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Routes: United’s longest + Delta Comfort+ American to China + more

October 30, 2017

United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner on its new Los Angeles-Singapore non-stops. (Image: United)

In international route developments, United has inaugurated the longest U.S. non-stop service and has revived Auckland flights; Delta starts selling its Comfort+ seats on transatlantic flights and launches its first A350 flights; American begins a new China route; Air France replaces Delta on a Paris route; Air Canada adds capacity to India from the West Coast; and Pakistan’s national carrier drops a U.S. route;

New non-stop service launched last week by United between Los Angeles and Singapore takes the number one spot as the longest flight from the U.S. at 8,700 miles. That surpasses the 8,446-mile route that United started up last year from San Francisco to Singapore, and tops Qantas’ 8,576-mile Dallas/Ft. Worth Sydney route. As with its San Francisco route, United is using a 250-passenger 787-9 for the LAX-Singapore flights. The new flight departs LAX at 9:25 and takes almost 18 hours. Don’t miss: Chris’ Trip Report on SFO-SIN from last year 17 moments in 17 hours on Singapore Airlines

In other news, United just revived its seasonal service between San Francisco and Auckland, New Zealand, which is also served by Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand. United will fly the route six days a week from now through December 17, boosting the schedule to daily service through March 22. The carrier’s Auckland flights are using a 777-300ER fitted out with United’s new Polaris business cabin, featuring lie-flat seats that all have aisle access. United and Air New Zealand have created a new website at www.united.com/airnz that provides information on both carriers and destination tips about New Zealand.

Delta’s Comfort+ seating is now on sale for transatlantic flights. (Image: Delta)

Delta has just started selling its Comfort+ product – extra-legroom main cabin seating – on transatlantic flights effective for travel January 22 and beyond. That includes all its flights from North America to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Delta started selling Comfort+ seating two years ago for travel within North America, and by earlier this year had expanded it to Asia/Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean flights. (Nice for those who buy it, but less nice for those hoping to get comp upgrades.)

Meanwhile, Delta this week put its first new Airbus A350 into commercial service on its Detroit-Tokyo Narita route. The new plane features a new Delta One front cabin with lie-flat seats in private suites, as well as the airline’s new international premium economy cabin called Premium Select, which is being installed in Delta’s A350s instead of Comfort+ seating. As of this week, Delta is now using the 747 on a single route, Seoul-Detroit and that is only through December 17 when it will be replaced by a shiny new Airbus A350.

American will use a 787-8 on its new LAX-Beijing route. (Image: American)

After months of negotiations with Chinese officials to secure commercially viable slot times, American Airlines is finally due to kick off its newest route to China in a few days. November 5 is the launch date for American’s daily flights from Los Angeles to Beijing, which it will initially operate with a 787-8, switching to a 787-9 next spring. Delta had also filed for the route, but lost out when the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the rights to American in December of last year.

Air France said it will step in and replace joint venture and Skyteam partner Delta this winter on the Chicago O’Hare-Paris CDG route. Air France will use an Airbus A330 to fly the route up to five times a week.

Air Canada has foiled plans for a schedule increase this winter on its Vancouver-Delhi route. The carrier will increase frequencies on the route from five a week to daily service effective December 9 through at least December 23. Air Canada uses a 787-9 on the route.

Over the past weekend, Pakistan International Airlines ended its service between Karachi/Lahore and New York JFK, which it had been serving with a 777-200LR via a westbound stop in Manchester, U.K. PIA had been flying to New York since 1961.

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American adds more premium economy seats- will United follow?

October 24, 2017

American’s premium economy cabin on its 787-9s has 2-3-2 seating. (Image: American)

As American Airlines brings more new 787-9s to its long-haul fleet, it is making its international premium economy cabin available on additional routes – starting with Australia and New Zealand.

American’s new 787-9s are being delivered with premium economy seating already installed. The airline is also busy at work putting the new middle cabin into its 47 777-200s, a job that should be finished by next March; and its A330-200s, expected to be finished by this December. AA’s 20 777-300ERs should have the extra cabin by June of 2018, and its 787-8s will also get the refit next year.

It’s too early to say when those other wide-body models with new premium economy seating will start flying in specific markets (with a few exceptions – see below), but when a 787-9 is scheduled to start on a route, the new middle cabin automatically comes with it. American’s 787-9s also feature a business class with 30 new lie-flat seats, all with direct aisle access.

On November 8, American is due to introduce the premium economy option on its Los Angeles-Sydney flights when it replaces the 777-300ER on that route with a 787-9.

And this month—after a two-month hiatus on the route – American started flying a 787-9 on its daily Los Angeles-Auckland service, replacing a 787-8. (American has decided to convert LAX-Auckland into a seasonal route, operating only from October through March.)

Amenities that come with an AA premium economy seat. (Image: American)

American introduced the premium economy-equipped 787-9s out of its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub last fall and winter, putting it on routes to Sao Paulo, Madrid, Paris and Seoul.

On November 5, American is due to inaugurate its long-awaited Los Angeles-Beijing daily service with a 787-8. But according to Routesonline.com, American has plans to replace that aircraft on March 25 of next year with a 787-9, offering premium economy seating in the market.

American is expected to put the 787-9 into service early next year on a pair of Japan routes — Los Angeles-Tokyo Haneda and LAX-Tokyo Narita — both beginning January 8. They will replace 777-200ERs on those routes.

Looking at American’s recent schedule filings, we can see 787-9s scheduled to begin flying between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Shanghai Pudong on March 4, replacing a 787-8; and LAX-Shanghai Pudong starting March 25, also replacing a 787-8.

The schedule filings also show AA taking the 787-9 off its DFW-Paris and DFW-Madrid routes starting March 25, replacing them with 777-200ERs. However, those 777s are listed as three-class aircraft, so they presumably have the premium economy option. The schedule also shows a three-class 777-200ER replacing a 777-300ER on AA’s DFW-London Heathrow route starting March 25.

Although it is reconfiguring its wide-bodies with premium economy seating, American is planning to keep offering a Main Cabin Extra option as well – i.e., its extra-legroom seating in the economy cabin. While Main Cabin Extra provides up to six inches of extra seat pitch, AA’s premium economy product will offer slightly more – 38 inches, along with extendable foot, leg and head rests; larger touch-screens; and additional services and amenities including one checked bag free. Seating is in a 2-3-2 layout on the 787-9s.

Delta’s premium economy cabin will debut on its A350s. (Image: Delta)

Delta is also introducing a new international premium economy seating option, called Premium Select, as it puts its new Airbus A350s into service. The first one starts flying next week (October 30) on Delta’s Detroit-Tokyo Narita route. Last week, we detailed other Delta routes that will have new A350 service coming in the weeks and months ahead.

All this of course leads us to the question of when or if United is going to follow American and Delta down the path to real premium economy. Right now it sounds like they are not ruling it out– when we asked directly about this, a spokesperson said, “At this time we do not have details to share regarding Premium Economy. We’re always looking at ways to improve the customer experience and the choices we offer our customers for their travels with United.”

Have you or will you try the new American versions of Premium economy? Will United add one, too? Leave your comments below.

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Routes: Aeromexico at SJC, Southwest, Air New Zealand, BA, United, AA, Etihad + more

October 19, 2017

San Jose International welcomes a new 737 nonstop from Mexico City next summer. (Photo: SJC)

In recent international route developments, Aeromexico will add seasonal service at San Jose; Southwest drops plans for two Mexico markets; Air New Zealand brings a new aircraft to Houston; British Airways adds high-density 777 flights to Gatwick; United and Delta drop Europe flights while KLM adds one; American plans new code-shares to and within China; Etihad trims its Los Angeles schedule and terminates San Francisco service; and LATAM adds a Boston route.

