United offers non-stop option from U.S. to Tahiti
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:
The sunny South Pacific, non-stop via San Francisco
Those dreaming of a vacation to the South Pacific are getting a new option to fly non-stop from the mainland United States.
United Airlines is turning to Tahiti for its latest overseas route, part of a robust international expansion by the carrier in 2017.
United will begin flying to the South Pacific island Oct. 30. The airline will offer three flights a week between its San Francisco hub and Papeete, the capital of the French Polynesia territory that includes Tahiti. United will use Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” jets for the flights, which will take about eight hours. The seasonal service is scheduled to run through March 28.
The Tahiti flights continue what has been a torrid international expansion for United during the past year. The carrier launched 13 new international routes, including to new destinations in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Porto, Portugal.
Norwegian Air expansion spree
Norwegian Air is at it again, announcing four new U.S. routes in the latest expansion for a carrier that already billed itself as the “world’s fastestgrowing airline.”
The low-cost carrier will add three new European destinations to its U.S. lineup: Amsterdam, Madrid and Milan.
The service also will expand Norwegian’s presence in the USA’s two biggest cities. From New York JFK, Norwegian will add new non-stop service to Amsterdam and Madrid. The additions will give Norwegian non-stop service from JFK to nine destinations. Los Angeles, Milan and Madrid will add to Norwegian’s seven existing routes there. Flights on all of the new routes will be on Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Just in 2017, Norwegian has added 25 new routes from U.S. airports. More growth is coming in 2018; Norwegian already has announced plans for 11 new routes between the USA and Europe.
Cathay Pacific’s new longest route flies to Washington, D.C.
Cathay Pacific will begin flying to Washington Dulles, adding a route that would become the longest in the carrier’s network.
The Hong Kong-based airline — highly regarded for its service — will begin a schedule of four weekly Hong KongWashington flights Sept. 16. Cathay Pacific will use its new Airbus A350-100 jets for the service.
The route would be the longest offered not only for Cathay Pacific, but also for both the Hong Kong and Washington Dulles airports, covering a distance of 8,153 miles, according to the carrier.
Air Canada adds more U.S. destinations
Air Canada is pushing ahead with its aggressive U.S. expansion, announcing six Air Canada Express routes and three new destinations: Omaha, Providence and Sacramento.
Air Canada will connect Omaha and Providence to its Toronto hub while Sacramento will be served from the company’s hub in Vancouver.
The three other routes are San Francisco-Edmonton; Montreal-Baltimore/ Washington (BWI) and Montreal-Pittsburgh.
The Edmonton flights will give Air Canada a total of five destinations from San Francisco; it already flies to Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. From both BWI and Pittsburgh, Montreal will augment existing Air Canada service to Toronto Pearson.
Spirit Airlines connecting more dots on its route map
Spirit Airlines announced plans for 11 new non-stop routes that will launch this spring.
The new service comes as Spirit looks to fill out its network, connecting more of the cities it already serves with new non-stop options.
Seattle is the biggest winner in the latest Spirit announcement, landing seasonal service to four new destinations. Detroit (seasonal), Las Vegas and Tampa were among Spirit destinations getting two new non-stop options.
Baltimore/Washington (BWI) also landed two new destinations, including new international service to Jamaica. That would become Spirit’s second international route from BWI, after Cancun, Mexico.
JetBlue adds fourth Caribbean route from Newark Liberty
JetBlue is adding a new route to the Dominican Republic, continuing the carrier’s years-long expansion in the Caribbean market.
JetBlue will connect Newark Liberty to Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic. Flights will begin May 3, pending regulatory approval. JetBlue would fly one daily round-trip flight on the route using 150-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. The Newark flights bolster JetBlue’s presence in the Dominican Republic, where the carrier says it currently “operates more daily flights than any other carrier.”