Austrian Airlines Archives

Routes: Delta at LAX, More Mexico for United, BA 747s, Norwegian, Icelandair,

September 21, 2017

Delta will use a 777-200LR for LAX flights to Paris and Amsterdam. (Image: Delta)

In international route news, Delta will add new transatlantic routes next year; Norwegian starts up London flights from two western U.S. cities; Icelandair will add U.S. gateways in 2018; Austrian Airlines debuts a new cabin class; British Airways will put 747s on two U.S. routes; United adds a Mexico destination from two cities; Aeromexico replaces Delta on a U.S. route; and new services are coming for Avianca, Azul and WestJet.

Delta said this week it plans to add new service from Los Angeles to two European destinations next year. Effective June 16, Delta will use a 777-200LR to fly from LAX to both Paris and Amsterdam, but it will not offer daily departures on those routes. The Paris flights will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (eastbound), and the Amsterdam flights on the other four days of the week. Many onward connections at both destinations will be available on Delta partners Air France and KLM. At New York JFK, Delta will start flying five days a week as of May 24 to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal about 1,000 miles west of Lisbon in the Atlantic Ocean.

At its Atlanta hub, Delta will add seasonal 767 service to Lisbon from May 24 through September 4. And starting May 16, Delta will add a third daily roundtrip between Detroit and Paris CDG (already served by daily flights from Delta and code-share partner Air France). Delta had previously announced new transatlantic service three times a week as of March from JFK to Lagos, Nigeria; Orlando-Amsterdam flights beginning March 30; and Indianapolis-Paris starting May 24.

In other news, Delta this week resumed code-sharing with Russian carrier Aeroflot, putting its DL code onto 14 Aeroflot domestic routes out of Moscow Sheremetyevo. You can see a full list of the affected routes here.

Norwegian Air is now flying from Seattle and Denver to London with 787s. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Low-cost Norwegian has started flying a pair of previously-announced new transatlantic routes. This week it inaugurated daily 787-9 service to London’s Gatwick Airport from Seattle-Tacoma International, as well as twice-weekly (Saturday/Tuesday) 787-9 service from Denver International to Gatwick. The Denver service is scheduled to increase to increase to three flights a week on November 2 with the addition of a Thursday departure from DEN.

Icelandair is expanding its U.S. route network next year, as it faces growing competition from low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW Air. Icelandair will add Dallas/Ft. Worth to its route map in May 2018, offering 757-200 flights to Reykjavik four days a week out of DFW’s Terminal D. (Earlier this month, WOW announced new DFW-Reykjavik service also starting in May 2018, operating three times a week with an A330.) Also coming in mid-May 2018 is new Icelandair service from Cleveland to Reykjavik, operating five days a week with a new two-class 737MAX 8. The day after Icelandair announced its Cleveland route, WOW announced it will also fly Cleveland-Reykjavik, starting May 4 with four flights a week, with fares starting at $99 one-way.

Austrian’s new premium economy seats have 38-inch pitch. (Image: Austrian Airlines)

Austrian Airlines — the Lufthansa subsidiary that flies to Vienna from New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami – unveiled plans to offer premium economy seating, bookable now for flights starting March 6. The new seats will be wider than regular economy and will offer a 38-inch pitch as well as footrests, a 12-inch seatback screen, power outlets and USB ports. Premium economy passengers will be allowed two free checked bags, and will get welcome drinks, amenity kits, and meal service on china.

Touch-screen screens in economy are part of British Airways’ overhaul of its 747s. (Image: British Airways)

You want more chances to fly on a 747 before they all disappear? British Airways still relies on the Boeing jumbos for some long-haul services, and it plans to put a 747-400 onto its London Heathrow-Austin route next spring (effective April 8), replacing the 787-9 it currently uses. And from August 8 through September 30 of next year, according to Routesonline.com, BA will replace an A380 on its Los Angeles-LHR route (BA283/282) with a 747-400.

