United Airlines sharply cuts flights to Japan, South Korea

United Airlines Holdings Inc said on Friday it was sharply cutting flights to Japan and South Korea as travelers worried about the coronavirus outbreak have slashed ticket purchases for those destinations.

United shares fell 3.6% on Friday and are down 22% over the last week. The Chicago-based airline said near-term demand to China has almost disappeared and demand to the rest of its trans-Pacific routes has dropped by 75%, United said on Monday. United said it is temporarily cutting flights from the U.S. mainland to Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore and Seoul and extending the suspension of U.S. flights to mainland China and Hong Kong through April 30.

It is cutting about two thirds of its flights to Seoul, nearly a third of flights to Japan and 40% of flights to Singapore. It is also flying smaller planes on some routes as it cuts flights through April. It is not cutting flights to Guam from those destinations. Among U.S. airlines, United has the biggest international exposure, drawing about 40% of its revenues from overseas flights.

This week, United withdrew its full-year forecast, citing heightened uncertainty over how the duration and spread of the coronavirus to other regions could impact overall air travel demand. Earlier this week, Delta cut South Korea flights in half, citing the outbreak.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)