TravelSkills

News and Tips For Your Trips

Routes: End of Delta West Coast shuttles + Another carrier to Hawaii + Alaska, United, American

Flying the Delta California Shuttle from SFO to LAX on an Embraer jet (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route news, Delta puts an end to the Shuttle brand for key West Coast routes; Alaska adds a pair of new San Diego markets; United expands Hawaii service from its Denver hub; American is adding regional/seasonal service next summer from O’Hare, DFW and elsewhere; Sun Country comes to Hawaii; JetBlue adds a New England route – and a new fee; OneJet takes on an intrastate market in New York; and Spirit grows at Ft. Lauderdale.

Starting next week, Delta plans to phase out its specially-branded West Coast Shuttle service, which operates on the San Francisco-Seattle, SFO-Los Angeles and Seattle-Los Angeles routes. It’s not taking the flights away – although it might trim some frequencies – just folding them into its regular schedules, and and starting next summer, switching from its Delta Connection fleet of Embraer aircraft to Delta mainline jets. It will likely end some of the little perks that the Shuttle branding promised, like free drinks in the main cabin, gates close to the security checkpoint, special check-in counters, local craft beers and free Luvo snacks. Why is Delta making the change? A spokesperson said this was “based on several factors, including a review of the competitive landscape, customer survey data and ongoing facility improvements at LAX and Sea-Tac, these changes will allow Delta to offer a more consistent experience, which is highly valued by our customers.” The change will not affect Delta’s East Coast Shuttle operation out of New York LaGuardia to Boston, Washington D.C. and Chicago – although those flights recently moved from LGA’s Marine Air Terminal to Terminal C.

In the latest phase of its growth plan at San Diego, Alaska Airlines this month launched new daily flights from SAN to both Kansas City and St. Louis. In the past four months, the airline has boosted its San Diego presence with new daily flights to Omaha, Austin, Albuquerque, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. In mid-February, Alaska will add daily service from SAN to Dallas Love Field.

United is boosting Hawaii service from Denver International. (Image: Jim Glab)

United is boosting schedules to Hawaii from its Denver hub. It already offered daily flights from DEN to Honolulu, but in the New Year it will expand frequencies to other islands as well, offering daily non-stops year-round from DEN to Kahului, Maui; to Kona on the Big Island; and to Lihue, Kauai. Previously, United’s schedules offered daily or almost-daily service on those routes during some winter and summer months, but frequencies varied at other times of the year, ranging from six flights a week to one a week to none at all.

The latest schedule filings from American Airlines show new service coming on several domestic routes next summer, all using regional jets operated by partners Envoy Air, ExpressJet, Republic and PSA. The new service includes six daily roundtrips between Philadelphia and New York JFK starting April 3; seasonal daily service from Miami and Chicago O’Hare to Savannah, Ga., starting June 7; twice-daily O’Hare-Burlington, Vt. Service from June 7-Septeber 4; daily service from O’Hare to Charleston, S.C., starting May 4; daily O’Hare-Missoula, Mont. flights from June 7-September 4; twice-daily service from O’Hare to Portland, Me., from June 7-October 3; and a daily flight from O’Hare to Wilmington, N.C., from June 7-September 4. Also on the schedule is new daily service from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Missoula starting June 8.

A Sun Country Airlines 737. (Image: Sun Country)

Just after its acquisition this month by a New York-based investment group, Minnesota’s Sun Country Airlines announced plans to begin service to Honolulu, although on a limited basis. The carrier will offer service from its Minneapolis-St. Paul home base to Honolulu via a stop in Los Angeles, but only four days a week, and only from May 19 through August 19. Sun Country will also introduce new service from MSP to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, operating twice a week from April 6-June 4.

Although Worcester, Mass., isn’t all that far from Boston, it does have its own airport, which is served by only one carrier – JetBlue.  In addition to its existing flights from Worcester Regional Airport to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, JetBlue said it will add daily Embraer 190 flights between Worcester and New York JFK on May 3. In other news, JetBlue has added a new $75 fee for travelers who want to stand by for a seat on a flight earlier or later in the day than their schedule departure.

For the past seven years, it hasn’t been possible to fly non-stop across New York State from Buffalo to Albany. But that possibility will return on February 1 when public charter operator OneJet plans to begin twice-daily service on the route with ERJ-135 regional jets – larger aircraft than the seven- or eight-seat Hawker 400XP business jets that OneJet usually uses.

Spirit Airlines has announced plans for an expansion at Ft. Lauderdale, beginning new daily service to Columbus, Ohio, on February 15, followed by daily flights from FLL to Richmond, Va., starting March 15, and seasonal daily service from FLL to Seattle beginning April 12.

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Which airline has the best inflight wi-fi?

A new study ranks JetBlue’s inflight wi-fi as the best in the industry. (Image: JetBlue)

How do the major U.S. airlines compare in their in-flight Internet service? That’s what the folks at HighSpeedInternet.com were wondering, so they studied Wi-Fi availability, speed and cost for the seven largest carriers to find out.

Capturing first place in their overall rankings was JetBlue, partly for its speed, but mainly for its cost: There is none.

“JetBlue is the only airline in America that offers free in-flight Wi-Fi,” HighSpeedInternet.com said. “Along with being the most affordable, JetBlue’s in-flight Wi-Fi is also among the fastest; it’s tied with Delta and Virgin America at 15 Mbps.”

Ranking second overall was Southwest, with a cost of just $8 a day for in-flight Internet and a speed of 10 Mbps. (Cheap, yes, but I hear that you get what you pay for with Southwest inflight wi-fi. I don’t fly SWA enough to know…do you? Comment below, please.)

Source: HighSpeedInternet.com

As for availability, Virgin America was tops, with Wi-Fi offered on 100 percent of its available seat-miles. Delta was second at 98 percent availability, followed by Southwest at 90 percent. Virgin America also had a speed of 15 Mbps, but its superior Wi-Fi comes at a high price — $25 a day, the most expensive in the industry, the study noted.

Keep in mind that the cheapest way to buy Gogo is to purchase hourly ($7) or day ($19) passes ahead of time. When you purchase on the plane, the cost can soar to as high as $50.

Virgin’s owner, Alaska Airlines, didn’t fare as well, with Wi-Fi available on just 75 percent of its capacity – the lowest of the seven airlines – and speed well behind Virgin America at 9.8 Mbps.

(We should note that as Alaska continues to integrate its operations with Virgin’s, it recently decided to overhaul their Wi-Fi products. Alaska said a few months ago that it plans to install Gogo’s 2Ku satellite-based broadband Wi-Fi in both its Boeing aircraft and its Airbus fleet — i.e., Virgin’s planes. Installations will start next year on Alaska 737s, and the whole job should be finished by 2020. Alaska also recently extended its free in-flight texting to Virgin’s aircraft as well.)

At the bottom of the company’s overall rankings was United, with availability of 85 percent, speed of 9.8 Mbps, and a cost of $20. United was just below American, which had similar numbers. HighSpeedInternet.com noted that Hawaiian, Spirit and Frontier Airlines don’t have in-flight Wi-Fi. As a frequent United flier, this finding surprised me— When the system is actually working, United’s inflight wi-fi is relatively fast and stable. But the problem is reliability– over the last year, I would estimate that United’s inflight wi-fi system was down on about 40% of my flights.

Also, with Gogo-equipped planes, speed varies based on the type of system installed on the plane. For example, 3,000 planes now have Gogo wi-fi, but only 500 of them have the speediest satellite-based product. (More on that here.)

Source: HighSpeedInternet.com

The rankings changed significantly in looking at the best Wi-Fi service for business travelers, with the assumption that the cost is irrelevant because the traveler’s employer will cover it. If that’s the case, HighSpeedInternet.com gives top honors to Virgin America for its top speed and 100 percent availability, followed by Delta and JetBlue.

In conducting their research, HighSpeedInternet.com staffers discovered that some of this information wasn’t as easy to find as they had thought.

“Some airlines don’t publish their in-flight Wi-Fi information. So, to get it, our team spent days contacting various departments at some of these airlines—hounding them via email, phone, and social media,” the company said. “We think airlines could go a long way to reduce consumer frustration by making this information more readily available.”

Any report on airline Wi-Fi quality and cost should also note that this is all subject to change in the months and years ahead as carriers continue to upgrade their products due to consumer demand. For instance, we just reported on how Gogo is shifting much of its in-flight Wi-Fi service from ground-based to satellite-based links, which will greatly increase speed and data capacity. And we also reported that Air Canada will soon make inflight wi-fi free for its elite level members.

Do you use inflight wi-fi much? How is the service on the airline you fly most? Does it align with these findings? 

