I said, it happened months ago. And, no, summer travel's slight increase (which was still ~70% down from last summer) is too little to setup a "nosedive."

RNE, likening a nosedive now to falling out of a basement window.

Last edited by RNE; Aug 25, 2020 at 10:30 am Reason: Clarification

Aug 25, 2020, 10:26 am

#3037

WineCountryUA

Moderator: United Airlines

Join Date: Jun 2007

Location: SFO

Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat

Posts: 66,851

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobOnLI

.... TSA just reported it's highest screenings since March 17 this week. No doubt a slight amount of business travel has picked up but it's the family trips causing the summer spike. Once that falls off in the next couple of weeks we will see April/May levels all over again IMO. It's why the airlines have all said they are seeing a nose dive of bookings again starting in September. ...

For clarification, folks are tracking TSA numbers two ways
-- % relative to the same day of the week last year
-- absolute number of screened passengers
plus there are single-day days and 7-day running average

This week the single day and 7-day relative % have hit their highest since March but these percentages have essentially been flat for a couple of weeks now
In absolute numbers, the peak 7-day was hit a week ago and declines have already started -- but this is typical. July is typically the peak travel month, and by end of August numbers are down.

But it does not look good for post-Labor Day domestic travel

Aug 25, 2020, 10:29 am

#3038

Bear96

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2000

Location: TPA for now. Hopefully LIS for retirement

Posts: 13,702

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobOnLI

OK, I didn't realize you got such a specific message.

Aug 25, 2020, 3:38 pm

#3039

WineCountryUA

Moderator: United Airlines

Join Date: Jun 2007

Location: SFO

Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat

Posts: 66,851

enilria's latest info
OAG Changes 8/25/2020:Cuts Begin for 21;DL DROPS NUMEROUS ROUTES INTL ROUTES FOR SUMMER 2021, Adds SEA-ONT,MSP-TVC
Major DL, WN, B6 changes; fewer AA, UA changes (this week, check back next week for the October changes)

Quote:

UA BOM-EWR SEP 0.9>0.1[0.8]
UA BZE-IAH SEP 1.0>0.1[1.1]
UA COS-DEN SEP 3>4[9]
UA CPT-EWR NOV 0.4>0[0]
UA DEL-EWR SEP 1.0>0[0.8]
UA DEN-KOA SEP 0.4>0.2[1.0]
UA DEN-LIH SEP 0.6>0.3[1.0]
UA DEN-OGG SEP 1.0>0.5[1.0]
UA EWR-SAL SEP 0.2>0.4[0] APR 0.1>1.0[0] MAY 0.2>1.0[0] JUN 0.5>1.0[0]
UA EWR-SAP APR 0.1>1.0[0] MAY 0.2>1.0[0] JUN 0.5>1.0[0]
UA EWR-SJO JUN 2>3[0]
UA EWR-SJU APR 2.3>4[1.0] MAY 2.0>3.1[0.8] JUN 2.9>3.9[0]
UA EWR-STI APR 1.0>3[0] MAY 1.8>3[0] JUN 2>3[0]
UA EWR-YYZ SEP 0.7>0.0[4]
**UA GUA-IAD APR 0.3>1.0[0] MAY 0.0>1.0[0] JUN 0.2>1.0[0]
UA GUA-IAH MAY 2>3[0.4] JUN 3>4[0.5]
**UA GUA-LAX APR 0>1.0[0] MAY 0>1.0[0] JUN 0>1.0[0]
UA GUM-HNL SEP 1.0>0.5[0.5] OCT 1.0>0.5[0.5] NOV 1.0>0.5[0.5] DEC 1.0>0.5[0.5] JAN 1.0>0.5[0.5] FEB 1.0>0.5[0.5] MAR 1.0>0.5[0.5] APR 1.0>0.5[0.5] MAY 1.0>0.5[0.5] JUN 1.0>0.5[0.5]
UA HNL-LAX SEP 2.0>1.5[3]
UA HNL-ORD SEP 0.9>0.7[1.0]
**UA IAD-SAL APR 0>1.0[0] MAY 0>1.0[0] JUN 0>1.0[0]
UA IAD-SJU APR 1.3>2.0[0] MAY 1.0>1.8[0] JUN 1.0>1.9[0]
UA IAD-YYZ SEP 1.9>1.0[4]
UA IAH-MGA SEP 1.0>0[0.6]
UA IAH-SAL APR 2>3[0] MAY 2>3[0.5] JUN 3>4[0.9]
*UA IAH-SAP APR 1.0>3[0] MAY 1.0>3[0] JUN 1.9>3[0.4]
UA IAH-SJO APR 2>3[0] MAY 2>3[0.4]
UA IAH-SJU APR 2.0>3.0[0] MAY 2.0>3.0[0] JUN 2.0>3.0[0.5]
UA ICN-SFO SEP 0.7>1.0[1.7]
UA ITO-LAX SEP 0.4>0.2[0.7]
UA KOA-LAX SEP 0.7>0.4[1.1]
UA KOA-SFO SEP 1.7>1.4[2]
UA LAX-LIH SEP 0.4>0.2[1.1]
UA LAX-OGG SEP 1.0>0.5[2]
**UA LAX-SAL APR 0>1.0[0] MAY 0>1.0[0] JUN 0>1.0[0]
UA LIH-SFO SEP 1.0>0.5[1.2]
UA OGG-SFO SEP 2.0>1.5[4]
UA ORD-SJO APR 0.4>0.1[0]
UA ORD-SJU APR 1.4>2.0[0] MAY 1.1>2.0[0] JUN 1.1>2.0[0]
UA ORD-YQB SEP 0.9>0[2] OCT 0.8>0[1.7]
UA ORD-YUL SEP 1.0>0.7[3]
UA ORD-YYC SEP 1.0>0.0[3]
UA ORD-YYZ SEP 3>1.9[7]

