Airlines will add dozens of flights as leisure travel picks up

Airlines are adding new flight routes and reviving old ones, the latest sign that demand for leisure travel is picking up as the national vaccination rate moves higher. United said Thursday that it plans to add more than two dozen new flights starting Memorial Day weekend. Most will connect cities in the Midwest to tourist destinations, such as Charleston, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina; Portland, Maine; Savannah, Ga.; and Pensacola, Fla. United also said it planned to offer more flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America in May than it did in May 2019. The airline has seen ticket sales rise in recent weeks, said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of domestic network planning and scheduling. Customers are booking tickets further out, too, he said, suggesting growing confidence in travel. “Over the past 12 months, this is the first time we are really feeling more bullish,” Gupta said. Story has details of other carriers too.<br/>