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San Jose gets another NYC non-stop

Headed to NYC? San Jose flyers will get new JFK non-stops from Delta. (Image: Jim Glab)

A year and a half ago, only one airline offered Silicon Valley travelers daily non-stop service from Mineta San Jose International to New York City. By next summer, there will be four.

Delta just announced it will begin daily service from SJC to its New York JFK hub on June 8, operating one daily roundtrip with a 737-800.

That means San Jose travelers will be able to fly non-stop to Newark on United or Alaska Airlines, and soon on either JetBlue or Delta to JFK. JetBlue started its SJC-JFK service in 2004, while Alaska and United both launched SJC-Newark flights last March.

Delta 737

Delta will use a 737-800 on its new SJC-JFK non-stop. (Chris McGinnis)

The new Delta flight will operate as a red-eye from San Jose, with a 10:35 p.m. departure time and a 7:15 a.m. JFK arrival. The return flight leaves JFK at 8:15 a.m. and gets to SJC at 11:45 a.m. JetBlue’s service is also an eastbound red-eye, while the eastbound United and Alaska flights depart SJC at 6:20 a.m. and 9:14 a.m. respectively.

“We’re hopeful that as they (i.e. Delta) experience success with the red-eye, they will then ultimately feel confident about the revenue potential of adding more daytime service,” an SJC spokesman told Travelskills. “That’s exactly what Delta did in the case of Atlanta service, where 18 months ago we had only a red-eye non-stop to Atlanta, but that was so successful that they now have added two additional daytime non-stops to ATL.”

Still, he added, “In Delta’s case, we’re very pleased that the westbound JFK flight operates in the morning, allowing business travelers to arrive in time for lunch in Silicon Valley. JetBlue’s westbound flight is in the evening, so Delta’s new flight does increase the menu of options available through the day.”

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Routes: Hawaiian, Alaska to Hawaii + American, JetBlue, Spirit

First class cabin on Hawaiian’s A321neo, coming to a new San Diego-Maui route in 2018. (Image: Hawaiian)

In domestic route news, Hawaiian Airlines will increase service to the islands from the West Coast next year; Alaska Airlines is about to begin a new Hawaii route from San Francisco; American adds Oakland as a spoke from a major hub, and plans several other new routes; JetBlue adds more transcontinental Mint service this month; and Spirit unveils 10 new domestic route starting next spring.

Hawaiian Airlines, which is on the verge of beginning commercial service with its new Airbus A321neos, said it will use the planes to expand service from the West Coast next year. The airline will add a new route on May 1 between San Diego and Kahului Airport on Maui using an A321neo, and will begin extra seasonal summer flights with the aircraft (in addition to its regular schedule) between San Francisco and Honolulu from May 26 through July 31, and between Oakland and Kona from May 26 through September 2. The carrier has also scheduled an extra seasonal flight between Los Angeles and Kahului, Maui from June 1-August 31, using an A330.

According to FlightGlobal.com, Hawaiian will actually start flying the new A221neos on December 19, deploying them on inter-island routes to familiarize its flight crews with the aircraft. The carrier is due to put the planes into mainland service starting January 8 from Oakland to Maui, and on January 18 from Portland to Maui.

Speaking of Hawaii, Alaska Airlines next week will start flying the last of several new Bay Area routes that it announced earlier this year. On December 14, the carrier will inaugurate daily service between San Francisco and Kona, on the Big Island, using a Virgin America aircraft. The SFO departure time is scheduled for 11 a.m.

American will use an A320 on its new Oakland-DFW route. (Image: Jim Glab)

American Airlines will kick off new Bay Area service next spring. The carrier plans to start daily flights on April 3 between Oakland and its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub, with an 11:50 a.m. departure from OAK and a 9:10 a.m. departure from DFW, using an A320. American also announced some new domestic routes out of its Chicago O’Hare hub starting next spring, including twice-daily ORD-Charleston, S.C. flights beginning May 4; and weekend-only service from ORD to Bangor, Maine and Myrtle Beach, S.C., starting June 7, using American Eagle/Envoy Air CRJ700s. At Phoenix, American will kick off daily flights to Amarillo, Tex. and Oklahoma City on April 3, using Mesa Airlines CRJ900s. On the same date, it will add twice-daily LaGuardia-Portland, Maine service with Enviy Air ERJ140s.

Elsewhere, American’s 2018 schedule includes some new Saturday-only seasonal routes, all flown with regional jets, including DFW-Asheville, N.C., DFW-Myrtle Beach, DFW-Wilmington and Los Angeles-Bozeman, Mont., all operating June 9-August 18; LAX-Flagstaff, Ariz., May 5-September 1; and New York LaGuardia-Traverse City, Mich., June 23-September 2.  Finally, on February 14, the company will terminate its American Eagle/SkyWest service from Phoenix to Bullhead City, Ariz./Laughlin, Nevada, due to a lack of passenger demand.

JetBlue’s lie flat Mint class comes to San Diego-Boston this month. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

The next step in JetBlue’s ongoing expansion of its premium-cabin Mint service, with lie-flat seats, comes on December 10, when the carrier is slated to introduce a Mint-equipped aircraft on one of its daily San Diego-Boston flights, adding a second daily Mint flight on the route starting December 20. It already offers Mint cabins on two daily San Diego-New York JFK flights. Last month, JetBlue added Mint service on two daily New York JFK-Las Vegas flights.

Spirit Airlines unveiled a bunch of new domestic routes that will kick off next spring, including daily year-round service from Baltimore/Washington to Denver beginning March 22; daily year-round flights between Tampa-Los Angeles, Tampa-Las Vegas and Orlando-Las Vegas starting April 12; daily seasonal service from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul beginning April 12; and daily seasonal flights from Detroit to San Diego and Portland kicking off April 23.

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Routes: Air Canada to SFO/Sacramento, AA, Aer Lingus, Norwegian, WOW, Copa + more

Air Canada Express will add new U.S. routes with regional jets. (Image: Air Canada/Skyregional)

In international route news, Air Canada and American have both announced plans to expand service between the U.S. and Canada; Aer Lingus comes to Seattle next year; low-cost carriers Norwegian and WOW will increase capacity to the U.S. in 2018; Copa boosts West Coast frequencies; Lufthansa’s Eurowings subsidiary sets more U.S. routes; and Thomas Cook Airlines comes to New York JFK.

Air Canada has unveiled plans to add new service to six U.S. cities next spring, including San Francisco and Sacramento. All the routes will be operated as Air Canada Express, with 76-seat or 50-seat regional jets. On May 1, the airline will kick off daily flights between San Francisco and Edmonton with a 76-seat aircraft, as well as daily Omaha-Toronto service, using a 50-seat plane. May 17 is the launch date for 76-seat regional jet service between Sacramento and Vancouver as well as daily roundtrips between Baltimore/Washington-Montreal and Pittsburgh-Montreal, both served by 50-passenger aircraft. All those routes will operate year-round. Air Canada will also begin seasonal service on May 17 between Providence and Toronto.

American Airlines is also increasing its transborder service to Canada. It will boost its Phoenix-Edmonton schedule from one flight a day to two effective December 15 to April 2. Next spring, American will launch new daily year-round 737 service from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Vancouver starting May 4, and seasonal daily flights from O’Hare to Calgary June 7-September 4, with an American Eagle/Envoy Air E175.  On February 15, American will increase frequencies between New York LaGuardia-Toronto from four a day to five, and on May 4 it will boost its Washington Reagan National-Toronto schedule from two flights a day a day to three. Also on May 4, the airline will lay on a third daily roundtrip between Philadelphia and Ottawa.

Ireland’s Aer Lingus, now a part of International Airlines Group along with British Airways and Iberia, will add a new U.S. West Coast gateway next year when it starts Dublin-Seattle service. The carrier plans a May 18 start for the new route, using a 265-passenger, two-class Airbus A330-200 to operate four flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). Passengers flying back to Seattle will be able to pre-clear U.S. Customs at Dublin. Aer Lingus previously announced plans to start Dublin-Philadelphia service four days a week next March.

Norwegian will put larger 787-9s on U.S.-Barcelona routes next year. (Image: Norwegian)

Faced with new and growing competition from British Airways/Iberia’s Level affiliate, Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Barcelona next year by switching to larger aircraft – specifically, from the current 291-passenger 787-8 to the 344-seat 787-9. The changeover will take place in late March, affecting Norwegian’s two weekly flights from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale, three flights a week to Los Angeles and Oakland, and four a week to Newark.

