The airline said its schedule changes are “a consequence” of the agency’s heightened oversight.
United Airlines has made some changes to its planned service to Faro, Portugal. After initially announcing the service would begin this Summer, the carrier has removed all flights from its schedule for this year.
It comes as the Chicago-based airline will also delay its new int-Asia route between Tokyo and Cebu, Philippines, by three months. The carrier said the schedule changes are a result of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pausing “some certification activities.”
Last-minute change
United announced its new nonstop seasonal service from its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Faro International Airport (FAO) in October. The four-times-weekly service on its Boeing 757-200 was expected to begin on May 24th and run through September. However, the route disappeared from its flight schedule late last week. According to aviation data and analytics firm Cirum, United had nine flights scheduled in May – five flights to FAO and four to EWR – offering just over 1,500 seats. In June, the numbers were boosted to nearly 6,000 seats across 34 total flights, 17 in each direction.
The US legacy carrier is the first and only airline to propose direct service from the US to Faro. With the flights previously projected to begin in late May, United expected the service would cater nicely to Summer travelers looking to escape to Portugal’s “most scenic beaches.” Nevertheless, the plans have been called off for this year.
United is not eliminating the route entirely. The airline confirmed to Simple Flying that it is pushing back the service to next Summer.
“We plan to start the Faro route in the summer of 2025.”
In the FAA hot seat
In the wake of the airline’s recent high-profile safety-related incidents this year, including a tire on a 777-200ER falling off during takeoff, the FAA has heightened its oversight of the carrier. In a statement obtained by Simple Flying, the agency explained that it would evaluate United.
“Due to recent safety events, the FAA is increasing oversight of United Airlines to ensure that it is complying with safety regulations; identifying hazards and mitigating risk; and effectively managing safety. Certification activities in process may be allowed to continue, but future projects may be delayed based on findings from oversight. The FAA will also initiate an evaluation of United Airlines under the provisions of the Certificate Holder Evaluation Process.”
United said the FAA’s oversight is a direct result of the schedule revision. It is unclear how many passengers are impacted, but the carrier will accommodate them.
“This schedule change is a consequence of that,” the airline stated. “Impacted customers can receive full refunds or we will rebook their travel on one of our partner airlines without a fee.”
Tokyo-Cebu: 3-month delay
The changes also impact United’s planned service between Narita International Airport (NRT) in Tokyo and Mactan–Cebu International Airport (CEB), which was announced last month. The daily, year-round service had been planned to begin on July 31st, but the carrier is delaying the start date to October 27th.
United will be the only US-based airline to fly to Cebu with daily flights on the 737-800.
Source Simple Flying
