We determined that by shifting certain regional flights from Newark to Dulles, our customers will have more schedule flexibility and better options for connections on regional routes.
A Volkswagen official said Monday that the automaker expects to benefit from new daily nonstops between Chattanooga and Washington Dulles International Airport on United Airlines.
But, United also said the carrier plans to cancel its Chattanooga to Newark, N.J., service after about two years.
Vehicles fill the front of Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, which is gaining new service to Washington Dulles but losing nonstops to Newark, N.J.United will begin two flights daily between Chattanooga and Washington Dulles starting Oct. 4.
Jeannine Ginivan of Volkswagen Group of America, which has its U.S. headquarters in Herndon, Va., outside Washington, D.C., said the new Dulles flights are "great news for our teams both in Herndon and Chattanooga."
She said there's currently a nonstop in and out via American Airlines through Reagan National Airport in Washington. But, the flight's times don't allow a traveler to Chattanooga to fly there and back the same day.
The United flights to Washington Dulles depart at 2:42 p.m. and 7:35 p.m., and the flights to Chattanooga depart at 8:15 a.m. and 5:05 p.m. daily.
Terry Hart, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport president, said United's new nonstops to Washington Dulles with over a 120 destinations worldwide is "another tremendous opportunity for Chattanooga companies that are doing business in the Washington, D.C., area or on a global scale."
Hart said that while officials are disappointed with the cancellation of the Newark service, "we are very appreciative of United's ongoing commitment to our region and our passengers who support our significant growth by flying in and out of Chattanooga."
Dan Jacobson, the Chattanooga Airport Authority's chairman, said nonstop service to Washington Dulles "dramatically increases the possibilities for our business travelers and expands convenience with more nonstop flights from the Chattanooga Airport,"
United said it will suspend service to Newark when the new Dulles route begins in October.
"As we set out to build this schedule for our customers, we considered Washington-Dulles' more optimal schedule offering for connecting flights and conducted an in-depth analysis of some of the short-haul flights scheduled from our Newark hub," said Ankit Gupta, United's vice president of domestic network. "We determined that by shifting certain regional flights from Newark to Dulles, our customers will have more schedule flexibility and better options for connections on regional routes."
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines will start daily nonstop flights between Chattanooga and New York City in July. Delta will fly to New York City's LaGuardia Airport using a 76-seat regional jet.
Chattanooga officials had said the United service to the New York area had been growing.
Through March, passenger boardings from Chattanooga to Newark were up 6.3 percent to 11,038, airport figures show.
In January, Hart said United's traffic on the Newark flight had a goal of filling 70 percent of its seats and its loads were around that number. United boarded 51,632 passengers in Chattanooga in 2017.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.