Another low-cost carrier – Iceland’s WOW – will also add more U.S. seats next year, increasing frequencies on its route between Newark Liberty International and Reykjavik from seven flights a week to 13, effective May 29 through September 16. That’s in addition to the airline’s new daily flights out of New York JFK starting April 28.

Panama’s Copa Airlines plans to increase its West Coast capacity this winter. The airline will boost its Panama City-San Francisco schedule from twice-daily service to 18 flights a week starting March 1, and its Panama City-Los Angeles frequencies from three a day to 25 a week effective January 2.

Lufthansa’s Eurowings unit will add U.S. routes in 2018. (Image: Eurowings)

When Lufthansa announced its recently-launched New York JFK-Berlin service (taking over for the defunct Airberlin), it said the route would be turned over next summer to Eurowings, its fast-growing, leisure-oriented subsidiary. Now it has even more transatlantic plans for Eurowings. The carrier will start a new route between JFK and Dusseldorf starting April 28, using a Brussels Airlines A340-300 to operate six flights a week. Lufthansa said Eurowings will also begin Dusseldorf-Miami service three times a week as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers flights three times a week starting May 3.

Thomas Cook Airlines has launched new service between New York JFK and Manchester, operating three flights a week with an Airbus A330 and fares starting as low as $209 one-way – including a checked bag and in-flight meals. And JetBlue will kick off its fourth Caribbean route from Newark next spring, beginning daily service to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 3.

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Some elite flyers to get free wi-fi

Air Canada is adding free Wi-Fi as a perk for its elites. (Image: Air Canada)

Is this becoming a trend? Another big North American carrier said it will offer free in-flight Wi-Fi service as a perk for its most frequent customers.

Air Canada and Gogo announced that free Internet is being added as one of the privileges that can be selected by the airline’s Altitude Elite 75K and Super Elite 100K elite members – the top two levels of the airline’s five-tier elite structure.

The Elite 75Ks can get six-month unlimited use passes for Wi-Fi, and the Super Elite 100Ks can select a 12-month free pass. The passes are good on mainline Air Canada flights in North America as well as Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge.

And soon, the benefit is coming to international flights as well.

“Air Canada’s new Altitude WiFi select privilege is available for use on all Air Canada equipped flights, all over the world, regardless of systems provider. This also includes Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express operated flights,” Mark Nasr, Vice President Loyalty & eCommerce for Air Canada told TravelSkills.
He added, “Currently all of our Airbus 320 family, Embraer E175/E190, and Boeing 737MAX aircraft offer connectivity, using a mix of GoGo and Thales solutions—that’s about 160 planes. We began installations of the latest generation high-speed connectivity on our wide-body fleet this quarter; we’ll start rolling-out those planes by January at the rate of one aircraft everyone one to two weeks, until the fleet is complete. We expect to have a 10 long-haul aircraft complete before year’s end; this time next year, we expect to offer connectivity on around 248 aircraft, including 80 (or most of) the long-haul fleet.”

For now, Air Canada charges US$16 for a Gogo one-way pass if purchased online before flying. A monthly pass is US$52.

Qualifying members will be able to pick the free Wi-Fi as a Select Privilege benefit for 2018. Other selectable privileges include things like mileage bonuses, upgrade credits, airport club membership discounts and guest passes, elite status for a friend, and so on.

Air Canada is not the first North American airline to offer free Wi-Fi. Southwest Airlines offers it as a perk for top-level A-List Preferred members of its Rapid Rewards program. JetBlue has long been offering free Wi-Fi (which it calls Fly-Fi) to all passengers.

But Air Canada may be the first to offer free Gogo Wi-Fi. JetBlue developed its proprietary satellite-based Wi-Fi technology with Viasat, and Southwest’s Internet provider is Global Eagle Entertainment – although it is using Panasonic Avionics to install Wi-Fi on newly delivered aircraft, including its new 737MAX planes.

Here’s hoping that other North American carriers consider a similar move. Will they? Leave your comments below. 

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Frequent flyers say free flights are not enough

A restaurant component can be an important part of an airline loyalty program. (Image of InterContinental LA Downtown: Chris McGinnis)

The more ways that members can earn and spend points/miles, the happier they are, says the latest J.D. Power and Associates survey on frequent flyer programs.

It also ranked JetBlue’s program in the top spot, Delta’s in the middle of the pack, and American’s & United’s nearly tied at the bottom of satisfaction levels.

This is somewhat surprising to be because Delta usually takes so much heat for its parsimonious SkyMiles program. Most frequent travelers agree that Delta is probably the best airline, but it has the worst loyalty program due to its stinginess. Maybe this survey shows that that’s changing. On the other hand, United is usually cited as not such a great airline, but that can be overlooked by its relatively generous Mileage Plus program. What do you think? Comments below, please!

Anyway, based on the J.D. Power 1,000-point satisfaction scale, the 2017 survey determined that the satisfaction level among frequent flyer program members rises most significantly when they can earn rewards in restaurants. They also favor earning points for merchandise for car rentals.

According to Michael Taylor, head of J.D. Power’s travel surveys, “Flexibility in how miles are redeemed is valued by members. After all, if you win a pie-eating contest, you may want to be rewarded with something besides another pie.”

Source: J.D. Power and Associates

Programs that give their members a “lowest price guarantee” earn a big premium in customer satisfaction levels, the company said, while waiver of same-day change fees adds slightly fewer satisfaction points.

One of the more obvious findings of the survey is that elite-level loyalty members are more satisfied (814 points) with their programs than general members (744). Elite members are also more likely than general members to be “promoters” of their preferred airline brand (59 percent vs. 49 percent).

JetBlue’s TrueBlue program took top honors in the 2017 survey. (Image: JetBlue)

Likewise, members who are offered bonus points/miles show a gain of 52 points in satisfaction levels, but those who have had some problem with their mileage program show a 99-point drop. And the study found that mileage programs can be complicated, with just 52 percent of respondents saying they completely understand the redemption process for their points/miles.

The 2017 survey, conducted in September, was based on responses from 3,387 airline loyalty program members.

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Routes: JetSuiteX in California + JetBlue cuts + New Sun Country model + more

JetSuiteX will add another California Corridor route next month. (Image: JetSuite)

In domestic route news, JetSuiteX adds service in another California Corridor market; JetBlue grows at Boston but cuts back flights to a key Caribbean destination; Alaska Airlines adds service at Albuquerque but reduces it at Portland; Sun Country unveils details of its new low-cost business model; and United will add a spoke at its Denver hub.

Niche carrier JetSuiteX plans to jump into another intra-California market in mid-November when it starts flying between Oakland and Burbank, using private terminals at both airports. The company – which operates public charter flights using 30-passenger E135 jets – said that it will offer three roundtrips every day except Saturday, with one-way fares starting at $129 (including up to two pieces of baggage). Last month, JetSuiteX kicked off new service between Burbank and San Jose with 12 flights a week. The company said its flights offer free drinks and snacks, wi-fi, business class-equivalent legroom, and minimal waiting time at the airport because it uses private terminals. JetSuiteX’s Oakland terminal is located at 9351 Earhart Road, Oakland, CA 94621

Did you know that JetSuite is partially owned by JetBlue? Read our post about that here.

Flying over San Juan’s Condado neighborhood; JetBlue is slashing service to SJU.  (Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue will add its 65th non-stop destination from Boston Logan next spring when it begins service to Minneapolis-St. Paul. It will operate three daily roundtrips in the market starting May 3, and is currently offering fares starting at $89 each way. It noted that MSP is the biggest domestic market not currently served by JetBlue. (It’s also the second big Delta hub JetBlue has infiltrated this year.) In other news, JetBlue is planning a big reduction in service to Puerto Rico due to damage on the island from two major hurricanes. San Juan is a big piece of JetBlue’s network, accounting for about 6 percent of its total capacity. But the carrier said it expects to cut capacity to San Juan by 33 percent, a reduction that will likely last through the end of 2018. The extensive hurricane damage and the resulting publicity mean that leisure travel to Puerto Rico is unlikely to recover for many months. By this year’s December holidays, JetBlue plans to shift a lot of that capacity to other Caribbean islands, but it hasn’t yet said which ones.

 Alaska Airlines has launched new daily service from San Diego to Albuquerque as part of its continuing West Coast expansion. The carrier is using three-class, 76-seat E175s operated by its Horizon Air unit. At the same time, Alaska has added a second daily Albuquerque-Seattle non-stop. At Portland, meanwhile, Alaska is converting two routes from year-round service to seasonal: it will suspend Portland-Kansas City flights from December 1 to March 10, and will eliminate Portland-St. Louis service from November 28 through March 10.

