Giddyap on a new flight out West
United adds routes to Montana, Oregon, more
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:
Two new cities join United map amid 10-route expansion
United Airlines is adding 10 new routes from five of its hub airports. The expansion includes flights to two cities the company does not currently serve: Elmira, N.Y., and Wilmington, N.C.
From Chicago O’Hare, United will launch three new routes. Twice-daily flights to Wilmington and El Paso begin April 9 while a seasonal once-daily route to Fresno begins June 7.
United’s Los Angeles hub gets four new routes in the expansion. Twicedaily service to the Oregon cities of Medford and Redmond starts April 9 and will operate year-round.
Seasonal daily flights to the Montana cities of Kalispell and Missoula begin June 7. Elsewhere, United will add two daily round-trip flights between Newark Liberty and Elmira; two daily roundtrip flights between Washington Dulles and Wilmington; and one daily roundtrip flight between Denver and Jacksonville, Fla.
Southwest strikes Flint, Mich., from its schedule
Southwest Airlines will drop Flint, Mich., from its route map. The carrier’s last flight from the city will come June 6.
The move is rare for Southwest, known more for creating a stir when it enters new markets than for leaving them.
Spirit adds Richmond, Va., and Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Va., are the latest cities to land new service on “ultra low-cost carrier” Spirit Airlines.
Spirit’s Columbus debut will come Feb. 15, when the airline begins flying to Las Vegas and the Florida destinations of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa. Two more routes – seasonal offerings to New Orleans and Myrtle Beach, S.C. – begin March 22.
Richmond’s first Spirit flights begin March 15, when the carrier launches non-stop service to both Fort Lauder- dale and Orlando.
The addition of the two new cities gives Spirit 62 total destinations.
Aer Lingus connects the Emerald City to the Emerald Isle
Aer Lingus will begin flying from Seattle on May 18, offering four flights a week to its main hub in Dublin on 265seat Airbus A330 aircraft.
American adds Iceland flights as competition surges
American Airlines will begin flying to Iceland, becoming the last of the USA’s “Big Three” legacy carriers to add service to the nation.
American’s service begins June 7, when it launches daily non-stop service from its hub at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Reykjavik.
The seasonal flights will continue through Oct. 27. American will fly the route on 176-seat Boeing 757-200 jets that include 16 lie-flat business-class seats.
American’s Iceland service continues what’s become a flood of new flight options to the European island nation, as the big U.S. airlines push back against the dozens of new routes that Icelandic rivals WOW and Icelandair have added to the U.S. in recent years.
Alaska Airlines makes its way to Pittsburgh
Alaska Airlines has announced Pittsburgh as its newest destination. Starting Sept. 6, the carrier will fly one daily round-trip flight between Pittsburgh and its busiest hub in Seattle. Alaska will use Boeing 737 jets for the service, which will be the only non-stop flight connecting the cities.
Los Angeles to Acapulco, non-stop on Volaris
Travelers in Southern California will soon get a new non-stop connection to the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco.
Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris will launch non-stop Acapulco service from Los Angeles on Dec. 19, offering one round-trip flight every Tuesday. Flight time will be just more than 4 hours, with Volaris using Airbus A319 jets on the route.
Volaris will be the only airline offering regular non-stop flights between the cities.
Another airline calls it quits in Cuba
Alaska Airlines is the latest U.S. airline to give up on Cuba. The carrier said its last flight between Havana and Los Angeles will be Jan. 22.
Alaska Airlines cited new travel restrictions proposed for Cuba travel that it expected would dampen demand.
Since flights began in 2016, a number of carriers ultimately have cut back their capacity to the island. Three airlines — Spirit, Frontier and Silver — have pulled out of the country altogether.
Portland, Maine, gets some Big Apple love
American Airlines will connect Portland, Maine, to New York’s LaGuardia Airport starting this spring.
The service will begin April 3, with American’s affiliate Envoy offering two daily round-trip flights on 50-seat Embraer ERJ-140 regional jets.
American Airlines is the largest carrier at the Portland International Jetport. The airline already flies from the airport to its hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington Reagan National.
United’s Los Angeles hub gets four new routes in the expansion.