Chicago-based United Airlines is moving its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners from Houston to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., according to multiple reports.
Along with the move, United is closing its 787 pilot base at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The changes are expected to go into effect at the end of October and were first announced in an April 6 letter to pilots, FlightGlobal reports.
However, United does not plan to eliminate any Houston routes or cut any Houston-based pilot jobs as a result of the move, the Houston Chronicle reports.
"Houston remains a very important hub for us," United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy told the Chronicle.
Instead of the Dreamliner, United will fly Boeing 777s and Boeing 767s on its Houston routes to Frankfurt, Germany, and Rio de Janeiro, respectively, the Chronicle reports.
FlightGlobal, the Chronicle and USA Today all report that the move is intended to help United utilize its Dreamliner fleet more efficiently by reducing the amount of time that the aircraft spend on the ground between flights.
United currently owns 30 Dreamliners and expects to take delivery of 21 more over the next 10 years, including three in 2017, according to the company’s 2016 annual report.
The airline’s first Dreamliner arrived in Houston in September 2012 and made its inaugural passenger flight from Houston to Chicago in early November 2012. Initially, all of United’s new Dreamliners were based in Houston. Eventually, United also opened 787 pilot bases at its hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles, USA Today reports.
However, the Dreamliners hit a snag shortly after United’s flights began. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded the Dreamliner in January 2013 after planes experienced battery troubles. At the time, United was the only U.S.-based carrier to operate Dreamliners. United finally restarted Dreamliner flights in May 2013.
United Airlines is a unit of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) and has one of its largest hubs at Houston's Bush Intercontinental.