A Sun Country Airlines 737. (Image: Sun Country)

As it converts its business model to that of an ultra-low-cost carrier, Twin Cities-based Sun Country Airlines has come out with details of new fares and fees, which are effective now for travel beginning January 19. The airline’s new product is called Bundle & Go pricing; the lowest fare level, called Grab & Go, allows travelers to carry on one personal item to stow under the seat, but no carry-ons (stowed in the overhead bin) or checked bags. The next level up, Check & Go for an extra $20, provides for one personal item and one checked bag, but no carry-ons. Store & Go fares, for an extra $30, include one personal item and your choice of one checked bag or one carry-on. Only first class fares are all-inclusive, providing for a personal item, a carry-on and two checked bags.

Got business in Scottsbluff, Nebraska? You can’t fly to its Western Nebraska Regional Airport right now, but the facility will regain airline service on February 1 when SkyWest is due to start flying there from Denver with 12 flights a week. SkyWest, which will operate under the United Express banner, recently won a federal Essential Air Services contract for the route.

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Airport news: United lounges, LaGuardia, Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, DFW

United is testing food upgrades at its lounges, like a lobster roll at Boston. (Image: United)

In airport news, United is testing enhanced food service at four of its airport lounges; Delta, American and JetBlue are moving operations at New York LaGuardia; shared-use lounges expand at Boston Logan and move at Pittsburgh; Cleveland makes bag checking easier; and automated TSA lanes come to Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Forbes reports that United Airlines has started market-testing a big upgrade to the food service at a handful of its United Club airport lounges. The testing is going on in United Clubs at Boston, Orlando, Las Vegas and Houston Bush Intercontinental, Forbes said. Besides introducing regional favorites like New England lobster rolls and Boston cream pies at Logan, the airline is adding new hot breakfast items, soups, salads and a “Mediterranean board,” the article reported.

LaGuardia’s Marine Air Terminal is a short ride from the Central Terminal. (Image: LaGuardia Airport)

With all that construction going on during the massive rehabilitation of New York LaGuardia’s passenger terminals, Delta, American and JetBlue are shifting their operations there. Delta said that as of December 9, it is taking its Delta Shuttle flights to Chicago and Washington out of the Marine Air Terminal and moving them to Terminal C, where its LGA-Boston shuttles already operate. American said that by December 9, it will consolidate its LGA operations in Terminal B (the Central Terminal). “Since December 2013, (American’s) flights have been split between Terminals B and C. This consolidated operation means all customers will check in at Terminal B and American will operate flights from each of the terminal’s four concourses,” a spokesman said.

JetBlue, meanwhile, has decided to pull up stakes and move from the Central Terminal to the airport’s historic Marine Air Terminal. The art deco terminal opened in 1940, and during its history it has served as a seaplane terminal, a base for Northeast Corridor shuttle flights, and a facility for private jets. JetBlue has several flights a day between LGA and Boston, as well as non-stop service from LGA to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla. The airline said it should be in place at the new facility before the holidays in December, occupying four gates there. Most of JetBlue’s New York flights are at JFK Airport.

Airport Lounge Development, which operates lounges open to any passenger on a fee basis, has some news at Boston Logan and at Pittsburgh. The company said its Boston Club in Terminal E has just finished an extensive expansion, and now occupies more than 3,500 square feet with seating for 82. It also added new restrooms and shower facilities, new furniture and an enhanced food menu. (Besides The Club in Terminal E, the company also operates The Lounge in Boston’s Terminal C.) At Pittsburgh, meanwhile, The Club has shifted from a temporary location on Concourse C to a permanent one, also on Concourse C just off the Center Core. The temporary site started accepting guests in June. Day passes at both clubs cost $40.

Airport Lounge Development now has 17 locations open to all on a day pass basis. (Image: Airport Lounge Development)

The struggle may soon end for many passengers at Cleveland Hopkins, who have been required to lug their checked luggage after check-in to a separate TSA bag screening drop-off location. The airport this week started live testing of a new in-line baggage screening system on the south end of the ticketing lobby that will eliminate that step for passengers of United, JetBlue, Southwest and Air Canada. Previously, only United had an in-line baggage system at CLE. “If all system testing is successfully completed by mid-November, the free-standing bag security screening machines on the south end of the ticketing level will be removed by the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend,” the airport said.

The latest major airport to get some of those new automated TSA screening lanes is Dallas/Ft. Worth, which has added four of them at checkpoints in Terminals A and D (checkpoints A21 and D22). Up to five travelers at a time can load their belongings into bins; items needing extra screening are shunted off to a separate conveyor belt so they won’t slow things down, and empty bins are sent back to the start via a separate automated belt to free up TSA officers from carrying them. Bins are 25 percent larger than before, and RFID tags are on each bin, “matching travelers to their property as they move throughout the security screening process,” DFW said. Over time, DFW expects to install 10 of the automated checkpoint lanes throughout the airport.

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Routes: American, United, JetBlue, Southwest, OneJet, Frontier

American operates out of Philadelphia’s Terminal B. (Image: American)

In domestic route news, American grows its Philadelphia hub and expands transcon wide-body flights there; United adds spokes to its O’Hare and Denver hubs; JetBlue revives a California route for the holidays; Southwest drops a Washington D.C. route; and Frontier keeps rearranging its network.

American Airlines is expanding access to its Philadelphia hub by adding several new routes there. On February 15, American will add daily A319 flights between PHL and San Antonio, followed on May 4 by new daily E175 American Eagle service between PHL-Madison, Wis.; and twice-daily roundtrips between PHL-Des Moines, Iowa; and PHL-Omaha, Neb. The airline also said that beginning March 25, it will deploy a wide-body Airbus A330 on one of its daily flights between Philadelphia and Los Angeles International, “offering West Coast customers better access to PHL and American’s transatlantic service.” Meanwhile, the A330 that American just started flying on one of its daily PHL-San Francisco flights will now be extended until at least March 4 instead of ending on December 14 as previously scheduled.

Moab, Utah is the gateway to Aches National Park. (Image: Discover Moab)

Effective December 1, United is due to add a couple of spokes out of Chicago O’Hare, with six flights a week to Quincy. Ill., and to Cape Girardeau, Mo., using CRJ-200s. At its Denver hub, meanwhile, United is looking at a May 1, 2018 start for new service to the outdoor activities mecca of Moab, Utah, offering 12 flights a week via Skywest CRJ200s; followed on June 1 by new service from DEN to Vernal, Utah, also running 12 times a week with Skywest CRJ200s.

For the third year in a row, JetBlue plans to lay on special holiday-season service between its New York JFK hub and Palm Springs, California. The daily flight will operate from December 21 through January 3, and it will use an Airbus A321 that features JetBlue’s premium-class Mint service with lie-flat seats.

November 4 is the final day for Southwest Airlines’ three-year-old route between Indianapolis and Washington Reagan National. A Southwest official told a local business publication in Indiana that the route just wasn’t attracting enough business to make it profitable.

OneJet uses small Hawker 400XPs on short-haul routes. (Image: OneJet)

The former CEO of Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Airlines – which disappeared in 2011 – is behind an effort to bring new service to MKE from OneJet, a business jet operator that offers scheduled service on underserved business routes out of Pittsburgh (including daily Pittsburgh-Milwaukee service). On November 1, OneJet is due to start twice-daily roundtrips from Milwaukee to both Columbus, Ohio and Omaha, Nebraska, using seven-passenger Hawker 400XP jets.

It’s difficult to keep up with all the route news from ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines, but we’ll try. The carrier just kicked off new daily flights from San Jose to Denver, to be followed by four flights a week from SJC to Las Vegas November 1, and less-than-daily departures to five other cities next April.  At Cleveland, meanwhile, Frontier has axed the four weekly CLE-San Diego service that it just launched last spring, as well as seasonal flights from Cleveland to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston And Charlotte. But the airline is expanding at Denver, starting less-than-daily frequencies to Omaha November 2; to Grand Rapids December 10; to Charleston, S.C. February 20; to Little Rock March 1; and to Tulsa March 15. The carrier plans to add daily Orlando-Phoenix service November 1 and three weekly Orlando-Memphis flights November 2. On December 16, Frontier will start three flights a week between San Francisco and Las Vegas. At Colorado Springs, Frontier plans new flights to San Antonio and Seattle starting April 8 and to San Jose and Minneapolis-St. Paul as of April 9. Seasonal service from Philadelphia to Charleston, S.C. three days a week starts February 20, followed by less-than-daily service from PHL to Jacksonville February 14, to Madison April 8, and to Memphis and Omaha April 9. Twice-weekly Frontier service from Chicago O’Hare to Charleston, S.C. starts May 11, and limited-frequency service from Omaha to Las Vegas starts April 8, followed by Omaha-San Francisco June 4.

