United Airlines returns to Cincinnati as low-cost carriers build presence

United Airlines is back at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, putting it up against the low-cost carriers that have grown there in recent years.

Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways have picked up market share at the airport, according to the source. That share opened up after Delta Air Lines gradually pulled back its Cincinnati hub, a retreat made official in 2017.

Delta once had a much bigger presence there. In the mid-2000s it operated more than 600 daily flights from Cincinnati to domestic and international destinations. After the carrier scaled back, a gap in demand emerged that low-cost operators have gradually filled.