The airline industry sees a fair bit of change in any given year. Sometimes, it comes in the form of specific company policies like boarding. Others can be much larger and affect all carriers, such as proposed plans that would require companies to compensate travelers for delays or cancellations. But even something as simple as a schedule change can still significantly impact passengers. And now, United has announced it will be cutting flights to eight major cities in the coming months. Read on to see which destinations will be affected when the first changes take effect on Oct. 29.
RELATED: JetBlue Is Cutting Flights to 6 Major Cities, Starting Oct. 28.
United will wind down a route it services to Havana at the end of October.
iStock / Robert BuchelTravelers to Havana, Cuba, will soon have one fewer option to get there. On Oct. 29, United Airlines will end its service from its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to the Caribbean capital city, Simple Flying reports.
The move comes just short of a year after the carrier restarted flights to the island after suspending them for two and a half years. However, the airline will still serve Cuba with daily flights from its hub at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
United isn't alone in dropping flights to Cuba. On Sept. 1, JetBlue announced that it would suspend all service to Havana, immediately dropping its route from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) and winding down flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Florida as of Sept. 17, Simple Flying reported. The airline cited policy shifts and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for its decision.
"Demand for travel to the island has been significantly affected by changes to the regulatory landscape and restrictions on our customers' ability to enter Cuba," a spokesperson for JetBlue said in a statement, per CBS News. "We look forward to resuming our service to Havana and continuing to pursue opportunities within Cuba should travel become more accessible in the future."
RELATED: Travelers Are Boycotting Southwest Over New Boarding Change.
The airline is also cutting some flights from its Chicago hub beginning in January.
Arina P Habich / ShutterstockBesides its Cuba service cuts, United will also be axing a number of flights from its midwest hub at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Simple Flying reports. According to data posted to airline schedule website Cirium, planned service from the Windy City to Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), Spokane International Airport (GEG), and Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) slated to begin on Jan. 9 has been dropped through the month.
The cuts also carry over to the next month, with all scheduled flights between the destinations scuttled in February. The airline also pared back the routes in March, April, and May.
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Sacramento will also see fewer United flights as of January.
iStockTravelers based in Sacramento will also soon be affected by United flight cuts. Schedule data shows that the carrier is cutting its service from the California capital to Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., and Newark Liberty International Airport beginning on Jan. 8, Simple Flying reports. Overall, the changes will result in 356 flights dropped from the airline's schedule through March.
Best Life has reached out to United Airlines for comment on the flight cuts, and we will update this article with their response.
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United recently announced other significant flight cuts that will also go into effect next month.
ShutterstockThe latest changes to United's schedule come just weeks after the carrier announced it was scaling back its schedule in other cities. Specifically, the airline said it would cut flights between a handful of cities in the U.S. and China in the coming months by delaying the starting date of new routes initially scheduled to launch in October, Simple Flying reported.
The affected routes include Newark to Beijing and Shanghai; Chicago to Beijing and Shanghai; Los Angeles to Shanghai; Washington Dulles to Beijing; and San Francisco to Chengdu. In total, the changes will see a total of 60 flights cut from the schedule in October before increasing to 465 dropped departures in November and 460 in December.