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Deal Alert: California Corridor goes dirt cheap

Fares have plummeted for fall and winter flights as airlines battle for Golden State  (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

UPDATE: This fare sale expired at midnight Weds Sept 27. Roundtrip intra-California fares are now in the $100 range. Not bad, but not $57! As competition continues in the battle for the Golden State, we expect more fare sales like this during slower fall and winter months so stay tuned to TravelSkills.

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There’s a good old fashioned fare war happening in the California Corridor this week with roundtrip fares on several airlines as low as $51 on most NorCal-SoCal routes.

It appears that the war got started when Southwest Airlines deeply discounted round trips between its big Oakland hub and southern California cities. Spirit jumped in, too with its low fares and high fees.

Then it moved across the Bay to San Francisco and San Jose, where United and Alaska Air jumped into the fray in the battle for the Golden State.

Here’s how Southwest is pushing its sale which sparked a fare war in California

How low are we talking? Here are some examples- but there are so many that you need to check yourself. I’ve posted roundtrip fares, but the sale applies to one-way fares, too.

Note that these roundtrip fares are available on the morning of Sept 27 and subject to change:

  • SFO-Burbank on United: $55 roundtrip
  • SFO-LAX on United: $57
  • San Jose-LAX/Burbank on Alaska Air: $57
  • LAX-Orange County on United: $57
  • SFO-San Diego on United: $57
  • Oakland-LAX on Spirit: $57
  • Oakland-Long Beach on JetBlue $57
  • SFO-Burbank, LAX, Orange County, San Diego on Southwest: $57
  • Oakland/San Jose-Burbank, Los Angeles, Orange County, Ontario, San Diego on Southwest: $57
  • Sacramento-Los Angeles, San Diego, Ontario, Burbank on Southwest or United $57

It appears that the $57 roundtrips are only available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Fares apply to flights now through mid-February. The are not available for peak holiday season flights. We found these fares on Southwest.com and Google Flights. 

Note that the lowest United fares could be low-frills basic economy– awful, but acceptable for such short flights.

When roundtrip fares between SFO and LAX go below $100 round trip, it’s time to pay attention. But just $57 round trip? Wow. $57 is less that what many of us pay for a ride to or from the airport in Lyft, Uber or taxicab.

Will you take advantage of this sale? What’s the lowest fare you’ve ever seen in the California Corridor? Leave your comments below. 


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Airport updates: O’Hare, LAX, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Boston

American’s new Flagship Lounges have hot and cold self-service buffets. (Image: American)

In airport news, American Airlines opens a big new lounge at Chicago O’Hare; Los Angeles International travelers can now use an app to speed up re-entry after international trips; Pittsburgh International will get a massive makeover; Minneapolis-St. Paul gets faster TSA screening lanes; and facial-recognition boarding is a hit with JetBlue passengers at Boston.

At Chicago O’Hare, American Airlines has cut the ribbon on its second new Flagship Lounge; the first was opened at New York JFK some months ago. At ORD, the lounge is in Terminal 3, in the crosswalk between Gates H6 and K6. Hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Targeted for AA’s international travelers at its primary gateway airports, the 17,000 square foot O’Hare Flagship Lounge is open to qualifying first and business class passengers, AAdvantage Executive Platinums, Platinums and Platinum Pros; AAdvantage ConciergeKey members; and Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire travelers. American said it expects to open additional Flagship Lounges before year’s end at Los Angeles International and Miami International, and in 2018 at Dallas/Ft. Worth, Philadelphia and London Heathrow. The O’Hare lounge can handle up to 300 passengers. It has showers, “quiet rooms,” a self-service wine bar, create-your-own cocktail service, hot and cold buffets and a chef to prepare customized offerings.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Mobile Passport Control app is now available for travelers going through Customs at Los Angeles International’s Tom Bradley International Terminal as well as Terminals 2, 4 and 7, airport officials announced. Available free at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app lets passengers create a profile and submit passport information and answers to CBP inspection questions via their smartphone or tablet. The app will then send users a receipt and an encrypted bar code to show to CBP agents at the airport. LAX is a little slow in rolling out the CBP Mobile Passport Control app – 22 other airports have already done so.

Rendering of the spacious atrium planned for Pittsburgh’s new landside building. (Image: Pittsburgh International Airport)

Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Airport Authority has unveiled a major redevelopment plan that calls for construction of a new landside building for Pittsburgh International’s Midfield Terminal and scaling back the terminal’s number of gates from 75 to 51. Besides new security, ticketing and baggage facilities in the $784 million landside building – which would be between the airside C and D concourses – the project also includes an overhauled international arrivals area, 3,000-space parking garage and other improvements. The X-shaped Midfield Terminal was built 25 years ago to serve as a hub facility for US Airways, but since the carrier downsized that operation and then was merged into American, the terminal now handles less than half the traffic that it once did. The terminal was built to accommodate up to 32 million passengers a year, but it currently handles only 8.3 million; the new facility’s capacity would be 18 million. The $1.1 billion plan calls for razing the existing landside building and the people-mover that carriers travelers from that building to the airside concourses. Construction is planned for 2019 to 2023.

Minneapolis-St. Paul is the latest airport to install those new automated security lanes that are said to speed up the TSA screening process by as much as 30 percent. (Although we’ve heard from many frequent travelers who would disagree with that assessment.) MSP now has four of the new lanes at the Terminal 1 south checkpoint, and will expand them to the north checkpoint next year. The lanes allow several travelers to load their belongings into bins simultaneously; the bins are larger than before, and if a bag raises the concerns of the TSA agent manning the x-ray machine, it can be shuttled off on a separate conveyor belt for further examination without slowing down everyone else. Empty bins are sent back to the starting point by a separate conveyor belt, freeing up TSA agents for inspection duties.

Here’s how JetBlue’s facial recognition system works. (Image: JetBlue)

Some months ago, we reported on JetBlue starting to test facial recognition technology for passenger boarding at its Boston Logan hub. Instead of having to show a boarding pass, passport or anything else to the gate agent, passengers simply stand in front of a camera and proceed on board. After four months, SITA — the technology company that provided the new system — said its biometric scanning proved to be quite accurate in the tests, with a success rate of almost 100 percent matching passengers’ facial images to those in government databases to verify identity. The company said a majority of JetBlue passengers on the airline’s Boston to Aruba flights used the camera option to board.

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Comparing airlines’ elite status tiers

Alaska Airlines economy 737

Alaska Airlines wins top honors in a comparison of elite status levels. (Photo: Alaska Air)

Is it possible to compare one airline’s elite status requirements and benefits to another’s? Most frequent travelers will usually devote their mile/point accumulation to the hometown airline they fly the most by default. But a new study takes a fresh look at elite status to see which airlines are the most generous.

And the overall winner – across three of the four status tiers – is Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan, according to ThePointsGuy.com, a specialist in travel loyalty programs.

How is it possible to compare the elite benefits of six airlines (Alaska, American, Delta, United, JetBlue and Southwest)? The site assigned various weights to all the categories of perks that come with elite status levels, ranging from 25 percent for in-flight perks like upgrades, preferred seats and free amenities to 5 percent for special reservations treatment (priority phone line and enhanced award availability). Also in the mix are airport perks, fee waivers, bonus earning potential, partner perks, flexibility of benefits and non-flying perks like crossover deals with hotel companies.

ThePointsGuy.com looked at all those elements tier by tier across the six airlines. For low-tier elites (based on 25,000 flight miles and $3,000 in spending), Alaska’s MVP status came in first, followed in order by American’s Advantage Gold, Delta’s Silver Medallion and United’s Premier Silver. (JetBlue and Southwest don’t have a comparable elite status at this level, the site noted.)

The site said the primary reason for Alaska’s high ranking is “the fact that Alaska still awards miles based on flying rather than spending.” Alaska MVP members get a 50 percent earning bonus on flights, or 12,500 miles – worth an estimated $237.50 – on 25,000 flight miles in a year. By contrast, the spending-based regimes at the Big Three return only 6,000 bonus miles on $3,000 in spending, worth an estimated $72 to $90 at the three airlines, the site estimated.

American’s AAdvantage Gold members benefit from fee waivers. (Image: Jim Glab)

Benefits of AAdvantage Gold that put American in second place were priority security access and waiver of the $75 same-day standby fee and the $75 award-processing fee for short-notice award bookings for lowest-tier elites, the site said.

