United delays 2 high-profile routes just weeks before their inaugurals

Perhaps Portugal’s Algarve region won’t be as popular this summer as United Airlines would’ve hoped.

Over the weekend, the Chicago-based carrier filed plans to scrap its upcoming route from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Faro International Airport (FAO), as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

Originally, the airline had planned to commence service on this 3,494-mile route on May 24, meaning that United is cutting the route just weeks before it was supposed to start.

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Affected travelers will be offered alternative flight options or a refund.

United announced last year that it would become the first and only airline connecting the U.S. and the Algarve region with nonstop flights this summer. The carrier had planned to deploy a Boeing 757-200 on this four-times-weekly route throughout the peak summer season.

It isn’t immediately clear why United is canceling this splashy new route with such short notice, especially considering how the carrier made a big marketing push around the new route when it was originally announced in October. (In fact, it was even a contender for the Cranky Network Award for the sexiest new long-haul route of the year.)

Adding service to Faro was seemingly in line with United’s recent strategy of launching service to some smaller, unserved European destinations in the summer (such as Malaga, Spain, and Ponta Delgada, Portugal).

Perhaps demand wasn’t as high as United had originally projected, but if there’s any good news, the airline told TPG that it would try Faro again for the summer 2025 season.

These flights haven’t been loaded into United’s schedule yet (which only extends 330 days in the future), so we’ll monitor the timetables to ensure United follows through with this plan.

In fact, while Faro might’ve been the highest-profile United route on the chopping block, the airline’s network planners did some more work this weekend.

The carrier is also delaying the start of its new Tokyo to Cebu, Philippines, route. This new service will now commence on Oct. 27, and this revised start date is already reflected in the airline’s schedules.

Originally announced early last month, Cebu service was supposed to launch on July 31. United plans to operate this route with a Boeing 737-800 with a crew staffed from the carrier’s Guam hub.

For its part, United didn’t have much to share about these cuts. In a milquetoast statement, United would say only that: “We’ve delayed the start of our new routes between Tokyo and Cebu, Philippines and between Newark and Faro, Portugal.”

It’s unlike United to delay two high-profile international routes just weeks before they were supposed to begin. The airline has historically been the most aggressive U.S. carrier when it comes to international expansion, and after spending so much time and effort on marketing these announcements on social media and in airports, there might be more to the story that the airline isn’t ready to share.

As if these changes weren’t enough, United is also scrapping four North American routes, as first seen in Cirium schedules. This includes service from Houston to Boise, Idaho, and Hartford, Connecticut. And from the carrier’s hub at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, it’s dropping Calgary and Key West, Florida.

United’s Dulles-to-Calgary route was added in response to Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet’s expansion in this market. Without the United service, WestJet will enjoy a monopoly on this market.

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