Aeromexico, now a joint venture partner with Delta, plans to expand its presence at Mineta San Jose International next summer by offering seasonal flights to Mexico City. The carrier will use a 737-800 on the route, offering daily flights from June 1 through August 31. The southbound flight will depart SJC at 1:40 p.m. In July of this year, Aeromexico started service from San Jose to Guadalajara.

Speaking of Mexico City, Southwest Airlines has scaled back its plans to expand service to the Mexican capital. The Dallas Morning News reports that Southwest has changed its mind about adding new service to MEX from Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale next summer. The carrier has given up the slots at Mexico City that it had acquired for those routes, and DOT assigned them instead to VivaAerobus, a Mexican low-cost carrier. When Delta and Aeromexico won approval for their joint venture, they had to give up some slots at MEX, and Southwest picked up enough for four flights a day there, which it initially used to add two flights a day from Houston Hobby.

Premium economy seats on the new version of Air New Zealand’s 787-9.(Image: Air New Zealand)

The new Qantas 787-9 that starts flying from Melbourne to LAX in December won’t be the only new Dreamliner service from Down Under. Air New Zealand plans to deploy the newest version of its 787-9 on its two-year-old Auckland-Houston route in December. The Kiwi carrier also plans to boost frequencies on that route next year, from the current five weekly flights to six or seven from March 25 through October 27. The new Air New Zealand 787-9 increases capacity in the front of the plane, from 18 business class seats to 27 and from 21 premium economy seats to 33. The airline currently flies a 777-200 to Houston.

British Airways has been planning to introduce “high density” 777-200ERs on long-haul flights out of London Gatwick Airport, partly in response to low-cost interlopers like Norwegian, and its plans for those planes are starting to emerge. Unlike its existing 275-seat 777-200ERs, the new version will cram 336 seats into the planes, according to Routesonline.com – 32 in business class, 52 in premium economy and 252 in regular economy. BA plans to put the new version of the plane into service for one weekly flight between Orlando and Gatwick as of May 11, 2018, increasing to daily by October 6; one flight a week between Ft. Lauderdale and Gatwick starting September 13 of next year, increasing to three a week October 8; and daily service between New York JFK and Gatwick effective July 8 of next year.

Looking ahead to other transatlantic markets for 2018, United had been planning to offer seasonal service from Chicago O’Hare to Shannon, Ireland from late May through early September, but now it has canceled those plans. And Delta is giving up on its Newark-Amsterdam service – which operates four days a week this winter – as of March 23. However, Delta partner KLM will expand service between New York JFK and Amsterdam next year, adding a third flight six days a week effective March 26. In another development, Delta will code-share on daily A330-200 Alitalia flights from Rome to Delhi, India, effective October 29.

American’s customers will get access to new destinations on China Southern. (Image: China Southern)

American Airlines, which acquired a small equity stake in China Southern Airlines this year, is planning a substantial code-sharing program with that carrier, according to Air Transport World. It said AA has filed plans with the Transportation Department to put its AA code onto China Southern flights from San Francisco to Wuhan and to Guangzhou, as well as its New York JFK-Guangzhou service. The AA code would also go onto 14 China Southern routes from Beijing to other destinations in China. It didn’t say when the code-sharing is expected to begin. Last month, American moved its operations at Beijing’s airport from Terminal 3 to China Southern’s base at Terminal 2.

Etihad Airways plans to reduce its schedule between Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi this winter. From January 15 through April 30, it will trim frequencies from daily to four a week, switching aircraft on the route from a 777-200LR to a 777-300ER. (And don’t forget, as we reported last summer, Etihad will discontinue its San Francisco-Abu Dhabi service on October 29 after cutting it back earlier this year from daily frequencies to just three flights a week.)

To Latin America, LATAM has filed for regulatory approval to begin the first non-stop service between Boston and Sao Paulo, Brazil next summer, although a schedule and starting date haven’t yet been determined.

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Deal: $945 SFO/LAX-Auckland roundtrip on United, Air New Zealand

October 11, 2017

Air New Zealand flies a 777-300 like this on its LAX-AKL run (Photo: Air New Zealand)

When fares to New Zealand dip below $1,000, it’s time to prick up your ears. Especially if you can go when it’s winter here and summer down there!

Today United and Air New Zealand announced a very good deal for flights between San Francisco SFO or Los Angeles LAX to Auckland AKL with fares from just $945 roundtrip. (Plus when booking on United you’ll earn a cool 13,000 MileagePlus miles for this looong roundtrip.)

What’s best about this sale is the timing… you’ll travel during the dark cold days of fall winter in the US to the sunny summer shores of New Zealand in late October, November, early December, late January and almost all of February, March.

Act fast: To get the deal, you must book your trip by Thursday Oct 12.

United:

A quick check of United’s fare calendar shows tons of availability in Feb and Mar for SFO-AKL (Image: United)

Air New Zealand:

Screenshot from Air New Zealand’s sale page

Qantas offered similarly low fares with a fare sale between SFO or LAX and Sydney last month– which has since expired.

Find the deals here: UNITED | AIR NEW ZEALAND

What’s the lowest price you’ve seen or paid for a round trip ticket to Australia or New Zealand? Will you take on this deal? Please leave your comments below.

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Across the Pacific: Battle for Hong Kong + Flock of new A350s + lots more route news

September 6, 2017

Hong Kong Airlines, among others, adding more A350 flights across the Pacific (Photo: Airbus)

Let’s keep catching up with recent route developments with a look at what’s happening across the Pacific. Hong Kong Airlines, which plans to begin Los Angeles flights later this year, now has its eye on San Francisco and New York as well – a threat to Cathay Pacific, which said it will soon upgrade aircraft on its SFO and Newark routes; American Airlines finally nails down a launch date for its long-planned LAX-Beijing flights; Delta will bring a new plane to its Atlanta-Seoul route, and expands code-sharing to China; United drops a China route and expands capacity to New Zealand; Hainan Airlines will add a new U.S. route, and Air China sets a start for an LAX route.

Hong Kong Airlines, which is partly owned by China’s Hainan Airlines, said last month it plans to begin daily Hong Kong-Los Angeles flights in mid-December with its first new Airbus A350. And now it looks like that will just be the beginning: Hong Kong Airlines said that as it takes delivery of more new A350s – it has ordered 21 of them – the carrier plans to start flying from Hong Kong to New York and San Francisco in 2018, as well as Hong Kong-London “and other European and American destinations.” The carrier said its A350s will have 33 fully-reclining business class seats, 108 in “Economy Comfort” class, and 193 in regular economy. It didn’t provide any schedule information for next year’s new routes.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post suggested that Hong Kong Airlines’ ambitious expansion plans couldn’t come at a worse time for Hong Kong’s major carrier: “The airline’s push poses a fresh challenge to Cathay Pacific, which has already suffered huge losses in recent years, caused by competition from mainland and Middle Eastern carriers,” the newspaper said.

Cathay Pacific’s first U.S. A350s are coming to Newark and SFO this fall (Photo: Cathay Pacific)

For its part, Cathay Pacific recently announced plans to start flying its own A350s on select U.S. routes. The carrier said that effective October 29, it will replace the 777-300ER currently used on its Hong Kong-Newark route with an A350, and will also put an A350 onto one of its three daily San Francisco-Hong Kong fights on the same date. Cathay has 16 A350-900s, with six more on order. Cathay’s A350s also offer business, premium economy and regular economy seating.

