Summary
- United Airlines has delayed the resumption of its flights from Newark to Hong Kong and Mumbai, and San Francisco to Delhi until March 28, 2024.
- Despite the delays, United still has plenty of service to Hong Kong and Delhi from other hubs between now and March.
- United previously operated daily flights to Hong Kong and Mumbai, but suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
United Airlines has delayed the resumptions of its flights from Newark to Hong Kong and Mumbai and San Francisco to Delhi through March 28, 2024.
Delaying Hong Kong and India routes
Chicago-based United Airlines has experienced significant international growth coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, announcing massive expansions to Asia, the South Pacific, and even the Atlantic. The airline is now the largest carrier across the Atlantic and Pacific by number of flights. Still, some routes continue to be suspended, as is the case today.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
In today’s ‘recent changes’ report by aviation analytics firm Cirium, data shows that United has delayed relaunching its services from Newark Liberty International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. United’s route from San Francisco International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has also been delayed.
Simple Flying contacted United Airlines for a statement, and the airline gave no reasoning for the push but said,
“We can confirm we have extended the suspension of these routes through March 28, 2024.”
Other India and Hong Kong operations
United last flew from Newark to Hong Kong in February 2020, ending its operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Until December 2019, United had one daily flight in each direction between the two cities, but began its reduction in January. Since February 2020, the airline has not resumed operations on the route.
The Newark – Mumbai route did not have the same fate. Flights to Mumbai ran through March 2020 before being cut for four months and resuming in August. Before the pandemic, United had operated one daily flight to Mumbai, and though it continued service in August, it was not until September that daily flights resumed. Service to Mumbai was consistent from August 2020 to March 2022, when flights ceased, and remains so to this day. From 2019 to October 2021, United deployed its largest passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER, to Mumbai, when it transitioned to the middle variant of the 787 Dreamliner family, the 787-9.
Photo: Croatorum | Shutterstock
San Francisco – Delhi was similar to the Mumbai route. United flew to Delhi until March 2020 before briefly pausing and resuming service in July. From July 2020 to March 2022, the route was served consistently with the Boeing 787-9 and has not been served since.
Despite delaying the resumption of the three routes mentioned above, United has plenty of service to Hong Kong and Delhi from other hubs between now and March. This month, United has 35 flights scheduled from Newark to Delhi, increasing to twice-daily from October 28. To operate the 7,324-mile route, United uses the 787-9.
Hong Kong will see United service from Los Angeles and San Francisco between now and March. From San Francisco, United deploys multiple variants of Boeing 777 aircraft, including the -300ER and -200. Los Angeles to Hong Kong is a new route, announced recently as part of a larger Asia expansion announcement. United will operate the route daily from October 28 with the 787-9.