United 'optimizes' hubs to carve out new routes

United Airlines is forging a more rational route map these days as it adds a slew of destinations. One key aim is to funnel more flyers destinations through its large hubs and get them on their way via right-sized aircraft. That means switching short-haul flights to destinations out of its hub at Washington Dulles, while longer-haul journeys depart New York/Newark Liberty International. The airline says it’s “optimizing” Newark (EWR) and Dulles (IAD). By shifting short-haul traffic to Dulles and longer-haul operations to Newark, the carrier contends passengers will benefit. There’s a new service from Newark to Hilton Head Island on the Atlantic Coast of the US as well as Pensacola on the Gulf Coast. READ: United pledges 50 percent greenhouse cut by 2050. Much farther afield are new Newark-Anchorage nonstops. At the same time United is expanding flights to key business destinations, including St. Louis, Omaha, Richmond and Kansas City. Shorter runs from Newark are being shifted to Dulles. This means you won’t be able to fly United nonstop out of Newark anymore to Elmira, New York; Lexington, Kentucky or Manchester, New Hampshire. Those flights migrate down the coast to Washington Dulles, which gets a new nonstop down the spine of the Appalachian Mountains to Asheville, North Carolina. These moves could cut air traffic congestion delays, if only marginally, at runway-constrained Newark as larger aircraft displace some smaller commuter regional jets. See our ratings for United. Even as it realigns Newark and Dulles, United is preparing to boost connectivity from of its West Coast U.S. San Francisco (SFO) hub. From June 6, 2019, it will start flying nonstop from San Francisco to Eugene, Oregon; Madison, Wisconsin and Pasco/Tri-Cities area of Washington state. Sometimes airlines lay on special service to meet the demand of select groups of flyers. Consider what’s happening in February 2019 when United fields a 777-200ER between San Francisco and Barcelona to accommodate at least a slice of the demand generated by the 2019 Mobile World Congress, which is expected to attract some 107,000 attendees to that Spanish city in mid to late February. The special flights depart San Francisco February 23 and 27 and return to San Francisco February 24 and 28. The Bay Area of northern California is heavily-populated by technology companies. Mid-continent activity gets a boost as United launches service between its Denver hub and Charleston, South Carolina; Eureka California and seasonally, Fairbanks, Alaska.