Have you flown an A350 yet? I did last fall on Singapore Airlines inaugural 17-hour SFO-SIN flight. Read the Trip Report here.

After months of delays as it negotiated with China for acceptable takeoff and landing slot times, American Airlines has now settled on November 5 for the inauguration of service on its new Los Angeles-Beijing route. The carrier had to secure DOT’s approval for the late start, and had to fend off regulatory challenges from Delta, which had sought the same route. American had originally said it would use a 777-200 for the LAX-Beijing service, but Routesonline.com now reports that American will begin flying the route with a 787-8, then switch to a 787-9 on March 25 of next year.

Delta’s new international premium economy seats will debut on the A350. (Image: delta)

Delta Air Lines has started taking delivery of its own new Airbus A350s, which it previously announced will start flying October 30 between Detroit and Tokyo Narita. Now Delta says it will also deploy one of the new wide-bodies on its Atlanta-Seoul Incheon route starting March 24 of next year- but the first A350s will fly between Detroit and Tokyo starting this fall. In other transpacific news, Delta this week expanded its code-sharing arrangement with China Eastern, putting the Delta code onto the Chinese carrier’s flights from Shanghai Pudong to Chiang Mai, Ningbo and Urumqi; from Beijing to Chongqing, Haikou and Wuxi; and on its San Francisco-Qingdao-Kunming route. Delta’s code will also go onto the flights of Shanghai Airlines (a China eastern subsidiary) from Pudong to Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur and Weihai.

United has been flying from San Francisco to Hangzhou, China three times a week with a 787-9, but the carrier plans to discontinue that route on October 14, according to a notice in Routesonline.com. Elsewhere, United will make an aircraft change on its San Francisco-Auckland route, which is now seasonal, operating from October 29 through March 22. Instead of a 787-9, United will put a 777-300ER on the route, and will trim frequencies from seven a week to six through December 17, and from 10 a week to seven from December 18 to March 22.

China’s Hainan Airlines plans an October 26 start for new service between New York JFK and Chengdu, flying the route twice a week with a 787-9. And Air China, which had originally planned a mid-summer start for Los Angeles-Shenzen service, has now set December 7 as the launch date; it will fly the route three days a week with a 787-9.

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Routes: Alaska, Southwest, Finnair, United, American, Air India, Avianca

May 22, 2017

Alaska Airlines will start Mexico City nonstops from SFO and LAX in August. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

In international route developments, Alaska unveils plans for its new California-Mexico City flights; Southwest will add more international service from Ft. Lauderdale; Finnair is about to launch San Francisco flights; United schedules aircraft changes for some transpacific markets from SFO and launches more seasonal Europe service; American puts its code on new flights from the West Coast to Barcelona; Air India adds two U.S. gateways; and Avianca Brasil adds a U.S. route.

Alaska Airlines has won Transportation Department approval for Mexico City routes thanks to slots at MEX that Delta and joint venture partner Aeromexico had to give up, and now Alaska has released schedule plans for its new service. On August 8, Alaska will start flying one daily roundtrip from both San Francisco and Los Angeles to Mexico City; on November 6, it will add a second daily LAX-MEX flight, plus one a day from San Diego to Mexico City. The SFO flight and the first LAX flight will use 737s; the second LAX flight and the San Diego service will use E175s.

Southwest Airlines is due to cut the ribbon in a couple of weeks on a new international concourse at its Ft. Lauderdale base, when it will also add service from FLL to new international destinations including Montego Bay, Cancun, Belize and Grand Cayman. Now Southwest has announced two more international destinations from Ft. Lauderdale. In early November, it will begin daily flights from FLL to San Jose, Costa Rica and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. And on November 11, the carrier will also start Saturday-only service to Cancun from Nashville and St. Louis.

Finnair will use an A330 on its San Francisco route. (Image: Finnair)

June 1 is the launch date for seasonal Finnair service from San Francisco to Helsinki, operating three days a week through the end of September with an Airbus A330-300. Finnair is a member of the American/British Airways Oneworld alliance, and Alaska Airlines this week announced a frequent flyer partnership with Finnair as well. “Members of Alaska Mileage Plan can begin earning miles on Finnair starting today,” the airline said. “Award redemption will commence later this year. Finnair Plus members can begin earning and redeeming points on Alaska Airlines starting today.”

United Airlines is planning some equipment changes on transpacific routes from San Francisco this winter, according to Routesonline.com. On August 1, United will pull the 747-400 from its daily SFO-Taipei flight, replacing it with a 777-300ER. Starting October 28, one of United’s two daily SFO-Shanghai Pudong flights will use a three-class 777-200ER instead of the previously planned 787-9; the other will use a 787-9. On December 16, United will boost SFO-Auckland schedules from seven to 10 a week as previously announced, but will use a 787-9 instead of a 787-8 for the winter season. And starting December 20, United’s daily 787-9 service from SFO to Tokyo Haneda will switch to a 777-200ER.

Meanwhile, United on May 24 is due to kick off its next round of seasonal transatlantic service, including flights from Newark to Athens continuing through October 4; Washington Dulles to Barcelona through October 27; and San Francisco to Munich through September 3. On May 25, United adds Chicago O’Hare-Shannon service continuing through September 5, and Chicago-Edinburgh flights through October 4.

Level will fly A330s from Oakland and Los Angeles. (Image: IAG)

Remember that new low-fare service from the West Coast to Barcelona that we told you about in March on a carrier called Level? That’s a new low-cost operation from International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, and it’s due to get off the ground next week, with twice-weekly Los Angeles-Barcelona flights beginning June 1 and three flights a week from Oakland to Barcelona starting June 2, both using two-class A330s. And now Routesonline.com reports that BA/Iberia’s joint venture partner American Airlines will put its AA code onto the Level flights.

Air India’s SFO-Delhi flight proving very popular (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Air India is said to be doing so well with its San Francisco-Delhi service that it plans to add two new U.S. gateways later this year, according to The Times of India. The carrier has already announced plans to start flying to Washington Dulles in July, and the newspaper said Air India now expects to begin non-stop Los Angeles-Delhi service September 1, followed by Dallas/Ft. Worth service sometime later this year. The report said Air India is seeing a surge in passenger demand for U.S. service now that travelers cannot take their laptops into the cabins of the big Middle Eastern airlines on non-stop flights to the U.S. Besides its SFO service, Air India also flies to Delhi from New York and Chicago, and to Mumbai from Newark.

Avianca Brasil is due to kick off new daily flights between Miami and Sao Paulo June 23, with red-eye service in both directions.

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Routes: Qatar Airways to SFO + United 787s, Delta, Copa, AA, Virgin Atlantic

May 1, 2017

Qatar Airways plans to start San Francisco service next year- image of Qatar’s current business class seat from a travel conference trade show floor. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Qatar Airways will add San Francisco service and delay Las Vegas; United plans changes to 787 schedules at SFO in 2018; Delta’s code goes onto a long-haul Air France route; Copa adds a new U.S. gateway; American will suspend its Auckland route for a while; Virgin Atlantic trims an Atlanta route; Spirit gives up a Caribbean destination; and United and American start up several seasonal Europe routes this week.

