United Airlines adds Cheyenne and Tallahassee to map amid growing regional connections - August 15, 2020 at 12:10PM

United Airlines flyers will be able to land in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Tallahassee, Florida, come November as the carrier continues to add regional connections during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chicago-based carrier will add a daily between Denver (DEN) and Cheyenne (CYS) on Nov. 11, and Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and Tallahassee (TLH) on Nov. 18, according to Cirium schedules. Both routes will be flown by affiliate SkyWest Airlines with 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jets.

Flyers can buy tickets on the Denver-Cheyenne route for as low as $42 one-way, according to United’s website.

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The new regional connections join five other routes that SkyWest will add under the United Express brand this fall. All of the additions buoy United’s hubs in Denver and Houston.

The adds come even as United plans to be at the most half the size it was at the end of 2019 by December. The pullback comes amid the stalled recovery in air travel due to COVID-19.

While many routes in United’s global network remain suspended, the airline is expanding where it sees travelers wanting to fly. This includes 17 new routes that bypass its hubs between Midwestern and Northeastern cities and Florida this winter.

“We expect the recovery in demand we’ll see to be jagged,” United CEO Scott Kirby said on July 22. He added that the airline does not expect air travel to recover beyond about half of 2019 levels until a vaccine is widely available, something he hopes for by the end of 2021.

The new Cheyenne flight is subsidized under the federal government’s essential air service (EAS) program. SkyWest previously served the city from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) for American Airlines but appears to be switching the service to United.

United has served the Wyoming capital before, connecting Cheyenne and Denver into the early 2000s. In addition, Continental Airlines flew the Houston-Tallahassee route prior to its merger with United in 2010.

Featured image courtesy of Denver International Airport.