United Airlines (UAL) CEO Scott Kirby recently visited CNBC’s "Squawk Box" to talk about his vision for the airline. He doesn’t see demand slowing anytime soon, and in fact thinks that, “We’re going to double the amount of passengers we’re going to carry, versus pre-pandemic within a few years.”
The airline has ambitious expansion plans, and while CNBC's Becky Quick had doubts about the feasibility of it all, at least some of the expansions are set for later this year.
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United has announced plans to add 35 flights and six new routes from Denver. It will also add a new flight bank, expand to 12 more gates and open three new and revamped clubs, one of which will be United’s biggest.
It will add new, nonstop flights to Asheville, N.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Greensboro, N.C.; and Lexington, Ky. on Sept. 29; San Juan, Puerto Rico on Oct. 29; and Montego Bay, Jamaica on Nov. 4. The two international routes will operate on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
The flights to Greensboro, Lexington and San Juan are all new nonstops from Denver, while the Dayton route is resumption of a flight that was canceled in April 2020. The airline has also announced plans to deploy regional jets to smaller, lesser-served destinations, which would be a reversal of a national aviation trend away from these markets.
The airline will also increase the amount of morning flights, usually around 6 a.m., to and from Denver, including destinations such as Dallas/Fort Worth; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Orlando; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; and Seattle. In all, this is an addition of 35 new flights.
There are also plans for an additional 12 gates at the Denver airport by the middle of next year, for a total of 90 United gates at the airport, as well as a brand-new 24,900-square-foot United Club in Concourse A.
The currently shuddered Concourse B club is undergoing renovations, and it is set to reopen this summer as the largest United Club in the entire network, spanning three levels, measuring 36,500 square feet.
United Club in Concourse B-West is also under renovation and set to reopen at some point in 2024, and it will also span 36,500 square feet.