Laptop ban or no laptop ban, Qatar Airways plans to add service to another new U.S. destination next year: San Francisco. Company officials said at a travel show in Dubai last week that Qatar plans to bring a dozen new destinations onto its route map in 2018, including SFO – although it did not say exactly when the flights would start or what type of aircraft it would use. SFO tells TravelSkills that the service will be daily and could start in the second quarter of 2018 using a Boeing 777. Meanwhile, Qatar’s previously announced plan to start flying to Las Vegas on January 8 of next year has been pushed back to sometime in the second quarter. Qatar plans to fly the LAS-Doha route four times a week with a 777-200LR. Qatar Airways is a member of the Oneworld Alliance.

United will add 787-9s to more San Francisco routes next year. (Image: United)

United will make some changes in its 787 schedules at San Francisco next year, according to Routesonline.com. The carrier plans to deploy 787-9 Dreamliners on its daily flights from SFO to Seoul on March 18 and to Taipei on May 4, 2018, replacing 777-200ERs on both routes. At the same time, 787-9s will replace 787-8s on the SFO-Munich route May 4, 2018 and on the SFO-Chengdu, China route May 2. Also on March 24, United will switch from a 787-9 to a 787-8 on its Washington Dulles-London Heathrow route.

Delta last week gave its customers a new way to get to Singapore. In an expansion of code-sharing with joint venture partner Air France, Delta started putting its code onto Air France’s daily Paris CDG-Singapore flight. Meanwhile, Air France added new code-shares with Singapore Airlines, putting its code onto the latter’s flights beyond Singapore to Melbourne and Sydney, and on sister carrier SilkAir’s service to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket.

Copa Airlines economy class on a 737-800 (Image: Copa)

Panama’s Copa Airlines has set a December 11 start for new service between Denver and Panama City, which will be its thirteenth U.S. gateway. The carrier plans to fly the route four times a week with a 737-800.

Going to New Zealand later this year? American Airlines filed plans to suspend its Los Angeles-Auckland service for a while – specifically, from August 5 to October 4. When the flight resumes on October 5, it will use a 787-9 instead of the current 787-8. In another service cutback, Delta partner Virgin Atlantic will trim its Atlanta-Manchester schedule this winter. From October 29 through March 24, Virgin will fly the route three times a week instead of daily. And Spirit Airlines is giving up the ghost on Cuba: The carrier will terminate its Ft. Lauderdale-Havana flights effective May 31, citing weak demand.

It’s time for major carriers to start up their seasonal summer routes to Europe, and both United and American will launch a bunch of them this week. On May 5, United will kick off seasonal service from its Newark hub to Edinburgh, Venice, Stockholm and Hamburg; from Washington Dulles to Lisbon and Madrid; and from Chicago O’Hare to Rome and Dublin. Also on May 5, American Airlines will begin seasonal flights from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Amsterdam and Rome; and from Chicago O’Hare to Barcelona.

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Routes: United, China Southern, Hainan, Alaska, Hong Kong Airlines, LOT

January 9, 2017

United is boosting capacity on its new route from SFO to Auckland. (Image:

United is scaling back its six-month-old route from SFO to Auckland. (Image: Aucklandnz.com)

In international route developments, United will scale back its San Francisco-Auckland and LAX-London service; China Southern will boost capacity to San Francisco; China’s Hainan Airlines seeks two more U.S. routes; Alaska Airlines begins Cuba flights from the West Coast; Hong Kong Airlines schedules its first service to North America; and LOT Polish will resume a Chicago route.

Is there too much new capacity between the U.S. and New Zealand? United Airlines has decided to suspend its San Francisco-Auckland flight this spring and turn it into a seasonal route. United will halt the 787 service April 16 and pick it up again October 28, according to Routesonline.com. But then on December 16, 2017, United will boost frequencies on the route from seven a week to 10, using a 777-200ER. United kicked off the SFO-Auckland route last summer, just after American started flying from Los Angeles to Auckland. And a little over a year ago, Air New Zealand added a new Houston-Auckland route.

In other news, United has dropped plans to add a second Los Angeles-London Heathrow to its schedule this year. The second flight had been scheduled to begin April 4, but United apparently had second thoughts about committing more seats to a crowded market, with five other airlines already offering non-stop service between Los Angeles and London. And from its Newark hub, United this week ended its daily service to Belfast, Northern Ireland, as it previously announced. The Belfast Telegraph reports that Belfast Airport officials are in talks with several other carriers to add a U.S. route.

China Southern to launch new SFO nonstops in December (Photo: Wikimedia)

China Southern will add more seats from San Francisco to Guangzhou (Photo: Wikimedia)

China Southern Airlines has filed plans to increase capacity to San Francisco from Guangzhou, Routesonline.com reports. It will start by changing aircraft as of March 26 from 787-8s to larger 777-300ERs on its four weekly non-stop flights from Guangzhou to SFO and its three flights a week from Guangzhou to SFO via a stop in Wuhan. Then on June 21 it will increase frequencies on the non-stop route from four flights a week to six.

Hainan wants to add 787 flights from Chengdu to LAX and New York. (Photo: San Jose Airport)

Hainan wants to add 787 flights from Chongqing to LAX and New York. (Photo: San Jose Airport)

China’s Hainan Airlines, which has several U.S. routes already, wants two more. The carrier has applied with U.S. authorities to start flying two or three times a week from Chongqing to Los Angeles within the next few months, followed by a similar schedule from Chongqing to New York JFK in the second quarter, using 787s on both routes. Hainan already flies to Beijing from San Jose, Chicago and Seattle, and to Shanghai from Seattle and Boston.

Alaska Airlines has finally launched its new Havana service, becoming the only airline to fly to the Cuban capital from the West Coast. The daily service originates in Seattle, then stops in Los Angeles before continuing non-stop to Havana. The 737-900ER flight leaves SEA at 5 a.m. and departs LAX at 8:50 a.m. Chris was on the inaugural, and will file a report shortly.

Hong Kong Airlines, which has a route network all around East and Southeast Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand, plans to begin its first transpacific service to North America this summer. The airline said it will star flying once a day on June 30 between its Hong Kong base and Vancouver, using an Airbus A330.

LOT Polish Airlines has set a July 2 start for new service between Chicago O’Hare and Krakow, operating one flight a week on the route with a 787-8.

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Deal Alert: Australia/New Zealand for less than $900

January 5, 2017

Air New Zealand flies a 777-300 like this on its LAX-AKL run (Photo: Air New Zealand)

Whenever you see a roundtrip fare to Australia or New Zealand for under $1,000, you’ve found a good deal, and a New Year’s sale from Air New Zealand easily beats that benchmark.

But you must act fast: The booking deadline for the sale fares is next Tuesday night (January 10). The fares are available for travel over the next 11 months. Depending on class of travel, the fares represent savings of up to $600.

UPDATE: Qantas is matching and in some cases beating Air New Zealand’s fare sale

Sample roundtrip fares from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Auckland are $878 in economy class, $2,529 in premium economy or $4,099 in Business Premier. From SFO or LAX to Melbourne, the sale fares are $898 in economy, $1,798 in premium economy and $4,798 in Business Premier.

Comparable fares from Houston to Auckland are $978, $2,844, and $5,114 respectively. From Houston to Melbourne, sale prices are $998, $2,113 and $6,113 respectively. Sale fares are also available to Sydney, Australia; Queenstown, New Zealand; and the Cook Islands.

Weekend travel surcharges apply, and sale fares are good only on specific dates that vary by class of service. Here are the full details.