For mid-level elites (50,000 miles/$6,000), United came in second behind Alaska, followed by Delta, American, JetBlue and Southwest, in that order. Alaska’s MVP Gold status at this level provides a generous 100 percent earning bonus, well above its competitors. The site also gave kudos to Alaska MVP Gold and JetBlue Mosaic status for fee waivers on flight changes and cancellations. Part of the reason for United’s second-place showing was its offer of free Marriott Gold reciprocal status to its MileagePlus Premier Golds.

Delta’s Comfort+ seating offers extra legroom and other perks. (Image: Delta)

For high-tier elites (75,000 miles/$9,000), Delta came in second after Alaska by virtue of its superior in-flight perks like a longer upgrade window (120 hours before departure vs. 72 at others), free access to preferred seats and extra-legroom economy seats, and upgrades on award travel.

It’s only at the very highest tier level (125,000 miles/$15,000) that Alaska drops out of first place, although the status requirements aren’t as comparable at this level. In any case, the study gives first place to United’s Premier 1K for “consistently rewarding status across all categories” including enhanced award availability in both cabins, free drinks and snacks on board and 12 upgrades (six regional and six global).

You can read the full report here, and along with an interactive feature that lets you input your own mileage and spending, along with the importance you assign to various benefits, to see which elite program is best for you.

Which airline elite level program works best for you? Why? Please leave your comments below.

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Award travel prices: United’s are up, Delta’s down

Delta

Domestic award travel costs on Delta have dropped almost 20 percent since 2013. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A new analysis of award travel costs among U.S. airlines that base their loyalty programs on dollars spent shows some big changes in the past few years – with good news for Delta’s flyers and bad news for United’s.

The study by IdeaWorks Company and CarTrawler looked at how average reward travel prices paid in points/miles changed from 2013 to 2017. It found that the average reward price for a domestic roundtrip on Delta fell by 19.1 percent, from 28,964 miles to 23,443 — the result of “a genuine effort” by Delta to reduce award prices, IdeaWorks said. On United, however, the average price jumped by 28.7 percent, from 26,357 to 33,929.

The proportion of United domestic award flight queries priced at 25,000 miles or less dropped from 83 percent four years ago to 43 percent this year, the study found.

The price of American Airlines’ domestic award tickets fell by just 2.3 percent over the four-year period, from 31,071 miles to 30,357.

But reward travel prices on the Big Three were far higher than on the airlines that ranked first and second on the cost chart: The cost of a JetBlue flight inched up half a percent, from 15,774 TrueBlue points in 2014 to 15,849 this year. And for first-place Southwest, the price fell by less than a point, from 9,353 to 9,300 Rapid Rewards points.

Source: IdeaWorks

Why the big difference? “The pay-with-points method (JetBlue and Southwest) links reward prices to prevailing air fares,” IdeaWorks said.  “Program members can seek out low reward prices on flights that have lower fares. Reward prices adjust to demand in the same way fares have since supersaver rates were introduced decades ago. The mileage-based method is far less precise and typically ranges from 25,000 to 50,000 miles for a roundtrip domestic US reward.” However, it added that the Big Three are now “embracing more graduated pricing methods which removes the predictability of the traditional 25,000-mile and 50,000-mile classic reward option.”

Besides costing the customer less for award flights, Southwest and JetBlue are also more generous for non-elite economy flyers, IdeaWorks noted, both providing six program points per dollar spent, vs. five miles per dollar for the Big Three.

Southwest offers the best award travel deals for non-elite flyers. (Image: Jim Glab)

The above analysis changes considerably for elite-level frequent flyers, the company said, because they accrue points/miles at a higher level. Thus “ultra-frequent travelers may realize better reward value” from United, Delta and American.

Alaska was not included in the study because it still bases its loyalty program on the traditional miles-flown method. IdeaWorks noted that the average price paid for reward travel on Alaska this year was 18,500 miles, which would have placed it third, after Southwest and JetBlue.

What’s been your experience when it comes to redeeming miles over the last year? Please leave your comments below. 

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U.S. routes: Southwest, United, Alaska, AA, Delta, JetBlue + more

San Jose Airport

Southwest Airlines is adding new San Jose routes next spring. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

We have a lot of airline route news to catch up on following our August break, so we’ll start with domestic developments. Southwest’s spring schedule additions include several new routes out of San Jose and Sacramento; Alaska also starts new service at San Jose; United will join Alaska in flying out of a new Pacific Northwest airport, and adds a seasonal ski market from San Francisco; American will start new service from Denver, and will put a wide-body on a San Francisco transcon route; Delta’s Salt Lake City hub gets a new spoke, and Las Vegas gets more Hawaii flights; JetBlue grows at Atlanta and Boston; Spirit adds a Las Vegas transcon route; and Frontier expands at San Antonio.

The battle for California is paying off for Golden State travelers with tons of new routes and low fares. Southwest Airlines last week unveiled plans for significant expansion in California next spring. On April 8, the airline will kick off new daily service from San Jose to Boise, St. Louis, Austin, Spokane and Houston Hobby, along with new daily flights from Sacramento to Austin and St. Louis. Southwest will follow that up on May 6 by launching new daily service to Orlando from both San Jose and Sacramento. Officials at SJC said Southwest will also expand existing routes there starting April 8, adding a second daily roundtrip to both Chicago Midway and Dallas Love Field, a fifth to Seattle, a sixth to Phoenix, and a fifth and sixth daily flight from SJC to Portland., along with new Sunday-only service to Albuquerque and New Orleans.

In Florida, Southwest on April 8 will add three daily roundtrips between Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville and daily non-stops between Milwaukee and Houston Hobby. On March 8, Southwest is due to discontinue its non-stop flights between Dallas Love Field and Milwaukee, and between Philadelphia and West Palm Beach, and will seasonally suspend service between Oakland-Tucson, Washington Reagan National-Ft. Myers, and Minneapolis/St. Paul-Ft. Lauderdale.

United will join Alaska in flying out of Washington State’s Paine Field next year. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Travelers in San Francisco and Denver will get a new option for flights to the Seattle area next year with United’s announcement that it will add service from those cities to Paine Field, 23 miles north of Seattle. Starting in the fall of 2018, United said, it plans to start offering six flights a day from Paine to its SFO and DEN hubs. Last spring, Alaska Airlines announced plans to begin the first commercial airline service from Paine Field in the fall of next year, although it didn’t say which routes it would serve. In other route news, United will begin twice-weekly seasonal  service on December 18 between San Francisco and Vail/Eagle, Colorado, with CRJ700s operated by SkyWest. Elsewhere, United/SkyWest on November 1 will begin service six days a week to Clarksburg, West Virginia, from both Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles with CRJ200s.

Speaking of Alaska Airlines, that carrier last week kicked off new routes at San Jose, adding daily flights to both Austin and Tucson, using the popular Embraer E175 regional jets. That gives Alaska 31 daily departures at SJC to 18 destinations.

San Jose gates

SJC is expanding, adding two new gates (29 & 30) at the southern end of the Terminal B for use by Alaska Air (Image: SJC)

On October 5, American Airlines is planning to replace the A321 currently used on one of its daily Philadelphia-San Francisco flights (AA722/723) with a wide-body Airbus A330-200. The bigger plane is currently scheduled to keep flying the route through December 14. Next year, beginning June 7, American plans to operate a daily summer flight between Denver and New York JFK with a 737-800. In other news, The Dallas News reports that American will offer 2-4-2 premium economy seating on its Hawaii routes from Dallas/Ft. Worth, using retrofitted 777-200s. The roomier seats are available from DFW to Honolulu and Maui starting in December, and from DFW to Kona beginning next June.

On December 21, Delta plans to begin new daily service between its Salt Lake City hub and Milwaukee, using an E175 operated by SkyWest. Delta is also extending its planned Las Vegas-Honolulu 757 service, which was originally scheduled for daily holiday flights from December 21 to January 14. Now they will continue as Saturday-only service from January 15, increasing to three flights a week February 16.

JetBlue is adding three more Atlanta routes. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue finally broke into the Atlanta market last March, when it started flying five times a day from ATL to its Boston focus city. And now JetBlue has plans to double its Atlanta presence by adding five more daily flights there. Effective March 8, 2018, JetBlue will start flying from Atlanta to New York JFK twice a day, to Ft. Lauderdale twice a day, and to Orlando once a day. Elsewhere, JetBlue announced it will begin new service between Boston and Syracuse on January 4, offering one daily roundtrip with an Embraer 190.

In the ultra-low-cost carrier arena, Spirit Airlines on November 9 will begin daily A320 service between Las Vegas and Newark.  And Frontier Airlines will start operating four flights a week from San Antonio to Washington Dulles on October 6, followed by four a week between San Antonio and Ontario, California beginning October 13.

