Despite being forced to make changes at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) due to recent operational headwinds, the United hub, which is its major transatlantic gateway, remains a key pillar in the airline’s international strategy.
In late June, United Airlines battled severe weather in the U.S. Northeast compounded by air traffic control staffing shortages that crippled its Newark operations.
In a July 1 memo to employees, United CEO Scott Kirby said that during a four-day period in late June, the total number of aircraft that could depart the airport was reduced between 60-75% for an average of six to eight hours per day. “Airlines, including United, simply aren’t designed to have their largest hub have its capacity severely limited ... and still operate successfully,” Kirby said.
To recover more effectively from that level of disruption, Kirby listed several items United could do in the future, including further reducing or changing its schedule at Newark “to give ourselves even more spare gates and buffer—especially during thunderstorms.”
Kirby said during a recent event hosted by Politico that United has opted to divert Newark-bound international flights to large hubs rather than small airports, which has made a big difference as the airline continues to share lessons learned from the recent bout of severe weather. But overall, United is not re-thinking its international network out of Newark, the airline’s SVP of global network planning and alliances Patrick Quayle said during a July 17 media briefing.
For roughly the last six years United has made a concerted effort “to lean into international,” he said. Quayle said United has added 15 new destinations across the Atlantic, noting that, “A lot of those dots are out of Newark.”
United is working on a comprehensive plan, Quayle said, to better combat operational disruption in Newark, but “we’re not going to cut back from the international [network].”
Data from Aviation Week’s CAPA shows United is the largest airline operating from the U.S. to Western Europe. For the week of July 17, the airline’s one-way seat share is 16.6%.
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