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Routes: SFO, LAX, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Miami, Newark, JFK

November 7, 2016

United is boosting capacity on its new route from SFO to Auckland. (Image: Aucklandnz.com)

In the latest international route news, United boosts capacity on a new transpacific route out of San Francisco but drops a transatlantic route; a Chinese carrier starts new flights to Los Angeles; Chicago O’Hare gets a new route to Taiwan; low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW adds another U.S. gateway; KLM revives Miami flights; and Delta resumes service to a Canadian destination.

United Airlines just started its San Francisco-Auckland service in early July (after a 13-year hiatus), but now the New Zealand Herald reports that the airline is increasing capacity on the route. It said United has boosted flight frequencies between SFO-Auckland from five a week to daily service, and has also switched out the 787-8 it was using on the route to a larger 777. SFO-AKL fares are currently in the $1,000 roundtrip range, but occasionally dip slightly below that.

Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, United plans to drop its current service linking Newark with Belfast, Northern Ireland effective January 9. Why? Because the subsidy paid to United over the last three years ran out. The cancellation has caused much consternation as it was the only nonstop link between Northern Ireland and the US.

At Los Angeles International, Chinese carrier Sichuan Airlines is due to start new service on December 6 to Jinan, with continuing same-plane service to Chengdu. The carrier will use an Airbus A330-200 for the service, which will operate twice a week, according to Routesonline.com. News of the new route comes just a couple of weeks after Sichuan Airlines, with little fanfare, kicked off its first U.S. route; in mid-October it started flying, also twice a week with an A330, from LAX to Hangzhou with continuing service to Chengdu.

EVA's "Hello Kitty" 777-300ER now flies between Houton and Taipei. (Image: EVA)

One of EVA’s 777-300ERs has “Hello, Kitty” livery. (Image: EVA)

Taiwan’s EVA Air last week started flying between Taipei and Chicago O’Hare, operating four flights a week with a 777-300ER. EVA offers extensive connections beyond Taipei to other Asian destinations, including 27 cities in mainland China. EVA also flies to New York, San Francisco, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.

Wow Air, Iceland’s fast-growing low-cost airline, will add yet another U.S. gateway on June 17, when it begins service from Pittsburgh International to its hub at Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport with an Airbus A321. The carrier will offer fares starting as low as $99 each way to Iceland, with connecting service starting at $149 each way to European destinations including Paris, London, Frankfurt and others – plus add-on ancillary fees, of course.

Wow Air will use a narrow-body for new Pittsburgh service. (Photo: WOW Air)

KLM, which dropped service to Miami in 2011, started it up again last week. The Dutch airline is offering three flights a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from Miami to Amsterdam Schiphol using an Airbus A330-200. The seasonal service will continue through June 2017.

Delta Air Lines will revive service from its New York JFK hub to Halifax, Nova Scotia, effective January 9. The carrier said it will use a 76-seat CRJ-900 on the route, offering first class, Comfort+ and regular economy seating.

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Routes: San Francisco, LAX, Houston, San Jose, New York, Washington, Chicago

June 29, 2016

United will use a 787 for a second daily SFO-London flight. (Image: United)

In international route news, United will boost its London schedules from San Francisco and Los Angeles while cutting back from Houston; also, United this week launches its promised New Zealand service; Lufthansa kicks off its delayed San Jose inaugural; Brussels Airlines rolls out a premium economy class; Wow Air adds another U.S. gateway; and a Mexican low-cost carrier adds a Chicago route.

United Airlines announced plans to add a second daily San Francisco-London Heathrow flight to its schedule starting October 30. The new LHR flight (UA900/901) will depart San Francisco at 4:15 p.m., using a 219-passenger 787-8 with BusinessFirst, Economy Plus and regular economy seating. Also on October 30, United will trim its schedule from Houston Bush Intercontinental to London from three daily flights to two, although it will use larger 777-200s on the remaining IAH flights instead of the current 767-300s and 787s. Then next spring (effective April 5), the airline will lay on a second daily Los Angeles-LHR flight (UA60/61), using a 252-seat 787-9. That flight will leave LAX at 3:10 p.m.

Meanwhile, July 1 is the launch date for United’s newest transpacific route, from San Francisco to Auckland , New Zealand. The carrier will use a 787-8 to fly the route three days a week, then will expand capacity starting October 28 to daily frequencies that use a larger 787-9. United has slated a 10:45 p.m. departure time from SFO for the 13-hour, 10-minute (westbound) flight. United will operate the route as part of its Star Alliance partnership with Air New Zealand.

Lufthansa will use an A340-300 on its new San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

Another new Bay Area international route starting up this week is Lufthansa’s non-stop service from Frankfurt to San Jose. Originally planned to begin on April 29, it is now set for a July 1 launch. Lufthansa will operate the route five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday), using an Airbus A340-300 with business class, economy, and premium economy seating. This plane, which is smaller than the A340-600 on SFO-Munich, has 18 business class seats, 19 premium economy seats and 261 economy seats– no first class. Even though SeatGuru.com shows the seats on the A340-300 to be of the old “angled lie flat” variety, a Lufthansa spokesperson tells TravelSkills that the planes have been reconfigured with the carrier’s latest, greatest true lie-flat offering, like what you’ll find on its A380 and A340 flying from SFO. Currently, fares from both SFO and SJC to Frankfurt appear to be identical: about $5,200 round trip in business class, $2,700 in premium economy, and about $1,300 for economy.

Brussels Airlines is adding premium economy seating to its U.S. A330 flights. (Image: Brussels Airlines)

International premium economy seating continues to proliferate; the latest carrier to add that feature is Brussels Airlines, which is due to start offering it July 1 on the Airbus A330s that it flies to its U.S. gateways (New York JFK and Washington Dulles) from Brussels. The new seating option, located in the first four rows of the economy cabin, offers extra legroom and seats that recline more than twice as far as regular economy seats. It also provides enhanced in-flight services and amenities. The carrier is offering the new seating for a surcharge of $139 one-way until September 15, when the price will rise to $169.

Elsewhere in the New York area, Icelandic low-cost carrier Wow Air – which recently started flying from San Francisco and Los Angeles — said it will add Newark Liberty International to its route map on November 25, offering daily flights to Reykjavik and connections to the U.K. and Europe. The airline will use A321s or A330s on the new route, depending on the season. One-way fares to Iceland will start at $99, with service to European capitals from as little as $149.

Mexico’s low-cost Volaris Airlines has kicked off a new route linking Chicago O’Hare with Monterrey, Mexico. The carrier will operate the service twice a week (Mondays and Fridays), using a 174-passenger Airbus A320.

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A chat with Qantas CEO re LAX, SFO, 787, lounges

June 25, 2016

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Qantas 747s parked near the freeway at SFO serve as giant billboards (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week I sat down at SFO with Gareth Evans, Qantas’s CEO of international operations. He was in the U.S. to meet with American Airlines and celebrate that carrier’s launch of new nonstop between Los Angeles and Auckland, a further expansion of its joint venture with Qantas on transpacific flights.

Here are a few bits and pieces from that conversation:

Qantas CEO International Gareth Evans (Photo: Qantas)

>If you’ve been flying to LAX much lately, you may have noticed a huge white hangar being built on the airport’s southwest corner. Later this year, that will open as the largest A380 maintenance hangar in the U.S. and house all of Qantas administrative offices. Since Qantas aircraft spend so much time on the ground in LA, the airline does a lot of maintenance work on the big birds there.

