United Airlines Delays Venezuela Route Resumption to January

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Star Alliance member United Airlines has postponed the resumption of its Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Caracas (CCS) route, keeping flights to Venezuela grounded until January. The carrier, which had originally planned to return to Venezuela on October 6, has now pushed the restart date to January 12. According to AeroRoutes, the service resumption date remains highly subject to change, with the planned flights operated by the Boeing 737 MAX 8.

This marks the second time United has delayed its return to Venezuela, following the massive earthquake on June 24 that caused widespread damage across the South American nation. Venezuela's main airport remains closed to passenger flights with no set reopening date, and most flights to and from the country are operating via Maracaibo's La Chinita International Airport (MAR).

United hopes to return to Venezuela in January, nearly six months after its originally scheduled inaugural flight. The service is currently slated to launch on January 12, featuring an overnight red-eye departure from Houston, allowing connecting passengers to arrive in Houston during the day and have a full day before the overnight flight. The return flight departs Caracas at 9:00 a.m. and arrives in Houston at 12:35 p.m., also providing good connections across United's U.S. network. According to the published schedule, outbound flight UA1046 departs Houston at 11:55 p.m. and arrives in Caracas at 6:30 a.m. the next day; return flight UA1045 departs Caracas at 9:00 a.m. and arrives back in Houston at 12:35 p.m., with both segments operated by the Boeing 737 MAX 8.

A United spokesperson told Simple Flying in a statement on Thursday that, given the earthquakes that occurred in Venezuela earlier this summer, United has moved its planned service from Houston to Caracas to after January 11; the airline remains committed to this market and looks forward to serving Caracas once the airport and vendors are ready for United operations.

Flights are gradually resuming to Caracas airport. As previously noted, Venezuela's primary gateway airport was severely damaged in the June 24 earthquake, with airport infrastructure sustaining damage, leading to a temporary closure and repairs; passenger flights are currently being diverted to Maracaibo and Valencia. Caracas resumed cargo flights earlier this month (August 5) and plans to resume passenger service starting August 24, initially limited to just 400 passengers per day, gradually increasing to approximately 85% of historical capacity by year-end. United appears to be holding off on service resumption until after December, choosing January as its return date to Caracas.

United is the second U.S. airline planning flights to Caracas. American Airlines is also considering flights from Miami, which were likewise canceled following the earthquake; the oneworld alliance member currently serves Venezuela with flights to Maracaibo. Other international carriers flying to the country include Avianca (from Bogotá) and Copa Airlines (from Panama City).

Regarding the aircraft type for Caracas service, the schedule shows the Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating from January, a model that can carry up to 166 passengers in a three-class configuration featuring United Business, Economy Plus, and Economy. United currently operates over 120 of these aircraft for domestic and short-haul international flights. With the U.S. government lifting restrictions on flights to Venezuela and improving diplomatic relations, several U.S. carriers have planned to resume service to the country; oil-industry-driven business travel demand has prompted American Airlines and United to add Caracas flights. Additionally, with large Venezuelan diaspora communities across the United States, these flights are also expected to be popular for visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel demand. United's operational adjustments and additional restrictions at Venezuelan airports have led the carrier to once again delay its Caracas service, hoping that January will be the month these flights finally resume.