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Airport news: LAX, LaGuardia, JFK, Salt Lake, Boston +

LAX’s Terminal 1.5 will link T1 and T2. (Image: Los Angeles World Airports)

In recent airport developments, Los Angeles officials gave a green light to a couple of major projects on LAX’s north side; New York officials did the same for Delta’s LaGuardia reconstruction; JetBlue wants to expand its presence at New York JFK; ; CLEAR expands to another key Delta airport; Dallas/Ft. Worth is getting a facility you rarely find at an airport; and Boston gets a new passenger lounge.

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has voted to approve two major projects for the three terminals on the north side of LAX – work which will take several years. The first gives Delta the green light to proceed with a [much needed!] major overhaul of its new home in Terminals 2 and 3, as well as construction of a post-security connector to the Bradley International Terminal.  The multi-billion-dollar T2/T3 project involves upgrades to the T2 concourse, and the demolition and rebuilding of the T3 concourse building, the southern portions of the T3 satellite, and the ticketing and baggage processing facilities. Commissioners also approved plans to build a so-called Terminal 1.5, a $490 million, six-level structure that will link T1 and T2 and will give Southwest Airlines more space at the airport for things like ticket counters, baggage claims and security screening. An airport official said these projects are “two of the keys to eventually connecting the entire airport beyond the security checkpoints.”

Rendering of Delta’s planned new home at LaGuardia. (Image: Delta)

In New York, meanwhile, the Port Authority’s board of commissioners has signed off on a new lease agreement for Delta at LaGuardia Airport that clears the way for the airline’s planned new 37-gate facility that represents the last piece of the airport’s massive, years-long reconstruction. Delta said work on its new $4 billion home at LGA will start in a matter of weeks. Construction started last year on other phases of the LGA rebuilding, which will give the airport new roadways and will move everything closer to the Grand Central Parkway. Delta said its new facility will use “flexibly sized gates” that can accommodate all the aircraft types in its fleet; the new terminal will have four concourses linked by a central check-in lobby, security checkpoint and baggage claim area. Concourses will be wider than the existing ones at LGA, and the Delta facility will provide 30 percent more space for concessions along with a new Delta Sky Club with a Sky Deck. (Now if Delta could only add nonstops between California and LGA!)

Over at New York’s JFK Airport, meanwhile, JetBlue said it is seeking Port Authority permission for a substantial expansion of its passenger facilities. JetBlue wants to grow beyond its current Terminal 5 home by developing new facilities on the empty space that used to be occupied by Terminal 6, which was demolished in 2011, and possibly redeveloping Terminal 7 (currently used by British Airways) as well. The airline said its JFK expansion plan would include “the addition of international gates for JetBlue and partner airlines” (is this another clue that JetBlue has transatlantic aspirations?), and would provide a “seamless connection to T5 and throughout the new facilities both on the landside and on the airside.”

CLEAR kiosks no longer require a card– only a fingerprint. (Image: CLEAR)

The latest airport to add CLEAR biometric screening lanes is Salt Lake City, which means that “23 of the busiest airports where Delta flies now feature CLEAR service,” the airline said. Delta is a part owner of CLEAR and has made it a priority to expand the service to its hub airports. Members of Delta’s SkyMiles program are offered membership discounts in CLEAR ($99 a year for general members, $79 for most elites and free for Diamond Medallions), which relies on biometric technology to verify members’ identities and lets them bypass the usual TSA lines to passenger screening.

You don’t often see a health clinic and pharmacy in an airport, but you will soon at Dallas/Ft. Worth. Code 3 Construction, a Texas-based company that specializes in these facilities, says construction is “well under way” on an Urgent Care Center and pharmacy in DFW’s Terminal D, to serve both passengers and airport employees. With four patient exam rooms and on-site x-ray and lab facilities, “It will provide convenient and superior treatment for acute illnesses such as dehydration, colds and flu, respiratory infections, lacerations, sprains and strains, work-related injuries and more,” the company said. Code 3 Construction will follow up the in-terminal facility by building an emergency room and urgent care facility in DFW’s Southgate Plaza, to treat more serious ailments and to provide 24-hour care.

Emirates’ new lounge at Boston Logan. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates is celebrating the grand opening of its 41st airport lounge, this one at Boston Logan. Located on the upper level of Terminal E overlooking Gate E-11, the $6.7 million Emirates lounge can accommodate up to 123 persons. It’s available to Emirates first class and business class passengers as well as Gold and Platinum members of its Skywards loyalty program. The new lounge has showers, a business center, free Wi-Fi, bar service, and a free hot and cold buffet. Passengers will be able to board their aircraft directly from the lounge, Emirates noted.

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Popular: Cheaper fares + Hilton penalty + Airline fees + JD Power surprise + Global Entry

All Hilton brands move to 48-hour cancellation policy, including the slick new Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills (Image: Waldorf Astoria Hotels)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 Cheaper one-way or roundtrip? The old rules are changing

2 Hilton joins Marriott in restrictive 48-hour cancellation rule

3 Which airlines earn most from fees, frequent flyer programs?

4 Routes: More JetBlue Mint + Southwest, Delta, American, Alaska

5 Major Frontier expansion at San Jose, Denver, 19 other airports

Frontier shook up the airline industry last week with plans for big expansion. (Image: Frontier)

6 Routes: Delta to China, Mexico deals, Cathay upgrades, Saudi, WOW, United

7 Surprises in new JD Power hotel survey

8 Seriously: An airline for Millennials

9 Have dinner in a 70’s-era Pan Am 747

10 How to get Global Entry faster

Have you ever been on a flight that got a “wet salute? Share your story!

Airline water salute

United Airlines getting a wet salute for inaugural SFO-Tampa flight last winter (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Alaska likely to stick to all Boeing fleet- but Virgin’s Airbus fleet will fly away slowly

Delta is better at taking your money

Get your $25 airline bag fees back with new BestWestern promo

How to earn 2x or 3x points at Holiday Inn Express this summer

Near disaster at SFO worse than expected- see animation

hamburger cheeseburger

Hungry? Grab a juicy Gott’s burger at its new SFO location in International Terminal A (Image: Gotts)

A better burger lands at SFO: Gott’s Roadside opens in International Terminal A 

Atlanta hoping to land nonstop flight to India 

DHS says world’s airlines have complied with its stricter security standards

SkyTeam adds two-stop option to its round-the-world pass fare

Avis upgrades its mobile app with new features, services

The Ritz-Carlton Chicago finishes a $100 million overhaul

Follow Chris on Instagram!

Big changes in the #SF skyline #travel #travelskills #california #skyscraper #sanfrancisco

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

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Routes: More JetBlue Mint + Southwest, Delta, American, Alaska

JetBlue’s lie flat Mint class seat fully reclined (Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route developments, JetBlue unveils the starting dates for expansion of routes where it offers its Mint front-cabin service; Southwest will add a new transcontinental route from San Diego; Delta expands at Boston; American adds service in several secondary markets; and Alaska deploys more three-class E175s.

JetBlue has announced another wave of expansion for its premium cabin Mint service. On January 4 of next year, JetBlue said, it will introduce Mint service with lie-flat bed-seats on two daily flights between Boston and Las Vegas, followed by two daily Mint flights between Boston and Seattle starting February 15, and one daily Mint-equipped roundtrip between New York JFK and Seattle beginning April 15, with a second to be added sometime later in the year. The airline also said it plans to add a fifth daily Mint flight between San Francisco and Boston, with an afternoon departure time from both cities; and an 11th daily LAX-JFK roundtrip, although it didn’t specify a start date for those extra frequencies.

Boston is the focal point of a growing market-share battle between Delta and JetBlue. Last month, Delta started twice-daily 757-200 service between Boston and San Francisco, and it recently announced two more new Boston routes. On October 1, Delta will start flying twice a day between Boston and Pittsburgh with CRJ-900s; and next February, it will add seasonal weekend service between Boston and New Orleans, with flights on Saturdays and Sundays through April 1. Speaking of New Orleans, Delta also plans to operate Saturday/Sunday service to the Big Easy from Seattle starting February 10. And during the second week of January, 2018, Delta will operate twice-daily CRJ-900 flights between Sacramento and Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show.

Southwest is adding a new transcon route from San Diego. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest Airlines has set January 8 as the launch date for its newest transcontinental route. The carrier plans to begin daily service linking San Diego with Tampa. At the same time, Southwest will begin new weekend-only service linking Phoenix with Des Moines, Iowa, as well as weekend service between New York LaGuardia and Ft. Lauderdale.

