United ends NYC-London and NYC-Tokyo Flights

United adding flights to Asia CHICAGO (AFX) - Shifting its focus increasingly toward more lucrative routes across the Pacific, United Airlines announced Friday that it will add 40 weekly flights to Asia over the next nine months and no longer will fly from New York to London and Tokyo. United also plans to add more cargo capacity as it seeks to strengthen its bottom line in the face of record fuel prices that have slowed its recovery after a three-year bankruptcy restructuring. The nation's second-largest carrier agreed to sell its New York-London route authority to No. 3 Delta Air Lines Inc. for $21 million, dropping a hotly contested but unprofitable route to focus more on trans-Pacific flights where its broad international network gives it an advantage. It said it will move its Tokyo service from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport. The schedule changes make sense for United because of strong business travel demand on routes to Asia and because of the premium prices that can be charged for long international flights, said John Pincavage, an independent airline consultant. As for abandoning JFK for overseas flights, he said: 'You've got to play from your strength, and New York isn't one of their strengths as an international source of traffic.' The airlines' hubs are Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, Dulles and airports in Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. 'As we improve our financial performance, we must make certain that we take full advantage of our network strength and fly routes that provide the best revenue opportunities for United and the greatest benefits to our customers,' Chief Revenue Officer John Tague said. In addition to flights between Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Washington Dulles, the schedule changes include the reinstatement of United's daily San Francisco-Taipei flights, expansion of its San Francisco-Seoul service from seasonal to year-round and the addition of three more weekly flights between San Francisco and Hong Kong. The Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline plans to discontinue flights from JFK to London Heathrow at the end of October pending regulatory approval of the sale of its New York-London rights to Delta, which is paying United $13 million at closing and $2 million a year for four years. 'JFK-Heathrow has not performed well for us and because of that we can't justify the expense of maintaining the route, especially when we have opportunities to realize better returns by using our assets in other markets,' United spokeswoman Jean Medina said. If the deal is approved, Atlanta-based Delta said it plans to begin daily round-trip service between JFK and London's Gatwick Airport later this year, with a second flight beginning next spring. United will still fly to London from Dulles, Los Angeles, O'Hare and San Francisco. United has been adding international flights and cutting back on domestic flights in recent years, citing increased demand and greater profitability. It doubled its capacity to Asia during its bankruptcy makeover, which ended in February, reflecting an intensifying competition among U.S. carriers to serve the burgeoning market in China and elsewhere in Asia. The carrier said this week it expects to report $119 million net income when it announces second-quarter earnings on Monday -- its first profit in six years. Shares in the company rose 53 cents to close at $27.52 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, down from their initial price of $40 in February. http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-...35199404762646>