United Airlines is adding service to Mazatlan, Mexico just in time for the winter holidays. From its Houston hub, United will fly to Mazatlan four times a week from December 21 through April 8, then cut back to weekly Saturday-only service through mid-August. From Chicago O’Hare, United will offer once-a-week Saturday service to Mazatlan from December 23 through April 7. In other Mexico route news, Delta’s existing daily Delta Connection/Skywest CRJ900 service from Salt Lake City to Guadalajara will be replaced in January by daily E190 flights operated by Delta’s new joint venture partner Aeromexico.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Brazil’s Azul will expand its U.S. network in December by adding new service four times a week between Orlando and Belo Horizonte, Brazil; and four flights a week linking Ft. Lauderdale with Belem, Brazil. Avianca’s TACA Airlines unit plans to revive Newark-San Salvador, El Salvador service November 17, operating five flights a week. And Avianca Brasil plans to offer daily flights to Sao Paulo Guarulhos from New York JFK beginning December 15.

And to Canada, Westjet will start flying between Denver and Calgary effective March 8, operating one daily roundtrip with a 737-700.

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Routes: Airberlin delays at SFO/LAX, Virgin Australia, Austrian, AA, United + more

April 14, 2017

Airberlin is delaying its new Berlin service from San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Image: Airberlin)

In international route news, Airberlin is pushing back the start date of its new West Coast service to Berlin; Virgin Australia adds a Los Angeles route; Austrian Airline starts LAX flights; American plans an aircraft switch for some west coast service; United shifts Dreamliners to Washington Dulles and begins seasonal flights to Europe from San Francisco and Houston; Xiamen expands service; and JetBlue adds a Caribbean route.

Airberlin is delaying the start-up dates for its new service from Berlin to San Francisco and Los Angeles. The service from Berlin Tegel to San Francisco, originally set to begin May 1, has been pushed back to May 29; and the Berlin-Los Angeles flights, due to launch May 2, have been postponed to May 16. Passengers scheduled to travel on the earlier flights are being rebooked onto other flights via Dusseldorf, the company said. Airberlin blamed the delays on problems with its new ground handling company at Tegel Airport. The carrier plans to operate four flights a week from SFO; the LAX schedule calls for two flights a week from mid-May, with a third frequency starting in June.

Virgin Australia this week kicked off new non-stop service from Los Angeles to Melbourne. The Australian carrier will fly the route five days a week with a 777-300ER, as part of its joint venture operation with Delta. On the other coast, Delta partner Virgin Atlantic plans to convert its New York JFK-Manchester service from a seasonal to a year-round operation, with plans to continue flying the route four times a week after October 29 with an A330, then dropping down to three a week from January 14 through March 22, 2018. Delta will no longer fly the route, according to Routesonline.com.

Austrian Airlines started 777 service from LAX to Vienna. (Image: Austrian Airlines)

Austrian Airlines this week kicked off new service from Los Angeles International to Vienna. The airline’s 777-200 service starts off with five flights a week through June 12, then increases to daily frequencies. The route marks Austrian’s first non-stop service to the West Coast. The 308-seat 777 includes 48 business class seats with lie-flat seat-beds.

American Airlines is planning to change equipment on a couple of international routes out of Los Angeles later this year, according to Airlineroutes.com. Plans call for American to put 787-9s into service starting November 5 on the LAX-Sao Paulo route, and increasing frequencies from five to six a week; and on the LAX-Tokyo Narita route from August 4 to October 27. In both cases, the Dreamliners will replace 777-200ERs.

