United Airlines has delayed the resumptions of its flights from Newark to Hong Kong and Mumbai and San Francisco to Delhi through March 28, 2024.

Delaying Hong Kong and India routes 

Chicago-based United Airlines has experienced significant international growth coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, announcing massive expansions to Asia, the South Pacific, and even the Atlantic. The airline is now the largest carrier across the Atlantic and Pacific by number of flights. Still, some routes continue to be suspended, as is the case today.

In today's 'recent changes' report by aviation analytics firm Cirium, data shows that United has delayed relaunching its services from Newark Liberty International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. United's route from San Francisco International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has also been delayed.

Although the airline didn't pinpoint the reasons for the continued suspension, some of the difficulty is likely due to the Russian airspace closure. All three routes take a path that skirts the polar region, and would ideally cross over Russian airspace for the most efficient great circle connection - as seen below.

With Russia's airspace remaining closed to US airlines, making these long flights work is tough. United may lack available equipment with the range required to take an alternative route, or it could be that the higher cost of operation due to the increased fuel consumption makes them less than optimal for now.

Other India and Hong Kong operations 

United last flew from Newark to Hong Kong in February 2020, ending its operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Until December 2019, United had one daily flight in each direction between the two cities, but began its reduction in January. Since February 2020, the airline has not resumed operations on the route.

The Newark - Mumbai route did not have the same fate. Flights to Mumbai ran through March 2020 before being cut for four months and resuming in August. Before the pandemic, United had operated one daily flight to Mumbai, and though it continued service in August, it was not until September that daily flights resumed. Service to Mumbai was consistent from August 2020 to March 2022, when flights ceased, and remains so to this day. From 2019 to October 2021, United deployed its largest passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER, to Mumbai, when it transitioned to the middle variant of the 787 Dreamliner family, the 787-9.

San Francisco - Delhi was similar to the Mumbai route. United flew to Delhi until March 2020 before briefly pausing and resuming service in July. From July 2020 to March 2022, the route was served consistently with the Boeing 787-9 and has not been served since.

Despite delaying the resumption of the three routes mentioned above, United has plenty of service to Hong Kong and Delhi from other hubs between now and March. This month, United has 35 flights scheduled from Newark to Delhi, increasing to twice-daily from October 28. To operate the 7,324-mile route, United uses the 787-9.

Hong Kong will see United service from Los Angeles and San Francisco between now and March. From San Francisco, United deploys multiple variants of Boeing 777 aircraft, including the -300ER and -200. Los Angeles to Hong Kong is a new route, announced recently as part of a larger Asia expansion announcement. United will operate the route daily from October 28 with the 787-9.