United is broadening its strategy of shifting short-haul regional
routes from Newark to Washington Dulles.
Flights from Lexington, Ky.; Manchester, N.H.; and Elmira,
N.Y., will fly to Dulles rather than Newark. The shifts will take place from
February through April.
The moves follow the carrier's decision in May to route
flights to Scranton, Pa.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Ithaca, N.Y., from Dulles
rather Newark beginning this month.
Because Newark has more air traffic control delays than Washington Dulles, the shift will enhance reliability, said United spokesman Jonathan
Guerin. Flying to Dulles, he said, still enables passengers to connect into
United's international network and its domestic network in the Southeast.
When the carrier announced the strategy in May, United vice
president of domestic network Ankit Gupta said, "As we set out to build
this schedule for our customers, we considered Washington Dulles' more optimal
schedule offering for connecting flights and conducted an in-depth analysis of
some of the short-haul flights scheduled from our Newark hub. We determined
that by shifting certain regional flights from Newark to Dulles, our customers
will have more schedule flexibility and better options for connections on
regional routes."