United Airlines Holdings Inc. will add new nonstop flights to Africa and India to serve customers visiting friends and relatives, as the carrier revamps an international network beset by weak business traffic.
Destinations such as Lagos, Nigeria, and Bangalore, India, will focus on large diasporas living in the U.S. and will give United greater network diversity, said Patrick Quayle, vice president of international network and alliances. Traffic from trips to see friends and family has withstood the coronavirus pandemic better than other segments, particularly corporate travel, he said.
“It’s us rebuilding our network in a new way,” Quayle said. “We’re not just going to put the chess pieces back on the board the way they used to be.”