>Qantas re-launched its SFO-Sydney nonstops last year, and since then, San Francisco has emerged as the #1 destination for Australian business travelers to the U.S., beating out both New York and Los Angeles. (See our Trip Report: Qantas 747-400 business class SFO-Sydney)

>While business travel is big business for Qantas, Evans said that the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar has resulted in a lot more leisure traffic with passengers responding well to the carrier’s message that Australia is not as far away as many people may think. The “Eat, watch a movie, have a sleep and wake up in Australia” pitch seems to be working.

Qantas’ newest business suite seat, currently on its A330s only (Photo: Qantas)

>Qantas still operates 11 747s, and plans to keep the graceful old planes flying “into the beginning of the next decade.” In the meantime, the carrier is focused on rolling out its new fully flat, forward facing “business suite” seats on its A330s and eventually its 787 Dreamliners. Currently it has eight firm Dreamliner orders, and will get the first one in October 2017. Will Qantas eventually replace the 747s with Dreamliners on the SFO-SYD route? Evans said that the potential is there, but it’s too early to say. Plus, Qantas 747s now carry about 360 passengers, vs the 200 passengers a Dreamliner can accommodate.

>The new “mini-suite” seat is currently on Qantas’ A330s only (none of which fly to the U.S.). Evans pointed out that the new seat is allowed to take off in a partially reclined position, which means passengers can relax and get to sleep faster. Business class passengers will be able to request that the seat be made into a bed prior to boarding, too. Because sleep is so important to long-haul business travelers, Evans said that those on an overnight flight departing Sydney could arrive at the airport, eat a meal in the lounge, change into pajamas, board and get to sleep almost immediately. (Check out the Australian Business Traveler review of the business suite seat.)

Don’t miss: Sydney’s newest business class hotels

>The new behind-security connector between American Airlines Terminal 4 and the new Tom Bradley international terminal has made life much easier for passengers transiting between Qantas and American. Within about two weeks, both arriving and departing passengers will have a seamless connection.

>At SFO, it appears that Qantas business class passengers will continue to use the Air France/KLM lounge. Due to overcrowding issues, only a handful of super-elite passengers get access to Oneworld partner Cathay Pacific’s lounge. Evans said that the AF/KLM lounge was recently upgraded, so we reached out to Air France’s Thomas Walsh for details on that. Here’s what he said:

We are still finishing up the renovations but they are almost complete. We’ve replaced the darker, library look with a more bright, modern finishes with approximately 145 seats (previously 108). This week we will complete the addition of over 130 power and usb power outlets. We’ve added a new granite work-top counter all the way around the lounge, where clients can take in the views, while using their laptop, enjoying a snack and sipping a glass of champagne. We will add a smaller footprint reception desk in a few weeks, as well.

More seats and better views from the new marble-topped counter (Photo: Thomas Walsh)

More seats, more plugs and better views from the new marble-topped counter (Photo: Thomas Walsh)

We have yet to decide on artwork for the walls as the paint has barely dried. I would love to find a local artist or organization that we can support by displaying their crafts. We continue to look to refresh the food items, mixing warmer comfort roasted vegetables and soups at night while also trying some passed hors d’oeuvres every hour.

More: TravelSkills Trip Report: Qantas 747-400 business class SFO-Sydney)

–Chris McGinnis

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Routes: LAX, SFO, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, New York, Atlanta + more

June 16, 2016

SFO’s latest arrival from the exotic South Seas! (Photo: Peter Biaggo/SFO)

In international route news, American next week adds new transpacific flights from Los Angeles; Swiss brings its fancy new 777 to the Los Angeles-Zurich route, while Emirates doubles down on LAX service with a big sports sponsorship; San Francisco gets a new route to the South Pacific; Germany’s Condor Airlines unveils some new U.S. routes, including Seattle and San Diego; TAP Air Portugal adds two U.S. gateways with upgraded aircraft; Delta trims service to a South American city from Atlanta; and two U.S. airlines start selling tickets for scheduled service to Cuba.

American Airlines next week will kick off its newest transpacific route: On June 23 it will start flying a 787-8 Dreamliner between Los Angeles International and Auckland, New Zealand as part of its growing joint venture partnership with Qantas, ending Air New Zealand’s non-stop monopoly on that route. The aircraft’s business class offers personal suites with 77-inch lie-flat seat-beds, direct aisle access for every seat, and a walk-up bar stocked with drinks and snacks. The economy cabin offers a Main Cabin Extra seating option with five extra inches of legroom, and both cabins have Wi-Fi and AC/USB ports at every seat.

Also at Los Angeles International, Swiss has started flying the LAX-Zurich route with its new 777-300ERs, the flagships of its international long-haul fleet. The aircraft boasts redesigned and upgraded interiors with first, business and economy class. Take a look here at some photos of the plane that we ran last year when the carrier introduced them. Swiss had planned to start flying the 777-300ER to San Francisco in August, but as we reported last month, that introduction has been postponed until February 2017.

Emirates flight attendants visited Dodger Stadium to promote the airline’s expanded LAX service. (Image: Emirates)

Meanwhile, Emirates is due to lay on a second daily A380 flight starting July 1 between Los Angeles and Dubai, and it is counting on a new sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to draw attention to the airline in that big market. The airline even brought some of its flight attendants onto the field during a recent game at Dodger Stadium to promote the tie-in.

At San Francisco International, Fiji Airways this week kicked off seasonal service to Nadi, Fiji, using a two-class A330 for the 10-hour flight. It will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, through mid-August, then will resume from mid-December through mid-January.

Germany’s Condor Airlines, a leisure-oriented carrier that belongs to the Thomas Cook Group, plans to add some U.S. routes in 2017, including the only non-stops between Seattle and Munich. That route will begin in July 2017 with twice-weekly service. Condor already flies between Seattle and Frankfurt, and recently extended that to year-round service. Also in Condor’s 2017 plans: twice-weekly seasonal flights between Frankfurt and New Orleans from May through September; three flights week starting May 1 between Frankfurt-San Diego; and twice-weekly service beginning May 2 between Munich and Las Vegas.

TAP Portugal is using upgraded A330s on new Boston and New York routes. (Image: Airbus)

TAP Portugal just started new daily service between Lisbon and Boston Logan, and will add daily Lisbon-New York JFK service July 1. Both routes are using A330s that feature TAP’s new executive class cabin with lie-flat seats. The aircraft also features a new, advanced in-flight entertainment system; and the economy cabin has two kinds of seating, offering 34-inch and 31-inch pitch. The airline already serves Newark and Miami from Lisbon.

At its Atlanta hub, Delta on August 30 will reduce service to Medellin, Colombia, cutting back from the current daily frequencies to just three a week. Delta uses a 737-700 on the route.

Following the Transportation Department’s recent award of Cuba route rights (except Havana) to U.S. carriers for regular scheduled service, some of them have started selling tickets to the island nation. American will start flying once or twice a day from Miami to Cienfuegos and Holguin on September 7; from Miami to Camaguey and Santa Clara September 9; and from Miami to Varadero September 11. Silver Airways will start service September 1 from Ft. Lauderdale to Santa Clara, followed by flights out of Ft. Lauderdale to Camaguey, Cienfuegos and Holguin in October; to Santiago and Cayo Coco in November; and to Varadero, Cayo Largo and Manzanillo in December.

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Slew of new flights at SFO

May 17, 2016

An Air Berlin A330-200 at SFO nonstop to Dusseldorf- but we all wish it were Berlin! (Photo: SFO)

We do our best to keep up with all the new flights at key airports around the country, especially here in our home town of San Francisco.

Due to the frothy tech economy, SFO just keeps piling on more and more flights and many of them start this summer.

