Non-stop flight from Iceland to Missouri one of several new routes to the Midwest
Airlines constantly tweak their schedules, trying to find profitable new routes or pulling the plug on ones that have underperformed. There are dozens of changes each month. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting:
American adds Chicago O’Hare to its ‘Shuttle’ lineup
American Airlines is expanding its East Coast “Shuttle” operation to include Chicago O’Hare.
Starting April 4, American will convert its existing 15 weekday LaGuardiaO’Hare round-trips into Shuttle-branded service. The route will become the fourth to join the company’s Shuttle network and will be flown on 160-seat Boeing 737-800 jets.
The Shuttle frequencies are marketed toward business fliers, who can easily make same-day return trips or catch earlier or later flights if their schedules change. Shuttle fliers get separate check-in areas, where they can check in as little as 20 to 25 minutes before a scheduled departure. Another perk: free wine and beer.
Delta Air Lines keeps its foot on the gas in Seattle
Delta’s expansion shows no signs of slowing in Seattle, where it remains locked in a turf battle with hometown carrier Alaska Airlines.
Delta’s three newest Seattle routes — to Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; and Washington Dulles — will all go head to head with competing service on Alaska Airlines.
Delta will also face direct competition on the Seattle routes from Southwest (Kansas City) and United (Washington Dulles).
All three of Delta’s new routes will begin in June, with the airline offering one daily round-trip flight on each.
Beyond the new routes, Delta is further beefing up its Seattle capacity by adding more flights on four of its existing routes (Las Vegas, New York-JFK, Orlando and Medford, Ore.) and by switching to bigger planes on several others.
U.S. travelers get new non-stop offering to Africa
Kenya Airways is launching its first route to the United States.
Daily non-stop flights between Nairobi and New York-JFK begin Oct. 28 and will be flown with the carrier’s Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliners,” which seat 30 in lie-flat business-class seats and 204 in coach. Flight time on the 7,360-mile route will be 15 hours eastbound and 141⁄ 2 hours on the return.
“This is an exciting moment for us. It fits within our strategy to attract corporate and high-end tourism traffic,” Kenya Airways Group CEO Sebastian Mikosz said in a statement announcing the service. New York customers will be able to connect to more than 40 African destinations via Kenya Airways’ hub in Nairobi.
Fly non-stop from Kansas City to Iceland on Icelandair
Icelandair will begin flying from Kan- sas City International Airport on May 25, giving the Missouri airport its first regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic route.
Icelandair will fly to its main hub near Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik, from where passengers will be able to connect to more than two dozen destinations elsewhere in Europe.
The service will be seasonal with three flights a week on Boeing 757 aircraft.
Airport officials say Icelandair will be able to tap a region of the country that historically has had little access to non-stop international flights.
“When you look at existing transAtlantic routes, there’s an absolute void in the middle of the United States,” said Justin Meyer, the airport’s marketing and air service development chief. “This new Icelandair route not only brings Kansas City its first-ever scheduled flight to Europe but also provides access to all of America’s heartland.”
Aside from Kansas City, Icelandair announced that it would resume service to Reykjavik from two cities it last served about a decade ago. Seasonal service from Baltimore begins May 28 and from San Francisco on June 1.
Allegiant soon will fly from Charleston and Sarasota
Budget carrier Allegiant is adding two new cities to its route map.
Allegiant’s first flights from Charleston, S.C., begin April 4 and service from Sarasota, Fla., starts April 11. Allegiant will start with three routes from each of the new cities, offering non-stop service from both to Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
The Charleston flights are scheduled to be seasonal, operating during the company’s warm-weather schedule.
Allegiant says service from the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport will operate year-round.