United Airlines Cuts Houston-Tulum Plans By Half Before Launch

United Airlines has updated its schedule for flights to Tulum International Airport (TQO). Data from Cirium shows that planned double daily services from the carrier’s hub at Houston (IAH) will be reduced by half from the start of summer. The cut comes before the route has even begun, with the first flight scheduled to operate on March 31st.

United Airlines will initially operate two flights per day on the route, with departures from Houston at 09:35 and 12:07. The service will then be reduced to one flight per day from May 23rd onwards (the 12:07 departure from Houston will be cut). Flights will return to double daily from September 26th, reflecting the fluctuating peaks and troughs in foreign visitor numbers to the region.

Photo: Benson Truong | Shutterstock

The route will be operated by the Boeing 737, of which United Airlines has a total of 493, according to data from ch-aviation. This sizable fleet is spread across several variants of the 737, from the older 737-700s through to the latest 737 MAX 9s.

Connecting Tulum to the US

In addition to flights from Houtson, United Airlines will connect Tulum with its hubs at Chicago (ORD), Newark (EWR), Los Angeles (LAX), and Denver (DEN). Cirium data shows no planned changes to the frequencies of these flights, which remain up to daily at peak times. The launch dates for these services are as follows:

• Houston – March 31st
• Chicago – March 31st
• Newark – March 31st
• Los Angeles – May 23rd
• Denver – December 19th

Tulum is just one of a series of new destinations for United Airlines. Later this year, the carrier will launch flights from Newark to Marrakesh (RAK) and Faro (FAO), Houston to Medellín (MDE), and Tokyo (NRT) to Cebu (CEB).

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Network Expansion: United Airlines Adds Flights To Marrakesh, Cebu, & Medellin

This will mark Marrakesh’s first-ever direct connection to the United States.

Mexico’s newest airport

Tulum International Airport welcomed its first commercial service on December 1st, 2023. Currently, the airport is connected to a handful of domestic destinations, including Mexico City (MEX), Guadalajara (GDL), and Monterrey (MTY). However, this will all change at the end of this month when the first foreign carriers arrive, connecting Tulum with cities across North and Central America.

The likes of American Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Air Canada Rouge will soon also launch services to Tulum International Airport from their respective hubs. And towards the end of the year, the airport will see its first service to Europe, when Discover launches direct flights from Frankfurt (FRA) on December 12th.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Tulum International Airport was constructed to take some of the pressure off Cancun International Airport (CUN), which is the second-busiest in Mexico and fourth-busiest in Latin America, and provide visitors with an alternate entry point to the popular tourist resorts that dot the coastline of the state of Quintana Roo.

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Do you plan to travel on United Airlines to or from Tulum this year? Do you think the carrier will connect the Mexican gateway to any of its other US hubs in the future? Share your thoughts by commenting below.