Aug 25, 2020, 11:16 pm

#3040

bluedemon211

Join Date: Mar 2014

Programs: Mileage Plus Global Services 2MM

Posts: 1,200

Quote:

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know how to read this info for city pairs when decimals are used. I know it's just me, but can someone tell me what this entry means in English:

UA DEN-KOA SEP 0.4>0.2[1.0]

Sorry for being so dense.

Aug 26, 2020, 12:09 am

#3041

WineCountryUA

Moderator: United Airlines

Join Date: Jun 2007

Location: SFO

Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat

Posts: 66,851

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluedemon211

The link explains the format but translating
UA's DEN-KOA in September was scheduled for 0.4 daily flights per week over the month (12 flights over the month, averaging 3 per week) and will be going to 0.2 daily flights per week over the month and last year it was 1.0 daily flights per week over the month.
Fractional numbers are a bit complex and these are averages over the month, so does not mean all weeks are the same.
The explanation in the link goes into more detail.

Bottom line, that flight's frequency levels will be reduced (1/2) over the previous schedule and significantly reduced from last year.

This format does not tell you which days or precisely which weeks -- it is best for seeing the frequency / volume of flights but not good to making booking decisions.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Aug 26, 2020 at 12:15 am

Aug 26, 2020, 12:23 am

#3042

bluedemon211

Join Date: Mar 2014

Programs: Mileage Plus Global Services 2MM

Posts: 1,200

Quote:

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA

Thank you. Essentially it gives you a rough impact of the schedule change (i.e. 1/2 of the flights scheduled vs. last week, 1/5 of the flights vs. last year). To get the specific impact you still need to search each week/day to find if that flight is running. Got it, thanks.

Aug 28, 2020, 11:44 pm

#3043

Mike Jacoubowsky

Join Date: May 2003

Location: Redwood City, CA USA (SFO/SJC)

Programs: 1K 2010, 1P in 2011, Plat for 2012,13,14,15 & 2016. Gold in 17 & 18, Plat since

Posts: 8,826

Guess it's over... United isn't even trying. I get it.

It feels like United gave up before I did. There could have been other arrangements made to get me where I needed to go; it's Europe, they have trains, y'know? But I think United may have been operating out of kindness and respect for their customers in calling me to refund the reservation, realizing that there are going to be a number of "orphaned" tickets that people didn't think about when their travel plans were nullified by the COVID-19 travel restrictions, which aren't going away anytime soon.

I hung onto my flights longer than any reasonable person would, thinking maybe a miracle would happen and I'd get to see the Tour de France once again, as I have every single year since 2000, with the exception of 2008. Tomorrow the 'Tour starts again, two months late, with no guarantee of making it all the way to Paris before being stopped by COVID-19. I won't be there. After the first stage concludes, I will then call United and get the refund. I will, of course, first try to reschedule the tickets at no charge to the assumed 2021 dates, but there is no reasonable belief that could happen; it's certainly not covered in any of the waivers.

Last edited by Mike Jacoubowsky; Aug 28, 2020 at 11:51 pm Reason: Removed flight-specific info from graphic

Aug 30, 2020, 2:00 pm

#3044

LifetimeGS

Join Date: Feb 2020

Location: BOS/SFO

Programs: United 4MM GS, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Lifetime Diamond

Posts: 307

Quote:

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA

Any guesses on when the October domestic schedule will be loaded? I was expecting this weekend but doesn't seem to have happened yet

Aug 30, 2020, 2:03 pm

#3045

WineCountryUA

Moderator: United Airlines

Join Date: Jun 2007

Location: SFO

Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat

Posts: 66,851

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifetimeGS

Any guesses on when the October domestic schedule will be loaded? I was expecting this weekend but doesn't seem to have happened yet

Agree that I was expecting it this weekend, it generally happening on weekend and while mostly the last weekend, it was once the first weekend. On Tuesday, there will be an OAG updated and the breadth of the changes this weekend will be clearer.

Instead UA picked this weekend to announce https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...gone-good.html