United is shifting some 787s from Houston to Washington Dulles. (Photo: United)

Speaking of 787s, FlightGlobal reports that United Airlines plans to shift Dreamliner flying from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Washington Dulles this coming winter, citing a letter to pilots from UA management. The carrier will reportedly close its 787 pilots’ base at Houston. Effective with United’s winter schedule October 29, that means in addition to its existing 787 service from IAD to London and Paris, United will also use the Dreamliner for flights from Dulles to Beijing (replacing a 777-200) and to Sao Paulo (replacing a 767-400ER), while a 777-200 will go onto Houston-Frankfurt and a 767-300ER will be used for Houston-Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, United is due to begin seasonal service April 20 from Houston to Munich and from San Francisco to Frankfurt, with both routes continuing through October 27. Have you flown a United Dreamliner yet? Let us know what you think in the comments.

China’s Xiamen Airlines is due to start 787-9 service from Los Angeles to Xiamen three times a week on June 28. That schedule will increase to four a week from July 19 through August 24 with the addition of a 787-8 flight, according to Routesonline.com.

JetBlue already flies to Port-au-Prince, Haiti from New York, Boston and Ft. Lauderdale, and now it plans to add the only non-stop service to Port-au-Prince from Orlando beginning in December, subject to government approvals. The carrier said it will use a 100-seat E190 for the new service.

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Routes: Finnair to SFO, Delta, Virgin Australia, Austrian, AA, SAS + more

September 22, 2016

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

In international route news, Finnair will add San Francisco service next year; Delta expands sales of Comfort+ seats and Caribbean code-sharing, Virgin Australia will revive Melbourne service, Austrian Airlines is coming to Los Angeles, American suspends some Europe flights, SAS comes to Miami Aer Lingus adds a pair of gateways, United code-shares to India, and a Mexican carrier adds three U.S. routes.

Finland’s national carrier is coming to San Francisco next year. Finnair said it will operate seasonal SFO-Helsinki flights three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from June 1 through September 30, using an A330. The new service will be a part of the transatlantic joint venture that includes Oneworld partners American, British Airways and Iberia as well as Finnair. “Thanks to Helsinki’s geographical location, Finnair’s new northern route to San Francisco will offer competitive travel times for customers from Scandinavia, the Baltics, Russia as well as from many European cities,” a spokesperson said. Finnair currently flies to New York, Chicago and Miami. At first glance, SFO-HEL roundtrip economy fares appear to be in the steep $1,900 range, but we’ll be on the lookout for lower introductory promo fares.

Delta said it has expanded the sale of its extra-legroom Comfort+ economy seating to a number of international routes, including: from the U.S. and Canada to Latin America and the Caribbean (except Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile); between North America and Asia-Pacific destinations (except China and Hong Kong); and on flights within the Asia-Pacific region (except China and Hong Kong). Last fall, Delta created a new fare category for Comfort+ and started selling it for travel within the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Delta has expanded its agreement with Caribbean-based Seaborne Airlines to allow single-ticketing for connections through San Juan to St. Croix, Anguilla and Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands; and between St. Thomas and St. Croix.

The new business class on a Virgin Australia 777-300. (Image: Virgin Australia)

Virgin Australia has set a launch date of April 4, 2017 for a revival of service between Los Angeles and Melbourne. On the same date, it will trim LAX-Brisbane schedules from seven flights a week to six. The carrier also flies from LAX to Sydney. Its transpacific operations are part of a joint venture with Delta. Virgin said it will fly the LAX-Melbourne route five times a week (no westbound departures on Wednesdays or Mondays), using a 777-300ER.

Los Angeles will get another new international route beginning April 10, 2017, when Austrian Airlines plans to launch up to six flights a week between LAX and Vienna, using a 777. The 12 and a half hour seasonal flight will depart Los Angeles daily except Sundays at 3:05 p.m. Austrian, a part of the Lufthansa Group, also flies to New York JFK, Newark, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Miami.

