United Airlines has asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allocate more slots to their airline in order to be more competitive with American Airlines (AA) and JetBlue at JFK Airport. United’s CEO says it may pull out of JFK by end of October if more slots are not forthcoming.
United had been flying many flights at JFK prior to 2015, when it ceded some of its JFK spots to Delta in return for more slots at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), where United has a very strong presence. United returned to JFK with limited service to LAX and San Francisco in 2021.
On top of this, Terminal 7, where United currently resides, is planned for demolition and the new JetBlue/JFK Millennium Partners will build a large terminal in its place during the JFK Redevelopment. Whether United has succeeded in securing a home there is not known, but it could complicate matters, in addition to the FAA’s position.
