United growth plan shows no sign of letting up in 2019

United is prepping for another year of aggressive domestic capacity growth in 2019, hot on the heels of its successful expansion this year. The carrier loaded the latest network additions from its Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington Dulles hubs over the weekend, part of a strategy to recapture its "natural share" of the US market by growing 4-6% annually through 2020. “With more than 40 new domestic routes added this year, we remain committed to expanding our network to offer customers even more choices in their travel destinations,” says Ankit Gupta, VP of domestic network planning at United. “The expansion to Hilton Head Island from three of our hub cities and the introduction of New York’s only nonstop service to… Pensacola, are just some of the ways we are responding to customer interest and demand.” The growth plan, which was first questioned by Wall Street, began producing results in Q2. Domestic passenger unit revenues grew 1.7% on a 7.4% increase in capacity, with analysts praising the results despite missing its pre-tax margin target by a point due to fuel costs. "United’s results appear to add credibility to its midcontinent hub strategy," said JP Morgan analysts in July report. "We supported (and continue to support) the plan as rational and necessary for United’s longer-term margin and market share strategies." Story has expansion details.<br/>