Summary

  • San Francisco Airport will be a key United Airlines hub in 2024 with significant growth in capacity.
  • Newark Airport has fewer ASKs than San Fran but runs shorter routes, dealing with ATC constraints.
  • Denver Airport is expanding as a United Airlines hub, with major plans for the future.

One of the world’s largest airlines operates from eight main hub airports, serving tens of thousands of flights each year. It is the world’s largest airline by number of destinations served and third largest based on annual revenue. While United Airlines lists eight airports as its main hubs, including Guam’s Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), there are five other airports where the airline offers more flights, seats, and capacity, measures in Available Seat Kilometers (ASK).

Overall, the airline has had a successful 2023, with Scott Kirby, its chief executive officer (CEO), remarking that the carrier has delivered on its ambitious earnings per share (EPS) target that was seen as impossible by some. Kirby added that looking forward, the leadership at United Airlines expected the positive trends to continue, with the airline being incredibly positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities, delivering both short and long-term financial targets.

However, which airports will be the most important for the carrier in 2024? The following one-way flight, seat, and capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASK), data was provided by the aviation analytics company Cirium. The schedules are for the whole of 2024, which includes flights operated by United Airlines’ regional partners.

5

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Flights in 2024: 88,668

Seats offered

14.8 million

ASK

58.5 billion

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the only airport on the list that fails to cross the 100,000 flight threshold. However, in terms of capacity, measured by ASKs, which is counted by multiplying seats by the number of kilometers flown, it would be the second-largest airport in United Airlines’ schedules in 2024.

United Airlines Boeing 777-200 taxiing at SFO

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

Comparing the schedules at the airport between 2023 and 2024, while there are only 6,536 additional one-way flights out of SFO, United Airlines’ capacity at the airport will grow by 8.3 billion ASK, half of which will be to westward destinations, such as Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). These four airports will have 4 billion more ASKs in 2024 than in 2023.

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4

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

Flights in 2024: 146,152

Seats offered

20.6 million

ASK

60.3 billion

While the difference in the number of flights between SFO and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is staggering, the difference in ASKs is low, showcasing that United Airlines runs much shorter routes from one of its East Coast hubs.

Two United Airlines aircraft at Newark Airport

Photo: HorizonUI | Shutterstock

However, due to air traffic control (ATC)-related capacity constraints in the New York area, which includes EWR, United Airlines will have relatively low growth at the airport in 2024. Compared to last year, the airline will offer 2.2% and 1.9% more flights and seats, respectively, yet its ASK growth will be 7.7%. Much like at SFO, the growth of ASKs at EWR will be driven by restoring flights to HKG, PVG, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM), and PEK.

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3

Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

Flights in 2024: 167,148

Seats offered

20.7 million

ASK

39.3 billion

While the Texan airport has fewer ASKs than any airport on the list, barring Denver International Airport (DEN), it still plays an important part in the carrier’s operations, since it is the third-busiest hub in terms of flights. And compared to 2023, United Airlines plans to add a whopping 15,131 more flights out of Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), representing a flight program that is 10% larger Year-on-Year (YoY).

United Airlines new Airbus A321neo

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

However, most of the airline’s new or additional flights from IAH in January 2024 are short-haul domestic itineraries. United Airlines has also added flights to Aeropuerto Internacional de Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto (TQO) from IAH, scheduling 552 flights during the year starting April 2024.

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2

Denver International Airport (DEN)

Flights in 2024: 174,000

Seats offered

22.5 million

ASK

38.03 billion

There is no doubt that Denver International Airport (DEN) is slowly becoming one of the airline’s main hubs, with United Airlines greatly expanding its operations at the site. In August 2023, the company purchased 46 hectares of land near the airport, spending $33 million on the future site. A few months later, filings revealed that the airline would open a new flight training center with 15 full-flight simulators (FFS) at DEN. The training facility, built in a few stages, should be finished by 2027.

Multiple United Airlines aircraft parked on the airfield of Denver International Airport.

Photo: Denver International Airport

United Airlines has added 14,343 (9%) more flights, amounting to 1.6 million (7.8%) more seats and 2.8 billion (8.2%) ASKs in 2024 compared to 2023. So far, the only three destinations that United Airlines has not served in 2023 and have appeared on the carrier’s 2024 schedule out of DEN are Valley International Airport (HRL), Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), and Fairbanks International Airport (FAI). Montego Bay Sangster International Airport (MBJ) has only nine flights in 2023, yet will have 44 in 2024.

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1

Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

Flights in 2024: 179,835

Seats offered

22.6 million

ASK

43.3 billion

In terms of flights and seats, Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is United Airlines’ largest hub. However, it has not always been the case, since DEN has been the prime airport for the airline since late 2020 and will remain as of Q1 2024.

United Airlines Boeing 787

Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock

During the first quarter of the year, the airline scheduled 39,079 and 40,470 flights from ORD and DEN, respectively. By Q2 2024, that will change, with ORD having more flights than DEN, with the trend to continue in Q3 and Q4. The city is also home to the United Center, which opened in 1994. United Airlines has owned the arena’s naming rights since the building, which houses events, NBA, and NHL games, hosted its first event.

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Have you traveled to any of these airports with United Airlines? How was your experience? Share it with us in the comments section.


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