The move to restart flights at JFK is coming to an end.
At the end of October, carried will be pulling out of the JFK Airport. There are currently two flights to San Francisco from the carrier. These are some of the most competitive routes in the country.
When the service ends, United will consolidate its transcontinental operations at its Newark Liberty International Airport, where it has a robust schedule of multiple daily flights between the coasts.
United said in an internal memo that it was too small to be competitive out of JFK and that more airlines would operate their slots as they resume JFK flying.
Customers who are affected will be offered refunds or rebookings.
United warned earlier this month that it might have to suspend service to New York's busiest airport due to a shortage of pilots.
The slots that allow the airline to operate from JFK will be lost at the end of the month. The FAA grants slots to allow an airline to land or leave an airport at a certain time.
The 100 JFK employees of United have already been notified about the airline's withdrawal, and the carrier promised that they wouldn't lose their jobs if they moved to another nearby airport.
The FAA is dedicated to doing its part to safely expand New York City airports. Future slots will be awarded to increase competition between airlines so passengers have more choices. We are positive that United will keep and relocate its JFK staff.
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JFK has been served by United for a long time, but it pulled out of the airport in 2015. The airline lost important contracts with some of its most valuable customers due to the withdrawal.
United was able to return to Kennedy in March 2021. The airline was able to get eight slots back from some international carriers that were not using them.
The airline reintroduced service to JFK with one of its most premium jets, the "high-J" variant of the Boeing 757 that has 46 Polaris business class seats and a 22-seat Premium Plus cabin.
Frequent fare sales and award and upgrade availability are a result of the airline's struggle to fill many of the plane's premium seats. The Boeing 757-200 was used on the JFK routes to better match supply and demand. There are just 16 Polaris Pods in this plane.
The carriers want their slots back, leaving United with no other choice but to leave JFK.
Even though United still owns 40 slots at JFK, it leased them to Delta in a long-term arrangement that prevents it from taking them back at this time.
In September, United warned that it could be forced to stop service to JFK. The carrier shared an internal memo with its employees that said that the operators of those slots would resume their use at the beginning of the winter season.
Kirby wrote a letter to the FAA urging them to increase the slot cap at Kennedy. The discussions have been constructive, but the process to add additional capacity at JFK will take some time.
New York customers deserve more choices and robust United service to JFK is good for us and our employees. "We will continue our pursuit of a bigger and more desirable schedule for our customers and be ready to seize those opportunities if and when they surface."
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