American Airlines plans to cut back its international schedule out of Philadelphia. After ending its Philadelphia-Brussels service last month, American now says its seasonal PHL-Zurich service, which ends September 30, will not be revived next year; and its year-round PHL-Frankfurt flights will now operate seasonally, with no service from October 30 through April 5. AA also plans to drop its twice-weekly Philadelphia-Halifax flights in January. Elsewhere, American will suspend Chicago O’Hare-Paris CDG flights from December 5 through December 13, and from January 10 to March 25; and its New York JFK-Manchester flights from January 9 through March 29.

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On September 28, SAS is introducing new non-stop service from Miami International to Copenhagen and Oslo. The carrier will offer flights to Copenhagen on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; and to Oslo on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Aer Lingus is adding two U.S. routes this month. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Aer Lingus this month introduced new daily year-round service between Dublin and Newark Liberty International, using an Airbus A330. And on September 28, the Irish carrier is slated to inaugurate a new route linking Hartford, Connecticut with Dublin, operating four days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) with a 757.

United flyers will get a new option for travel from the West Coast to India next month. United is putting its code onto Star Alliance partner Air Canada’s new Vancouver-Delhi seasonal service, which will operate from October 20 through April 6.

Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet will expand its transborder network this fall with a trio of new U.S. routes. On October 20, it will inaugurate twice-daily service between Mexico City and Los Angeles, followed on November 10 by a daily Las Vegas-Mexico City roundtrip and on November 17 by two daily Mexico City-Chicago O’Hare flights. The airline will use Airbus A320s for all the flights.

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Alaska Air’s new partner + United trims Mideast + Lufthansa Denver + London

October 26, 2015

Alaska’s elites will get access to Emirates’ business class lounge at Dubai. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Alaska Air takes on a new code-sharing partner; United will drop flights to Kuwait and Bahrain; Lufthansa adds a Denver route; British Airways will revive service to Gatwick and changes planes to Miami; and Austrian Airlines adds a U.S. route.

Alaska Airlines and Emirates have had a frequent flyer program partnership since 2012, with reciprocal mileage-earning and spending, but now they’re getting even closer. Subject to government approval, they plan to begin code-sharing that will enable travelers from 49 Alaska cities to connect seamlessly to Emirates’ twice-daily flights from Seattle to Dubai. The deal will put Emirates’ code onto as many as 300 Alaska flights a day (although the announcement says nothing about Alaska’s code going onto the Emirates flights). In addition, Alaska’s MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75 elites will be able to use Emirates business class lounges at Dubai, and will get priority boarding and check-in at Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dubai; and Emirates elites will be able to use Alaska’s Board Room lounges at four airports.

United Airlines is no longer taking reservations for travel on its very-long-haul flight from Washington Dulles to Kuwait and Bahrain after January 13, according to airlineroute.net. And it may not be a matter of insufficient traffic on the route. According to one popular blogger, United’s route termination may have been ordered by the Kuwaitis due to anger over U.S. anti-discrimination laws that will not allow airlines serving the U.S. to deny boarding to Israeli passport holders — something Kuwait Airlines reportedly did on a London-New York flight.

In addition to its existing daily service from Denver to Frankfurt, Lufthansa says it will begin flying from Denver to Munich five times a week effective May 11, 2016. The German carrier will use an A330-300 with first class, business class, premium economy and economy seating.

Gatwick Airport is about 30 mins south of Victoria Station (Image: Visit London)

British Airways and joint venture partner American have plenty of flights in the New York-London Heathrow market, but next spring BA plans to add a flight from New York JFK to London Gatwick as well, according to airlinerotue.net. Effective May 16, British Airways will use a 777-200ER to operate daily service on the JFK-LGW route, which it last served in 2009. In other news, British Airways has just started flying a big Airbus A380 super-jumbo on its London Heathrow-Miami route. The 469-passenger A380, with four classes of seating, will initially operate one of BA’s two daily Miami flights; the other will still use a 747.

Speaking of Miami, Austrian Airlines — a member of the Lufthansa Group — has added the Florida city as its newest U.S. gateway. The new Miami-Vienna flights, using a two-class 777, operate five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

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