United Airlines has a history of performing well in Tel Aviv and recognizes the importance of serving this destination. This week, it was revealed that the carrier changed the flight time of one of its departures to the city by nearly three hours. This move was made at the request of a customer.

United Airlines 787
United Airlines listened to feedback from a customer. Photo: United Airlines

Important event

DansDeals shares that one of its readers wanted to fly to Tel Aviv from Newark after Yom Kippur ended. The Day of Atonement is the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

Notably, on the US' East Coast, the holy event runs from approximately 18:43 on Sunday, September 27th until 19:23 on Monday, September 28th. Moreover, airlines can't fly to or from Israel during Yom Kippur.

United Airlines Boeing 787
United deploys its Boeing 787 aircraft to Tel Aviv. Photo: United Airlines

Schedule changes

United's operations to the country on September 26th depart earlier than usual. There are no flights from Newark to Tel Aviv on September 27th and trips on the way back are earlier than normal. Furthermore, there are no services from Newark to Tel Aviv the following day. Along with this, there is only one flight heading for Tel Aviv from Newark on September 28th, and there is no return the next morning.

The airline's flight in the evening from Newark to Tel Aviv used to take off at 22:50. However, this time was amended to 20:05 due to the pandemic, which caused scheduling changes that are in place until October 23rd.

United Boeing 787
United has had to make changes. Photo: United Airlines

Positive response

Subsequently, DansDeals reader Miriam W wrote to United CEO Scott Kirby and executive chairman Oscar Munoz asking if their airline could return to the 22:50 departure to allow passengers that are observing Yom Kippur to have time to make the trip. It wouldn’t be possible to do so with the revised time. In the past, she had taken the 22:50 flight.

Nonetheless, Wendy, an employee in United's offices, phoned Miriam and thanked her for the message. She said that the carrier had addressed her request and would be changing the schedule during its weekly updates. Therefore, last Saturday, it was revealed that United's flight to Tel Aviv from Newark had been updated to 22:50.

Before the global health crisis, United was excited about its ramping up of Israeli services. Nonetheless, despite the travel restrictions in place across the globe, the carrier is still keen to serve Tel Aviv well.

Additionally, earlier this year, the operator announced that it is scaling up its kosher menu on flights to the city. These factors show that the airline is committed to providing better experiences for its customers in this market segment.

Simple Flying reached out to United  Airlines for comment on the change. A spokesperson for the airline said the customer was very happy and sent a follow-up thank you note to the leadership team.

What are your thoughts about United changing the flight time of one of its services for this customer? Do you feel that this is a good move by the airline? Let us know what you think in the comment section.