United Airlines announced on Thursday (Jun 23) to slash almost 50 daily flights from Newark beginning July 1 and last the rest of the summer.
A 12% reduction of the carrier’s schedule there in an effort to reduce delays.
United’s chief operations officer, Jon Roitman, told employees that the airline has enough planes, pilots and other workers to run its Newark schedule, but slashing flights “should help minimize excessive delays and improve on-time performance.”
Only domestic flights will be reduced, a United spokeswoman said, adding that United will not drop any destinations from Newark. The airline got a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce flights, she said.
United’s cuts at Newark arrive as the airline industry faces more scrutiny over widespread delays and cancellations this summer. Bad weather and staffing shortages contributed to problems over both the Memorial Day and Juneteenth holiday weekends.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a virtual meeting with airline leaders last week and later threatened to sanction airlines if they fail to meet consumer-protection standards.
From the start of the year through mid-June, 31% of flights at Newark were delayed, the second-worst rate in the country behind Chicago Midway, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines are among the carriers that have also trimmed their schedules this year.
