New non-stop flight from Phoenix to LaGuardia
Enjoy wine, food, architecture and dried lavender
Southwest Airlines plans to add nonstop flights between Phoenix and New York’s LaGuardia Airport in April.
The seasonal service will operate on Saturdays only beginning April 14. Nonstop flights between the two airports are prohibited on other days because of a long-standing federal restriction called the perimeter rule. The rule limits nonstop flights out of LaGuardia to 1,500 miles. It’s 2,146 miles from Phoenix to LaGuardia.
Tempe-based US Airways briefly offered Saturday flights between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and LaGuardia, the closest airport to Manhattan, in 2012. The airline merged with
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France - You can keep Paris in April. For me, the allure is Provence in September.
Sure, the lavender fields are past their bloom. But the flowers are freshly dried and ready for you to take home in bundles or sachets.
The hordes of tourists are gone, and the weather is glorious, mostly sunny with highs in the 70s.
The ubiquitous open-air markets are brimming with local produce and herbs, and the wine grape harvest is in full swing. Tractors pulling trailers piled with grapes creep from vineyard to winery, where you can watch the crushing begin as the first step in transforming grape to rose wines.
My husband, Rick, and I flew to Paris, then took the TGV train south to Aix-en-Provence, about a 3½hour trip. There we met our traveling companions, Janice Miller and Tom Belden, for a cab ride into town.
We stayed in old town at a three-bedroom flat we found online. We didn’t expect the three flights of steps leading up to our flat, but the location was perfect American Airlines a year later. Southwest didn’t say how long it would offer the non-stop flight. Its schedule is currently open through June 1.
The airline is offering round-trip fares as low as $280 on the new route.
Southwest, American and other carriers already offer service between Phoenix and LaGuardia but those flights require a stop.
Phoenix travelers who want to fly non-stop to the New York metropolitan area have options beyond LaGuardia.
Southwest, American, Delta and JetBlue offer non-stop service between Sky Harbor and New York’s JFK airport. And Southwest, American and United offer non-stop flights to Newark Liberty International Airport in nearby New Jersey. for exploring Vieil Aix, which dates to Roman times. The narrow streets are lined with boutiques, restaurants, medieval churches, fountains and piazzas.
The majestic Cathedrale Saint-Sauveur, which dates to the sixth century, stands atop a hill that reportedly once was the site of a pagan temple. Admission to the Roman Catholic cathedral is free, and it is open daily 9 a.m.-noon and 2-6 p.m. (Be sure to cover your shoulders when visiting the church.)
Cours Mirabeau, a boulevard through the heart of Aix, has wide sidewalks for strolling past cafes and grand old houses with wrought-iron balconies and intricate stonework, and is home to a large open-air clothing market.
We found the street markets were open most days except for Sunday. Some specialize in clothing, linens and crafts; others offer meats, cheeses, produce, dried fruit, flowers and, of course, lavender products.
Post-impressionist artist Paul Cezanne made his home in Aix, and we took an Uber to his studio, Atelier Cezanne, where the objects he used for his still