SFO says the summer travel season will begin in earnest on Friday, May 27, with more than 156,000 forecasted passengers arriving and departing SFO. In total, more than 15.5 million travelers are expected at SFO between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Luckily, at least for now, SFO does not seem to be suffering from the freakishly long TSA lines we’ve seen splashed across social media this week.

Anyway, to keep up with all the SFO action, here’s a rundown:

First off, Airberlin will offer nonstops to Düsseldorf, Germany. Dusseldorf is a nice place, but you’d think Airberlin would offer a nonstop to Berlin, right?

Skúli Mogensen, the founder and CEO of WOW Air (Photo: WOW Air)

WOW Air roared into the market with super low fares to Iceland and beyond, which is keeping transatlantic fares in check on all airlines, all summer long.

Fiji Airways is SFO’s latest coup (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways plans to kick off seasonal service between San Francisco and Nadi, Fiji, using an A330-200. The service will operate two days a week (Thursdays and Sundays) from June 16 through August 14, and again December 15-January 15.

United crew plus a couple Terracotta Warriors at inaugural festivities for new nonstop to Xian (Photo: SFO)

United Airlines has also launched new nonstop destinations from SFO, including Nashville, Tennessee, Tel Aviv, Israel, and the first flight from the United States to Xi’an, China. (Stay tuned for the TravelSkills contest winner’s trip report later this summer!)

Plenty of TravelSkills readers will soon soak in this view of the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

You will soon soak in this view of the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore after flying nonstop on United from SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Later this summer, United will also launch nonstop service to Auckland, New Zealand and the first-ever nonstop service to Singapore and Hangzhou, China.

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Deal alert: US to New Zealand for $898 roundtrip!

April 4, 2016

Air New Zealand flies a 777-300 like this on its LAX-AKL run (Photo: Air New Zealand)

Today Air New Zealand announced an astonishingly low fare for summer trips to cities throughout New Zealand. If you’ve been scared away from Europe due to the recent terror attacks, this might be the summer to head to the antipodes instead.

Fares to Auckland from Los Angeles and San Francisco are just $898 round trip. From Houston, they are just $1098 round trip. And for just $50 more, you can add on an additional city in New Zealand.

It’s rare to see fares to Australia or New Zealand dip below $1,000 round trip. These low airfares combined with a strong US dollar make for some of the lowest overall trip costs you’ll see in a loooong time. (Exchange rate is currently 68 cents per NZ$1.)

So if you’ve always dreamed of a trip to these mystical islands, this could be the time to make the jump! To get the deal, you must purchase your ticket by April 14. Here’s the link to the deal.

Regrettably, these low fares must be purchased from Air New Zealand in “G” class, which means that you cannot earn United MileagePlus miles on these flights.

Travel periods vary from city to city…and keep in mind that mid-summer here is mid-winter down there, which tends to be cold and wet. But November is warm and springlike. To get the lowest fares, you must travel on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Friday, Saturday and Sunday flights cost $50 more (still a great deal!)

Travel period from Los Angeles is July 10-19, July 24 – Sept 21 and Nov 8 – Nov 26, 2016.
Travel period from San Francisco is July 1 – July 18, Aug 5 – Sept 21, Oct 28 – Nov 22, 2016.
Travel period from Houston is July 5 – July 18, July 31 – Sept 18, Oct 28 – Nov 30, 2016.

More info here

Competitive response? Keep an eye on United, with SFO-Auckland nonstops that start in June and Qantas, which may match (or come close to matching) this low fare.

–Chris McGinnis

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Trans-Pacific fare war in the wings?

November 10, 2015

Air New Zealand is facing new competition across the Pacific (Photo: Air New Zealand)

The non-stop market between the U.S. and new Zealand is getting more crowded following American Airlines’ announcement this week that it will begin Los Angeles-Auckland service in June 2016.

Last month, United Airlines — a Star Alliance partner of Air New Zealand — said it will start San Francisco-Auckland non-stops in July 2016. And Air New Zealand has plans to begin its own new service in the middle of next month between Auckland and United’s Houston hub.

Currently, Air New Zealand has a monopoly on non-stop service between New Zealand and the U.S. mainland, with flights from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas used to compete on the non-stop LAX-Auckland route, but dropped it in 2012.

American will operate the daily New Zealand service with a 787-8 as part of its joint venture with Qantas, subject to regulatory approvals. The LAX departure will be at 10:45 p.m, arriving in Auckland at 6:35 a.m. two days later. American’s passengers will be able to connect at Auckland to 11 New Zealand destinations and to points in Australia via Qantas and its Jetstar subsidiary.

Fare war announced in New Zealand (click to read article)

Qantas and American have been ramping up their partnership in recent months, with plans to begin new non-stops next month between Los Angeles-Sydney (operated by American) and between San Francisco-Sydney (operated by Qantas). The LAX-Sydney market is already crowded, with service from Qantas, Delta, United and Virgin Australia.

Currently, the lowest nonstop roundtrip economy fares for June trips between California and New Zealand are in the $1,200 range. Business class is much higher at $5,100-$7,000 round trip on United and Air New Zealand nonstops, but only about $3,500 on one- stop Hawaiian Airlines flights via Honolulu.

With all the new services coming up between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand, most observers expect to see lower air fares in the months ahead. Plus, with all that new capacity, it could get easier to redeem miles for those treasured trips to the Antipodes!

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Routes: United to Auckland, Tel Aviv + Delta to Munich, Rome + $69 to Europe?

October 8, 2015

United will start San Francisco-Tel Aviv flights next year. (Image: Israel Ministry of Tourism)

In international route news, United announced a pair of new long-haul destinations from its San Francisco hub; Delta unveiled plans to add a pair of new Europe routes next year; and a European low-cost carrier suggests it might offer transatlantic fares as low as $69.

In addition to its recently announced plans to serve X’ian, China from San Francisco starting next May, United now says it will add two more very long-haul SFO routes in 2016 — to Auckland, New Zealand, and to Tel Aviv, Israel.

United’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner (Photo: United Airlines)

The carrier said it will use a new 787-9 Dreamliner to fly from San Francisco to Tel Aviv three times a week — a 14- or 15-hour flight, depending on direction — beginning March 30. The Auckland flights will beginning July 1 three times a week with a 787-8, expanding to daily in October 2016 and transitioning to a 787-9. The Auckland flights will take 12 to 13 hours, and will be marketed in partnership with Star Alliance member Air New Zealand.

Delta said it will inaugurate new service next year from two of its Midwestern hubs to Europe. Beginning May 26, Delta will kick off six flights a week from Detroit to Munich, using a 767-400ER; and on the same date, it will begin daily non-stops from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Rome, operating a 767-300ER.

Norwegian’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner (Image: Oakland International Airport)

European low-cost carrier Norwegian could start offering transatlantic air fares as low as $69 one-way in 2017 by targeting service from low-fee secondary U.S. airports, company CEO Bjorn Kjos told Reuters in an interview. He noted that adding on common ancillary fees is likely to being the roundtrip cost closer to $300 — still an amazing bargain considering the price of transatlantic air travel these days. He said Norwegian could manage this by using East Coast airports that don’t currently offer flights to Europe, like Connecticut‘s Bradley International and New York‘s Westchester County Airport.

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Air New Zealand coming to Texas

May 4, 2015

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Air New Zealand will use a 777-200 to Houston. (Image: Guillaume Besnard/Flickr)

Air New Zealand is targeting a December start for service to Houston, which would be its third gateway in the mainland U.S., along with San Francisco and Los Angeles. (The carrier also flies to Honolulu and Vancouver.)

Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is a hub for Air New Zealand’s Star Alliance partner United; ANZ plans to fly the new route up to five times a week, and to code-share on several United routes into IAH. United’s code will also go onto the IAH-Auckland flight. Tickets will go on sale starting this month.

The company said a connection to its new Houston route will be the fastest way for business travelers from key business markets like New York and Chicago to get to Auckland.

Air New Zealand will use a 777-200 on the route, one with premium economy seating as well as the carrier’s newly refurbished business class cabin. The plane will have 26 Business Premier seats, 40 in Premium Economy and 246 in regular economy.

Air New Zealand also offers the unique “Economy Sky Couch” option: Pay $1500 extra and you get three economy class seats with a cushion that’s about 3′ x 5′ for sleeping.

Last December, Air New Zealand moved its LAX operations into the Tom Bradley International Terminal, where it also manages a new Star Alliance lounge. The carrier plans to increase Auckland-LAX service this summer from 14 weekly flights to 17.

Lucky Giants fan wins daytrip to New Zealand (Huh?)

July 24, 2013

San Francisco residents and Giants fans, Ms Thuy Thi Le and her boyfriend, Mr Kim Dang after they were announced the winners of Air New Zealand’s “Giant New Zealand Weekend”.

An ecstatic Thuy Thi Le as she was announced the winner of a free trip to New Zealand at the Giants game last Friday

Did you hear about the lucky couple who won a free one-day trip to New Zealand at the Giants vs Diamondbacks game last week?

Get this: Bay Area residents Thuy Thi Le and her boyfriend, Kim Dang, were declared the winners of a unique Air New Zealand Twitter contest during the first inning during the San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks game at AT&T Park last Friday.

The winners had to immediately depart the game for SFO to catch Air New Zealand’s 12-hour overnight flight to Auckland. The flight departs SFO at 10 pm and arrives in Auckland at 5:55 am.

The pair enjoyed Air New Zealand’s lay flat business class seats on the way down, and woke up in Auckland for an action packed day of activities which gave them a taste of some of the great things New Zealand has to offer. Then, on that very same day at 7:15 pm, they boarded another overnight flight to bring them back home to San Francisco, arriving at around noon on Sunday.

Thuy’s 12-hour day trip included free helicopter transportation

During their whirlwind experience the pair was treated to private helicopter transportation between locations as they dined, jumped, sipped and zipped their way through picturesque New Zealand landscape.

How’d they do that? The Giants partnered with Air New Zealand to challenge fans to tweet why they should be chosen to take the nonstop Air New Zealand flight to Auckland for the ‘Giant New Zealand Weekend.’ Thuy tweeted: I should be flying to New Zealand so I can climb the Franz Josef Glacier, place a Giants Flag on it and let it wave with PRIDE! #AIRNZGIANTS.

Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon, who was in San Francisco for the event, said, “Market research shows Americans tend to overestimate the amount of time it takes to get to New Zealand. The reality is that it’s a comfortable 12-hour overnight flight. You can jump on board, enjoy a great meal of New Zealand food and wine, go to sleep and wake up in Auckland.”

The lucky couple having a nice lunch at the famous Huka Lodge on New Zealand’s north island

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After arriving in Auckland; the winners headed to check out the incredible view from New Zealand’s tallest building, the Sky Tower. They then boarded their private helicopter to fly over the breathtaking scenery of Waikato and the Rotorua thermal region, including spectacular views of Mt Ruapehu and Hobbiton.

The pair landed at an exclusive luxury lodge for a gourmet lunch before flying north again to Waiheke Island, home to boutique vineyards, olive groves and adventure activities such as zip lining.

The final stop was at one of Waiheke Island’s premier vineyard restaurants to sample fine wine and canapés before a short helicopter transfer back to Auckland International Airport and their nonstop Air New Zealand flight home to San Francisco.

“This was truly a GIANT weekend experience I will never forget,” said Thuy. “From the breathtaking views of Auckland atop the Sky Tower, the serene atmosphere of Huka Lodge in Taupo, the wild and crazy zip lining adventure on Waiheke Island, and the magnificent wineries dotted throughout, New Zealand truly has something for everybody. Now knowing it’s only a 12-hour flight from San Francisco, I am definitely going back to reunite with our fellow Kiwis!”

Zip-lining with Eco-zip in Waiheke Island

—Chris McGinnis

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Catching up on Bay Area Travel News – March 24 2013

March 24, 2013

Inaugural Hawaiian Airlines A330 gets a water cannon salute upon arrival in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo: Hawaiian Air)

A NEW WAY TO AUCKLAND. On Wednesday, Hawaiian Airlines added yet another new international route from Bay Area airports via its Honolulu hub: Auckland. Flights operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday only using a 294-seat Airbus A330. We checked on roundtrips in mid April and found fares as low as $766 round trip including all taxes and fees. (That is a remarkably good deal.) Business class is in the $5,000 to $6,000 range. Only Air New Zealand offers nonstops to Auckland from SFO. The New Zealand city is the seventh new international destination Hawaiian has added since 2010, which include Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo, Seoul, and Brisbane. Flights from Honolulu to Sendai, Japan start in June service to Taipei cranks up in July. Hawaiian has also launched a Facebook promo campaign for two free tickets. Would you consider flying Hawaiian to New Zealand or Asia? Why or why not?

Screenshot of Hawaiian Air booking

NEW UNITED APP. This week United introduced a new app for Windows Phone 8 that allows users to book flights (including award travel), check in, get mobile boarding passes, monitor flight status and view Mileage Plus accounts. The United Windows Phone 8 app is available from the Windows Phone Store. Since the Bay Area seems to be Apple country, I have a question: Do you or anyone you know have a Windows phone? How is it?

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Knee room in an "Even More Space" seat on a recent JetBlue flight SFO-BAS. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Knee room in an “Even More Space” seat on my recent JetBlue flight SFO-BOS. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

JETBLUE ADDING PREMIUM FLIGHTS? JetBlue is hinting around that it might add some sort of premium seating on its transcon flights from Bay Area airports, according to AP. Have you flown JetBlue back east? What did you think of the product? From my experience, the JetBlue coach seat is quite comfortable, but without wi-fi for those 5-6 hour flights, it’s a tough sell for wired travelers. However, JetBlue says it is getting new satellite-based wi-fi this year.

MUSICAL GATES AT SFO. Here’s an interesting email from a dumbfounded reader who wasn’t warned about the fiasco of flying on United Express out of SFO. “So weird. We came to the United terminal at SFO to fly to Burbank but now we have to take this weird shuttle to another terminal. Had to go thru an ‘employee only!’ Entry down some rickety stairs and on to a tiny little bus thing. So odd!!!” It could get even more confusing…we hear from SFO insiders that United will soon start using gates in the Delta gates (C) at Terminal 1, too. Stay tuned…

ON-TIME PERFORMANCE AT SFO. When you hear Virgin America and United chest beating about their stellar on-time performance at SFO in January, don’t forget this important fact: January 2013 was the third driest January in SF history! Just wait til the fog rolls in!

Dramatic rooftop pool at the brand new Okura Prestige hotel in Bangkok (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

BUSINESS TRIP: BANGKOK. Are you headed to Bangkok…or do you just dream about going there? Check out the advice and photos in Chris McGinnis’s latest BBC Business Trip: Bangkok— read up on the rash of new luxury hotels, where to get great Thai food, where to get a suit made, and why you should NOT ask for chopsticks.

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