United Adds New Flights: “If Spirit Suddenly Goes Out Of Business…”

United Airlines has just announced plans to add extra flights this winter. However, the explanation for why these flights are being added is something I’ve never seen before.

United’s new flights in anticipation of Spirit’s failure

United Airlines has expanded its winter schedule, adding flights to 15 cities, for travel as of January 6, 2026. First, United is adding one additional daily roundtrip flight between the following cities (they all have existing service, but will have even more frequencies):

• Houston (IAH) and Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Las Vegas (LAS), Miami (MIA), New Orleans (MSY), and Orlando (MCO)
• Chicago (ORD) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Las Vegas (LAS), New Orleans (MSY), and Orlando (MCO) 
• Newark (EWR) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO)
• Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS)

Then United is adding new routes between Newark and Columbia (CAE) and Chattanooga (CHA). Lastly, United is adding additional frequencies between Houston (IAH) and Guatemala City (GUA), San Pedro Sula (SAP), and San Salvador (SAL).

So, why is United is adding these flights? Not much is left to the imagination. As explained by Patrick Quayle, United’s SVP of Global Network Planning and Alliances:

“If Spirit suddenly goes out of business it will be incredibly disruptive, so we’re adding these flights to give their customers other options if they want or need them.”

This is the first time I’ve seen something like this

The concept of airlines adding service when competitors are in a weak position is nothing new. However, I’ve never before seen an airline be so explicit about the reason for adding new routes.

As most people are probably aware, Spirit recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in a matter of months. There’s a bigger question of whether the airline will survive in any form, but even if it survives, it’ll be much smaller than it was before.

So it’s natural that other airlines move in and try to take advantage of that. For example, Frontier recently announced an expansion that was clearly a direct attack on Spirit. But Frontier was a bit more subtle, with the announcement describing Frontier as “America’s Low Fare Airline,” and stating this service was “to ensure consumers in those markets continue to have affordable flight options.”

Quayle certainly took the attack to the next level with that quote, though… wow! He’s kind of saying the quiet part out loud.

Bottom line

United is adding some new flights this winter. There’s nothing I find all that interesting, aside from the stated reason for doing so. United is explicitly stating that these flights are being added in anticipation of the possibility of Spirit going out of business, so that customers have flight options.

Of course in the process of adding these flights, United is putting another nail in Spirit’s coffin, by attacking some of the carrier’s more lucrative routes.

What do you make of United’s expansion, along with the explanation?