The return to JFK is focused on the premium and business travelers between the east and west coast of the United States. It is a move that now allows the airline to provide air travel service from all three of the major New York airports.

“United’s return to JFK reflects not only our strong commitment to the New York City area, but also to increasing service to and from the places our customers want to fly,” said Ankit Gupta, Vice President of Domestic Network Planning and Scheduling. “With the addition of JFK, United now offers unmatched service, greater convenience, more choice and a best-in-class product for travelers throughout the New York City region as they return to the skies.”

This new service currently offers one round-trip flight, five days a week to each West Coast airport. United says that passengers can expect to see the number of flights double in the near future as the demand increases.

The premium cabins on these United Airlines flights feature flat-bed seats on all flights. This is similar to the current flight to Los Angeles and San Francisco from its hub in Newark.

According to the airline, amenities onboard the trans-con flights include the signature cooling gel pillow along with the Saks Fifth Avenue day blanket and pillow. Meal on the flights, offer seasonal menus crafted by renowned chefs and distinctive amenities.

These offering are available to travelers in United Business and United Premium Plus sections who enjoy a complimentary hot entrée, mixed nuts, salad and dessert, as well as complimentary alcoholic beverages.

The post United Airlines Returns to JFK offering Premium Air Travel to LAX and SFO appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

According to the study only 0.003% of particles from a masked mannequin, equipped with an integrated aerosol generator to simulate breathing and coughing, actually made their way into another seat’s breathing zone. This is due in part to the advanced HEPA filtration used by major airlines like United Airlines.

The study indicates that, even when the plane is full, risk is limited. Continuing the use of masks helps to minimize exposure when someone coughs. According to a statement from United, “Due to the unique qualities of the air filtration system, this makes the cabin of a plane one of the safest indoor environments in the world!”

“This most comprehensive study of its kind, revealed that fast onboard air recirculation, downward designed air ventilation and efficient HEPA filters make the chances of COVID-exposure almost non-existent on our flights, regardless of where you are seated.”

How were the tests performed?

The more than 300 tests were performed over a six-month period. They are a collection of 38 flight hours and another 45 hours on the ground. During the tests, particles were released across the entire cabin by section which contained a total of 42 sensors spread across the seats.

Additional sensors were placed in high traffic areas like the airplane galleys and jetbridge used for boarding. The sensors were used to represent passengers seated near the mannequin aerosol generator.

As a result of the advanced filtration and pressured airflow, approximately 99.99% of particles were filtered out of the cabin within six minutes. In contrast, a similar study showed that, in a house, it takes 90 minutes home’s filtration to accomplish the same task.

During an interview on Good Morning America, United Airlines Chief Communications Officer and SVP Josh Earnest said, “If you are inclined to travel or are thinking about air travel, there is reason today based on this independent study, that you can feel confident and travel safely on an airplane.”

The post Air Travel Safe from COVID-19 says Independent Study appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Earlier this week, the airline announced the COVID-19 testing for passengers headed to Hawaii from its hub in San Francisco. This is a pilot program that may be expanded to other locations.

As an island, Hawaii has been virtually shut down to travel. An economically painful thing for an island state that relies so heavily on tourism.

All travelers, including residents returning home, to Hawaii have been subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. This is clearly not attractive to someone headed there for a vacation.

This new COVID-19 testing program from United may be just what the state’s tourism industry needs. If expanded, the program may help eliminate quarantine restrictions to other popular destinations.

But most importantly, the program by the airline will help stop the spread of the corona virus.

“Our new COVID testing program is another way we are helping customers meet their destinations’ entry requirements, safely and conveniently,” said Toby Enqvist, Chief Customer Officer at United.

“We’ll look to quickly expand customer testing to other destinations and U.S. airports later this year to complement our state-of-the-art cleaning and safety measures that include a mandatory mask policy, antimicrobial and electrostatic spraying and our hospital-grade HEPA air filtration systems.”

The testing program will begin on October 15 at the SFO airport. Passengers will have 2 COVID-19 testing options. A rapid test at the airport just before departure, or a mail-in test kit.

In a press release, the airline indicated that passengers will be able to schedule their rapid test online ahead of their travel date. At the airport, they will be tested for COVID-19 and can expect to receive their results in approximately 15 minutes.

For the mail-in option, United will send the passenger an option to receive a test kit 10 days prior to departure. The passenger would use the test kit at home and return it for analysis 72 hours prior to their flight. The kit should be sent via overnight mail, or can be dropped off to a drop box at the SFO airport.

United Airlines was the first carrier to offer this service in the US.

The post United Airlines to provide Rapid COVID-19 Tests before You Fly appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

While another almost 24,000 employees have already taken retirement buyouts and voluntary separations, according to CNN, the company will need to reduce their staff by at least another 40,000 employees to stay afloat.

Reuters.com states that these cuts “comprise of 17,500 furloughs of union workers -including 1,600 pilots and 8,100 flight attendants – and 1,500 management positions.”

The CARES Act, which provided $50 billion worth of help for the airlines, did not allow the companies to lay-off or involuntarily furlough any staff members until October. With that deadline quickly approaching, American has become more fearful for the future of the company.

