United Airways confirmed this week that it plans to cease flying to Blaise Diagne Worldwide Airport (DSS) in Dakar, Senegal, and Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) in Sweden.
The Chicago-based provider will finish service between Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD) and DSS on March 5, 2026. The airline’s seasonal service between Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR), which already ended for 2025, won’t return as initially deliberate for the 2026 summer time journey season.
In a set of statements, a spokesperson for United stated that passengers with tickets already booked can both request a refund or attain out to United to be rerouted on a distinct airline.
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United started flying between D.C. and Dakar 3 times per week in late Could of this yr, utilizing a Boeing 767-300ER with 203 seats. On the time, the route generated a good quantity of buzz, because it appeared to have robust potential for journey demand from authorities and company staff, in addition to vacationers visiting buddies and relations.
Nevertheless, knowledge filed with the Division of Transportation and retrieved by way of Cirium present that load components on the flight solely hovered round 65-70% on common, suggesting that United could possibly use the airplane from that route extra effectively to fly someplace with stronger demand.
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Delta additionally flies to DSS with a Boeing 767-300ER, by way of New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK). Knowledge present a load issue within the space of 75-85% this previous summer time, and 80-90% final summer time earlier than United launched its competing route.
It is considerably widespread for airways to drop new routes shortly after launching them if demand finally ends up being decrease than anticipated, or if they can not drum up the demand they’d hoped for.
United’s service between EWR and ARN, in the meantime, first launched below Continental Airways in 2005, earlier than the airline merged with United in 2012. Whereas the nonstop route has been a mainstay of United’s summer time schedule since then, it is confronted stiff competitors from different airways utilizing European hubs. Delta additionally flies to Stockholm from JFK, and Scandinavian Airways (also called SAS) flies between EWR and ARN year-round. SAS not too long ago left the Star Alliance community to affix SkyTeam after rising from chapter proceedings.
United has been aggressive in including new and less-common locations, and whereas it typically offers them time to develop, it has not been shy about slicing underperforming routes as a way to spend money on new markets.
The provider not too long ago introduced its new locations for summer time 2026, which embody Break up, Croatia; Bari, Italy; Glasgow, Scotland and Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Aside from Dakar, all the routes from the airline’s 2025 growth will proceed, together with summer time seasonal service to Bilbao, Spain; Faro, Portugal; Nuuk, Greenland and Palermo, Italy.
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