United warms up with more direct flights and new route

United Airlines is adding more direct flights with cheap airfares to beach destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean and a new route from Washington DC to Nassau, Bahamas, the second largest tourist destination in the region.

The airline will start to serve the new routes starting December 15. Tickets for the new routes go on sale today, while weekend tickets will be available October 15.

Depending upon when tickets are booked, the airline is saying fares should be very competitive.

In addition to the DC-Nassau route, there will also be a roundtrip service from DC and Montego Bay to Punta Cana and St Maarten, along with trips from Denver to Cozumel and Chicago to Cabo San Lucas.

For the second consecutive year, the airline has increased its presence in Mexican and Caribbean holiday destinations, in an effort that optimistic senior vice president Greg Taylor said would "bolster our international service".

He added: "Our new service to Nassau increases the number of beach destinations we offer our customers in the Washington, DC, area, and provides access to another vacation hot spot for all our customers to enjoy."

The new flights should also strengthen United's presence in the American capital, a place where the company has lost money recently due to the growth of cheap airlines like Southwest and JetBlue Airways.

In any case, the news means that getting to a warmer climate is now easier than ever at an affordable price.

© Adfero Ltd

Comments

[david soskin]

I recently flew from Miami to Eleuthera on Continental. Flying out of Eleuthera, the check-in person demanded that I pay an excess luggage charge on
two suitcases that were overweight. One was 61lb , the other 57lb. I was told the weight restriction per bag was 50lb. The cost? Astonishing: $100 US.($50 per bag). That for an extra 18lb of baggage.
I explained that no one had charged me on the outgoing flight and that I was an international traveler having flown out from London. My arguments cut no ice and I had to hand over the cash before I was permitted to board. I do warn Cheapflighters that this sort of incident is becoming more prevalent (it happened to me with Alaska Airlines last year in Seattle). The smallest infringement of the opaque weight restrictions will result in an on the spot fine.
I must say my flight was on time and cheap.
I would be interested to know if fellow travellers are running into these problems.