United will link the United States? Midwest to the Dominican Republic when it begins flying to Punta Cana as of December. United thus becomes the first US airline to offer a direct regular flight to the DR from the important Chicago O?Hare hub. The flight to Punta Cana will leave Chicago?s O?Hare (ORD) at 8:30am and arrive at Punta Cana International (PUJ) at 3:06pm, owing to the time-zone difference.
The United flight to Punta Cana is being established in response to the demand from airline clients. “Our customers have let us know they want more options to winter sun destinations, so we are delighted to be able to respond with this robust schedule to beach resorts and tropical destinations,” said Graham Atkinson, senior vice-president of Worldwide Sales and Alliances, United.
?Our customers have told us they want one airline and one frequent flyer program to meet their business and leisure travel needs,? he continued. ?With the addition of these warm-weather vacation destinations, we can provide our customers with even more choices for international travel, supported by the breadth of our global network and Mileage Plus, the most preferred frequent flyer program.?
Other destinations to be added by United are San Jose del Cabo, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa (Mexico); Montego Bay (Jamaica); San Jose (Costa Rica) and St. Maarten, as part of a general company strategy to bolster its international portfolio of winter holiday destinations. The start date of the service is still subject to approval of the government operating authorities.