Travelers who want to go abroad in the coming months have some new options. United Airlines is expanding its service to meet high summer demand, flying to more than 110 international cities, the airline said Thursday. With United's international bookings 15% higher as of March than at the same time in 2022, the airline has ramped up service and added close to 25 new routes to its summer schedule, according to a news release. "United will give travelers more options than ever before this summer – especially if they want to fly internationally," Patrick Quayle, the airline's senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, said in a news release. "With unprecedented demand for travel overseas, we'll have more service to popular cities while also adding new and unique destinations for customers to explore." United will offer service to Stockholm, Sweden, for the first time since 2019, starting May 27 from Newark Liberty International Airport. It will also add direct flights between Newark Liberty and Malaga, Spain, beginning May 31, a new destination for the airline. The airline also recently began daily service between Newark Liberty and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on March 25, according to the release. United will also offer additional flights to Barcelona, Spain; Rome, Italy; Berlin, Germany; Paris, France; and more. Tickets are now on sale via the airline's website and mobile app. United's expansion comes amid an uptick in interest in international trips. Google Flights recently analyzed search data between Dec. 22 and March 22 to determine the most popular travel destinations between June and August. London, England took the top spot this year, followed by Cancun in Mexico, Paris, Orlando and Rome.<br/>
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United Airlines said Thursday it will reduce summer flights at three New York and Washington area airports after the FAA allowed carriers to do so due to an air traffic controller shortage. Starting in May, United is reducing daily departures from Newark Liberty International Airport to 408 from 438 on peak summer travel days. Daily flights between Newark and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will drop to 10 from 18. Daily departures from New York LaGuardia Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport will decrease to six from nine. In many cases, United will fly larger aircraft to minimize disruption to passengers. United could cut more flights beginning in June. Air travelers could face another rough summer as carriers struggle to meet burgeoning flight demands after the pandemic. In March, the FAA agreed to requests by Delta Aand United to temporarily return up to 10% of slots and flight timings at congested New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia, Newark and Washington National airports, citing air traffic controller shortages for flights from May 15 to Sept. 15. The carriers agreed to cuts on the condition they not be backfilled. Airlines can lose slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. Despite the cuts, Chicago-based United will still fly 5% more seats out of the affected airports than in the summer of 2019, it said. Reductions will impact less than 2% of customers there. <br/>
Air India has outlined progress so far under its Vihaan.AI business transformation programme, including repairing inflight entertainment equipment, and putting its Boeing 787 fleet on a performance improvement plan. The carrier lists several achievements since the launch of the five-year Vihaan.AI plan in 2022. These include committing over $400m to refurbish aircraft, and the launch of premium economy seats on some long-haul flights. It adds that all long-grounded aircraft have been either returned to service, or decommissioned pending sale, and that RASK has improved by 17% over the course of a one-year period. Air India has also undergone a major revamp to replace its obsolete IT systems. “The first six months of our transformation journey has engaged and united Air Indians behind a common cause and made great strides in tackling many issues that had built up over the years,” says CE Campbell Wilson. “Our record-setting aircraft order, the commitment of $400m to completely refurbish existing aircraft, the investment of $200m in new IT, and the recruitment of literally thousands of staff are but a few of the significant investments being made to restore Air India to the upper echelons of global aviation.” In February, Air India made commitments for 220 aircraft from Boeing, and 250 from Airbus. IFE systems have been restored to working order “on nearly all first and business-class seats,” while IFE now works on “up to nearly 90%” of economy class seats. The carrier has also implemented spares and support agreements to improve reliability and says there is a “performance improvement programme underway with Boeing to improve 787 reliability.” The next phase of the company’s transformation will see low-cost units AirAsia India and Air India Express merged. This follows the successful consolidation of the units’ reservation platform, website, and customer facing systems. The next stage will also see the Tata Group’s two full-service carriers, Air India and Vistara, merged following regulatory approvals.<br/>