Brazil, Europe, Hawaii, and Japan will be the top destinations affected this summer, as United is going through a shortage of aircraft.
In February 2021, United engine components dropped over Denver which caused engines powered by P&W – Pratt & Whitney – to be recalled.
In addition, United has failed to gain full certification for its 52 Boeing 777-200 and 777-200ER aircraft, which have been under repair since then.
The company has also pushed back the return of its P&W fleet to May 26, which does not give the airline enough time to return enough of these engines in the field to meet its June timetable.
As a result, the following routes are halted till June:
- New York-Newark (EWR) – Maui (OGG)
- New York-Newark (EWR) – Hanaloola (HNL)
- New York-Newark (EWR) – Tokyo, Japan (NRT)
- Washington Dulles (IAD) – Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU)
- Washington Dulles (IAD) – Geneva, Switzerland (GVA)
- Washington Dulles (IAD) – Honolulu (HNL)
- Washington Dulles (IAD) – Dublin, Ireland (DUB) *
*According to the airline, flights between Washington Dulles and Dublin are only halted between June 4 and June 30.
Furthermore, United is discontinuing service between EWR and Stockholm, Sweden (ARN) until the airline’s schedule is finalized. This route was originally scheduled to begin May 26 and end in October.
United said in a statement that it was looking forward to reinstating the service, which, with the exception of Stockholm, is planned to start in July.
“United makes regular adjustments to our schedule in response to factors including resources such as available aircraft,” the airline said.
“We look forward to bringing back this flying soon.”
While these routes were not always served by 777s, the lack of certain aircraft forced the airline to restructure its fleet.
Given the current trend of recovery, as a result of many countries reopening their borders after two years of strict closure, it is quite possible that situations like the one described above will be repeated by other airlines.
JetBlue and Alaska Airlines, for example, have had to cut their schedules for similar reasons.