United Express aircraft
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- United Airlines is dropping 14 more small markets, citing the pilot shortage as a contributing factor.
- All 14 cities were routes out of Washington Dulles, though 5 will be shifted to United’s Newark base.
- Delta cut 10 routes in a network adjustment on Monday, with a majority being to small communities.
United Airlines is dropping 14 routes from its Washington Dulles hub, dealing another blow to small markets.
United confirmed to Insider on Wednesday that it is dropping a handful of routes to regional airports from Washington DC, including cities in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Maine. United cited the pilot shortage as one of the factors contributing to the cuts.
“As we continue to evaluate our network and closely match supply with demand, United is making adjustments to our East Coast operations, including suspending service between Washington Dulles/D.C. and several regional markets, and shifting some service from Washington D.C. to New York/Newark,” a United spokesperson told Insider. “After these adjustments, United will still serve nearly the same number of destinations from Dulles that it did in 2019.”
According to United, the airline serviced 107 destinations from Washington Dulles in March 2019, and despite cutting routes, it will still serve 105 in March 2022. Moreover, it is shifting five of the 14 routes from Washington Dulles to its Newark hub.
Take a closer look at the 14 cities being cut:
- Akron/Canton, Ohio: United will still serve Akron from Chicago. Meanwhile, Allegiant, Spirit, American, and Breeze all operate out of the airport.
- Erie, Pennsylvania: United will still serve Erie from Chicago and American will operate from Charlotte.
- Greenville, South Carolina: United will still serve Greenville from Newark. Meanwhile, Allegiant, American, Contour, Delta, Silver, Southwest all operate out of the airport.
- Greensboro, North Carolina: United will still serve Greensboro from Newark. Meanwhile, the airport is also served by Allegiant, American, Delta, and Spirit.
- Grand Rapids, Michigan: United will still serve Grand Rapids from Newark. Meanwhile, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, and Southwest also serve the airport.
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin: United will still serve Milwaukee from Newark. Meanwhile, several other airlines operate out of the city, like Air Canada, American, Spirit, and Sun Country.
- Wilmington, North Carolina. United will still serve Wilmington from Newark. Meanwhile, American operates from Washington Regional, Philadelphia, and Charlotte, and Delta flies from Atlanta.
- Asheville, North Carolina. United will still serve Asheville from Newark. Meanwhile, Allegiant, American, Delta, and Sun Country all operate out of the airport.
- Bangor, Maine. United will still serve Bangor from Newark. Meanwhile, the airport is also served by American, Allegiant, and Delta.
The five cities being moved from Washington DC to Newark are Ithaca, New York, and Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Scranton, and State College in Pennsylvania. These routes will be new to United’s network, according to the carrier.
The news comes as small airports continue to lose commercial air service due to low profitability and demand, as well as the pilot shortage. In November, United dropped 11 routes to small markets indefinitely, and, on Monday, Delta dropped ten routes to cities across its network.
United CEO Scott Kirby explained in a Senate hearing last Wednesday that part of the reason the company is dropping small cities is because it has about 100 regional jets grounded due to the pilot shortage. According to Kirby, the planes are sitting because “there’s not enough pilots to fly them,” and therefore they cannot operate to all the communities the company wants to.
Read the original article on Business Insider 
