What’s in, what’s out on airline route maps
Airlines constantly tweak their schedules, trying to find profitable new routes or pulling the plug on ones that have underperformed. Airports and communities court these new services.
There are dozens of changes to airline routes each month. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting:
JetBlue expands its in Midwest presence
JetBlue is coming to Minneapolis/St. Paul, the largest U.S. metro area that the airline did not yet serve. The Twin Cities also add a Midwestern dot to the airline’s route map, which is otherwise sparse in the region.
JetBlue’s Minneapolis/St. Paul flights begin on May 3, when it starts a schedule of three daily round-trip flights to its Boston hub. The carrier will use Airbus A320 aircraft on the route.
Hawaii: Allegiant is out …
Allegiant’s Hawaii service is over after a five-year run. The company’s last flight to the state came Saturday, when it discontinued its Las Vegas-Honolulu route.
Allegiant is known for connecting small and medium-sized markets to sunny leisure destinations. But Allegiant’s no-frills service and limited schedule didn’t work as well in Hawaii as it had on the carrier’s mainland routes.
… and Southwest is in (eventually)
Southwest has long mentioned that flights to Hawaii have been a top request made by members of its large frequentflier program. They’ll get their wish, but details remain vague. Southwest confirmed plans to fly to Hawaii last month, but it did not reveal routes or the precise timing of when the new service would begin. Instead, Southwest said only that it expected to begin selling tickets to Hawaii sometime next year.
Boston to Brazil, no stops
New Englanders will soon have a new way to get to Brazil. That will come on LATAM Airlines, which announced plans to fly non-stop from Boston’s Logan International Airport to its hub at the Guarulhos International Airport near São Paulo. LATAM didn’t give a precise start date, saying only that the new route would begin by “mid-2018.” The carrier says it will use 191-seat Boeing 767 jets that include 30 business-class seats.
Iberia links San Francisco, Madrid
Spanish carrier Iberia is adding San Francisco to its route map, linking the city to its Madrid hub. Its service will be seasonal, starting April 25 and running through Sept. 28. The carrier will fly three flights a week (on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) on Airbus A330-200 jets. Flight time on the Madrid-bound flight is schedule for 11 hours, 15 minutes, and the return to San Francisco is 12 hours, 35 minutes.
California’s Ontario airport lands first Asia route ...
Landing a new route to Asia is a big deal for any U.S. airport. But it’s especially so for the Ontario International Airport in the “Inland Empire” region of Southern California.
Taiwan’s China Airlines announced in September that it will begin flying from the airport, giving Ontario it’s firstever regular trans-Pacific service. The carrier will launch a schedule of four weekly flights to Taipei in spring 2018, though China Airlines has not yet provided a firm launch date.
Currently, Ontario’s only other nonstop international destinations are the Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Leon.
.. and a new budget carrier
China Airlines wasn’t the only new airline setting its sights on Ontario. Denver-based ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines began flying from the airport on Oct. 12, launching new routes to Austin, Chicago O’Hare, Denver and San Antonio.
New China options
Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines has launched two new routes from the USA to China’s interior. The carrier is now flying from New York JFK to Chengdu and Chongqing, offering two flights a week on each route. Hainan is using its Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the flights.