Early Bird gets a Seat; United to Add more 6 a.m. Departures from O'Hare this Summer

Attention passengers: Your early-morning flight is about to leave a lot earlier.

In a bid to beat the summer congestion in the skies, Chicago-based United Airlines has scheduled 50 percent more 6 a.m. departures at O'Hare this June than it did a year ago and is testing flights that leave as early as 5:30 a.m. in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston and other cities. If passengers take a liking to it, United plans to expand the program.

It is the airline equivalent to hitting the Kennedy Expressway long before traffic starts to build at 7 a.m.

On the eve of what could be the worst summer airline travel season since 2000, United and other carriers are trying to wring new savings from flight schedules by minimizing delays.

In a normal summer, delays soar as heavy air traffic meets tumultuous weather.

But the financial pressure on airlines is greater this summer, and summer is the season when airlines typically make their biggest profit for the year.

With passengers balking at price increases, and airline workers unwilling to accept additional pay cuts, U.S. carriers are being forced to find other ways to boost profit. Starting the day earlier on hundreds of flights saves money for United because it can wring more flying time out of its planes and helps passengers make more connections at hubs like O'Hare, all while avoiding delays when runways clog during peak morning departure times.

But will travelers be willing to rise at 3:30 a.m. or earlier to catch a flight that has a better chance of arriving on time?

United sees a strategic strength in offering more early-morning flights that are popular with business travelers, a highly sought customer segment. In addition to being less prone to delays, the first flights departing for the day are popular because they transport lawyers or bankers to Eastern financial centers in time for mid-morning meetings.

Some business travelers say they would jump at flights that leave even earlier.

"I will do it for two reasons: for business productivity and the opportunity to get back home early," said marketing executive Kevin Donnellon, president of Chicago-based Macali Communications Inc.

Skeptics question whether United will find sufficient numbers of passengers willing to fly outside popular flying times, particularly early birds wanting to make predawn departures.

"Good luck," said aviation analyst Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co., a consulting firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.

"The first and last flights were prized by business travelers, who disappeared after 9/11," he said. "Unless you can get people to pay extra money for those flights, it's not worth it."

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