As demand for travel continues to build, United Airlines is expecting the resurgence to continue for winter holiday travel and is planning ahead by increasing service to cities in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The airline will add nearly 150 flights to warm-weather destinations across the U.S and is increasing service to Latin beach and leisure markets by 30% compared to 2019. The airline will fly 137 more flights than it did in 2019 to places like Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada starting this November through next March.

Mike Klemm, the District President for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, praised the decision for its potential to increase job opportunities for union members, but cautioned that the airline needs to urgently address current staffing shortages. “We’re very happy to hear news about this new growth at United,” he said. “This means more jobs for our members, and that’s a good thing. At the same time, a lot of our members are worried that adding new flights might make staffing shortages worse,” he said. He pointed out that the new flights would begin operating in the winter, after the airline has had time to attract more new hires. Klemm also underscored the work that was going on to improve staffing, saying that union leadership had a solid commitment from United to hire additional workers faster.

“We’re working with United to develop incentive programs to attract more new hires to the airline right now,” he continued. Klemm was optimistic that more incentive programs would help to alleviate staffing shortages well before the new flights would begin.