A letter warning of the impending lay-offs was sent on Aug. 25 to over 17,500 American Airlines employees, reported CNN.

“The only problem with the legislation is that when it was enacted in March, it was assumed that by September 30, the virus would be under control and demand for air travel would have returned,” American CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom wrote in a letter sent to employees.

“That is obviously not the case. Based on current demand levels, we at American now plan to fly less than 50% of our airline in the fourth quarter, with long-haul international particularly reduced to only 25% of 2019 levels,” they added.

According to ABC News, “…other airlines are also announcing job cuts as air travel remains down around 70% compared with last year and experts predict it will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.”

Earlier this summer, United Airlines announced that it would need to lay-off a total of 36,000 employees and sent furlough warning letters to 2250 of its pilots.

Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines also announced that just under 2000 of its pilots would be furloughed on October 1.

Aside from the furloughs, American will also suspend services to 15 small cities in October if their financial needs are not met.

Forbes.com reported that in order to avoid lay-offs and suspended flights, there will need to be an extension of the federal aid program.

Across the Airline industry, there will be well over 100,000 lay-offs without an extension of the CARES Act to include relief for the industry. This will mean these same unemployed individuals will add to already strained unemployment services in states across the country. Industry leaders and unions are urging Congress to take action and save these jobs before it’s too late.

The post American Airlines to Furlough 19,000 Employees unless Congress Helps appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Currently, travelers from the included cities of Boston, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York/LaGuardia, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio would have to connect through one of the airlines major Hubs to get to Florida – adding travel times and the potential to miss a connecting flight due to potential weather delays.

With this announcement, however that all changes for the better for passengers who want to travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the airline industry, United has been working to capture as much of the flying public as possible by reacting to demand fluctuations in various areas of the country.

This latest move is part of that continued strategy. Find out where customers want to fly and make moves to meet that demand – and its critically important revenue.

“The addition of these new flights represents United’s largest expansion of point-to-point, non-hub flying and reflects our data driven approach to add capacity where customers are telling us they want to go,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of Domestic Network Planning.

According to a press release, United Airlines will be rolling out the new direct flights beginning November 6. They will begin with new roundtrip flights from Boston, Cleveland and New York/LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa.

The following month in December, they will continue to boost the direct flights to Florida by adding round trips from Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Milwaukee and Pittsburgh to Fort Myers and Tampa.

Although the service is still a few months away, passengers are able to book reservations as of today.

The post Snowbirds Rejoice – United Airlines adds New Nonstop Direct Flights to Florida appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Earlier this year the airline announced a partnership with the Cleveland Clinic and Clorox to team up and make their airplanes as virus-free as possible.

In addition to cleaning each aircraft between flights with electro-static disinfectant sprayers, and wiping down all high-touch surfaces in the cabin, United has also been requiring face masks for both passengers and employees.

Cleaning crews and the pilots also wipe down surfaces in the cockpit to keep crew members safe, but this can be challenging give the number of buttons, knobs and other sensitive equipment at the front of each aircraft.

Now, the airlines says it will being using a new handheld tool ideal for disinfecting sensitive switches and touch screen displays with the power of UV light.

The devices, AUVCo blades from the American Ultraviolet company, are able to effectively “kill any viruses that may reside on sensitive switches and touch screen displays within the flight deck,” according to a press release from United.

“Safety is our highest priority and we continue to research, test and roll out new technologies to keep our aircraft and terminals safe for both customers and crew,” said Bryan Quigley, United’s senior vice president of flight operations.

“Flight decks have many working parts, screens and components that are challenging to clean with traditional hand wipes and liquids, especially for someone who isn’t a pilot. The UVC lighting gives us a faster, more effective disinfection of one of the most important areas of the aircraft.”

The post Ultraviolet Light used to Disinfect Aircraft at United Airlines appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Both companies involved have the highest standard of ratings with Clorox being the top name in surface disinfection, and Cleveland Clinic having the country’s leading medical experts.

“We’re proud Clorox will play a role in United CleanPlus to enhance people’s safety when they travel,” said Benno Dorer, chair and CEO, The Clorox Company. “Connecting the world more safely, when possible, is an important part of our recovery as a society. Together we are helping people when they travel for work or pleasure. We look forward to working with United to explore more ways to help keep their customers healthy during their travel experience.”

The new protocols instilled by the initiative will help keep customers safe during their flights and at the airport. United consulted experts from Cleveland Clinic to shed light on the airline’s policies and procedures.

Touchless kiosks, social distancing and mandatory masks are just a few of the new preventative measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. According to Fox News, “Guests will also be asked to scan their own tickets when boarding, and will be boarded in smaller groups to allow for more social distancing.”

There will also be sneeze guards at check-in counters and passengers will be asked to scan their own tickets before boarding. On May 22, an “all in one” economy snack bag was distributed in place of complimentary snacks and beverages served on domestic flights. The bag included a wrapped sanitizer wipe, an 8.5 oz. bottled water, a Stroopwafel and a package of pretzels

“Safety has always been our top priority, and right now in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, it’s our singular customer focus,” said United CEO, Scott Kirby.

The post United Airlines Makes Airplanes Safe from COVID with CleanPlus Program appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.