United Airlines boosts 4 Hawaii routes, including newest flagships
Hawaii tourism is showing no signs of slowing down.
Over the weekend, United Airlines filed a notable adjustment to its Hawaii flying, boosting service on four routes networkwide through October.
To start, the Chicago-based carrier is adding more frequencies to its upcoming flagship Hawaii flights. First announced back in September, United is slated to begin flying between Newark (EWR) and Kahului/Maui (OGG), as well as Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Kona (KOA) on June 3.
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The original plan was to fly both flights on a four-times-weekly basis, on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Now, United is planning five weekly flights on both routes, adding service on Mondays, per Cirium schedules and confirmed by the carrier. This additional frequency is the latest in a series of boosts for United's upcoming flagship routes.
The original plan was to operate the flights from June 3 to Aug. 15. In late February, United gave both routes a three-week extension. The flights will now end on Sept. 5, covering most of the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Additionally, United recently upgraded the Newark to Maui flight with its swankiest jet, the "high-J" Boeing 767 that features a whopping 46 Polaris business-class pods. This plane also sports a dedicated Premium Plus cabin, and United is now selling separate premium economy fares starting at $719 in each direction.
In addition to the new flagships, two other UA Hawaii routes are getting adjusted as well. Flights from Denver (DEN) to both Honolulu (HNL) and Maui received notable boosts over the weekend, as follows.
| Month | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| April 2021 | OGG - from 1x daily to 8x weekly |
| May 2021 | HNL - from 1x daily to 12x weekly; OGG - from 1x daily to 12x weekly |
| June 2021 | HNL - up to 2x daily; OGG - from 1x daily to 2x daily |
| July 2021 | HNL - remains at 2x daily; OGG - from 1x daily to 2x daily |
| August 2021 | HNL - from 1x daily in previous schedule to 2x daily; OGG - from 1x daily to 2x daily |
| September 2021 | HNL - from 1x daily in previous schedule to 2x daily; OGG - from 1x daily to 2x daily |
| October 2021 | HNL - from 1x daily in previous schedule to 12x weekly; OGG - from 1x daily to 12x weekly |
The additional Denver to Hawaii frequencies will be flown by a Boeing 757-200, with 16 lie-flat beds arranged in a 2-2 configuration in the pointy end of the plane. Depending on the exact configuration, there'll be between 153 and 160 coach seats.
Related: United adds even more flights to Hawaii, bringing its summer 2021 route total to 21
United's confidence in Hawaii flying is seemingly at a pandemic-era high. With an accelerated vaccine rollout, UA likely is betting that pandemic-weary travelers are gearing up for a summer of adventure. Hawaii has been open to tourists sans quarantine since late 2020, and demand to travel to the Aloha State appears to be growing.
In recent weeks, UA announced a new year-round service between Orange County, California (SNA), and Honolulu beginning on May 6.
Technically, the Orange County flight is a service resumption for the carrier. United inherited two legacy Continental routes, one from SNA to HNL and another from SNA to OGG when the carriers merged in 2010. United stopped the Maui flight in January 2012, followed by the Honolulu one six months later.
Nearly ten years later, however, there's seemingly more confidence than ever — not just in the Orange County flights, but in all of United's new Hawaii routes.