American Airlines this month started flying on several new routes out of its Chicago O’Hare hub to secondary cities including Appleton, Wis.; Birmingham, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Greenville, S.C. The airline also started flying on a seasonal basis between O’Hare and Ontario, Calif. American also kicked off new daily service between Dallas/Ft. Worth-Spokane and between Miami-Omaha.

Alaska is deploying new Horizon Air three-class E175s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines continues to deploy new Horizon Air E175s on its network. This week, it is putting the new planes onto three more routes: Portland-Dallas/Ft. Worth, Seattle-Fresno, and Seattle-San Luis Obispo. The planes have a three-class configuration with 12 first class seats, 16 in Alaska’s new Premium Class and 48 in the main cabin. The premium class seats will have a 34-inch pitch, vs. 36 to 38 inches in first and 31 inches in the main cabin. The planes will also have Wi-Fi, power outlets throughout, and free streaming entertainment.

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Don’t miss: JetBlue will match your elite status

JetBlue is offering TrueBlue Mosaic status to elites at other airlines. (Image: Jim Glab)

Elite-level frequent flyers at six major U.S. airlines are being offered a status match in JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty program through the middle of next month.

JetBlue said that it will offer Mosaic status in its TrueBlue program for the rest of 2017 to persons who sign up for the offer by August 14, with a chance to extend that status for all of 2018 as well.

The offer applies to United MileagePlus Premier Silver, Gold, Platinum or 1K members; American’s AAdvantage Platinums, Platinum Pros or Executive Platinums; Delta SkyMiles Medallion Silvers, Golds, Platinums or Diamonds; Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Golds or MVP Gold 75ks; Virgin America Elevate Silvers and Golds; and Southwest Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred or Companion Pass members.

Registration for the offer is at www.jetblue.com/2017summermosaic. Applicants must upload proof of a qualifying elite status at another airline such as a copy of a recent statement or a current credentials card.

Those who are approved for the matching 2017 Mosaic status will automatically qualify for JetBlue’s Mosaic Challenge, which will extend the elite-level status through 2018 for persons earn 3,750 base flight TrueBlue points within 90 days of their acceptance into Mosaic status.

Normally, Mosaic status requires TrueBlue members to fly 30 JetBlue segments and earn 12,000 base points, or earn 15,000 base points in a calendar year. Mosaic status entitles members to two free checked bags, waiver of change and cancellation fees, bonus point earnings based on dollar spent, and exclusive partner offers.

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New food options coming at United, Delta, JetBlue

New United package: Uno’s pizza and Miller Light. (Image: United)

We recently provided an in-depth look at United’s cheeseburger , introduced in January and now the most requested item in the airline’s Bistro on Board menu. Now United is refreshing its food-for-purchase options starting July 1, Delta is expanding its free economy class meal options on transcon routes, and JetBlue is offering a new set of boxed snacks for sale.

United is rolling out another likely winner in the comfort-food category: pizza. If you’re a pizza aficionado and you travel to Chicago, you’ve probably dined at the iconic deep-dish pizzeria Uno’s (or its sister location, Due’s). And that’s the vendor United will use for its in-flight pies.

The spinach-and-garlic pizza from Uno’s (sorry, no substitutions) will be available for purchase on United flights of more than three and a half hours. They’ll be priced at $9.99 – or you can add a Miller Light for a total cost of $13.99.

Elements of United’s protein box. (Image: United)

Other selections coming to United’s Bistro on Board menu July 1 include a Thai-style chicken ciabatta sandwich, an egg-white flatbread, and a “protein box” with hummus, tabbouleh salad, almonds and pretzel sticks. The cheeseburger will still be there, and so will United’s breakfast sandwich (egg, cheese and sausage).

Delta just announced it is increasing the number of free Main Cabin meal offerings on a dozen transcontinental routes from the current six options to 18. The airline said it will offer “distinct breakfast, lunch and dinner menus that vary on eastbound and westbound flights.” Some of the items on the new menu include a cheese plate, a Luvo Harissa roasted veggie wrap, a Greek Meze plate, a beef pastrami sandwich and a sesame noodle salad. You can see the full menu here.

A fruit, cheese and cookies plate from Delta. (Image: Delta)

In March, Delta started offering free meals in coach on its prime transcon routes between JFK-San Francisco and JFK-Los Angeles. A month later, it expanded the service to Boston-San Francisco, Boston-LAX and Boston-Seattle; Washington Reagan National-LAX; JFK-Seattle and JFK-Portland; Seattle-Ft. Lauderdale, Seattle-Orlando and Seattle-Raleigh/Durham.

JetBlue, meanwhile, is coming out with new “EatUp” boxed snack selections July 1 on flights of more than two hours, available for purchase by passengers who can’t seem to fill up on the airline’s free and unlimited snacks.

JetBlue’s new boxed snack selections. (Image: JetBlue)

The new boxed snacks include the Big Up (an RXBAR bar, coconut toffee candy, turkey jerkey, roasted chickpeas and parmesan cheese crisps); the MixItUp (a KIND granola bar, ranch crackers, a turkey stick and fruit snacks); the AmpUp (gluten-free, vegan and kosher items including red pepper hummus Mary’s Gone crackers, a MadeGood chocolate crispy rice square, Greek olives, roasted almonds and a fruit bar); and the CatchUp (salt and pepper cashews, popcorn, brownie crisps and jellybeans).

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Routes: JetBlue to Europe + AA, Delta, Norwegian, United, Avianca, Etihad

Will a larger Mint cabin on a new A321 model make Europe flights work for JetBlue? (Image: JetBlue)

In international route developments, JetBlue sees possibilities for Europe with new planes, more Mint; American’s new premium economy seating spreads to more routes; Delta kicks off Seoul service from its home base; Norwegian begins Barcelona flights this week; United drops a U.S.-South America route and Avianca adds one; and Etihad goes all-A380 on a key U.S. route.

JetBlue is in the midst of an analysis about how it can operate profitably on routes to Europe, according to an article in The Motley Fool, and the carrier reportedly sees two keys to making transatlantic flights work. One is the right aircraft – and JetBlue has taken steps in that direction by amending an aircraft order with Airbus to secure some A321LRs starting in 2019. With their longer range, those planes would let JetBlue fly from its Boston and New York JFK bases to major cities in western Europe. (How customers would react to a transatlantic flight on a single-aisle plane is another matter.)

The second key is competing not against ultra-low-cost operations like Norwegian and WOW, but against mainstream airlines’ premium cabins by offering business travelers a front cabin with more flat-bed Mint seats than the 16 that its domestic flights offer.  JetBlue sees its domestic Mint deployment as a major competitive success story, and wants to repeat it.  “Airbus’ Cabin-Flex concept will give airlines full discretion on how big to make their premium cabins by rearranging the locations of the emergency exits,” the article noted, and JetBlue is said to be looking at boosting Mint seating to 22 if it goes transatlantic.

American’s new Premium Economy section, with 2-3-2 leather seats, is coming to more routes later his year. (Image: American Airlines)

We noted recently that American Airlines has started installing its new international premium economy seating on its 777-200ERs, and Airlineroute.com reports that the carrier is taking reservations for premium economy travel starting December 15 on a number of routes. (The new section has initially been available only on select routes where AA uses new 787-9s.) In mid-December, the premium economy seats will be available on AA’s 777-200ER routes from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Buenos Aires, Frankfurt and Tokyo Narita; from Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda; and from Miami to Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago (Chile).

Delta has launched new daily transpacific service from its Atlanta hub to Seoul Incheon, supplementing the daily flight in the same market operated by its partner Korean Air. The Delta flight uses a 777-200LR featuring a Delta One cabin with 37 lie-flat seats; 36 Comfort+ extra-legroom economy seats; and 218 main cabin seats in a nine-across layout. All seats have power ports and entertainment on demand, and satellite Wi-Fi is available.

Low-cost transatlantic specialist Norwegian kicked off three new U.S. routes this week, all of them to Barcelona with 787 Dreamliners. The carrier is operating twice a week to Barcelona from Los Angeles (increasing to three a week in August); twice a week from Newark (going up to four a week in August); and twice a week from Oakland (increasing to three in August). Norwegian’s Oakland-Barcelona route is already facing competition from new entrant Level, a low-cost subsidiary of British Airways/Iberia parent International Airlines Group.

Venezuela has been going through unprecedented political and economic turmoil in recent months, and travel to that country has suffered as a result. The latest evidence: United Airlines plans to end its daily flights to Caracas from Houston Bush Intercontinental effective July 1. United is just the latest of several carriers that have suspended Venezuela flights, in part because they have had trouble getting money from ticket sales out of the country.

Avianca added A319 service to Boston from Bogota. (Image: Avianca)

Avianca has launched new U.S. service between Bogota, Colombia and Boston Logan. The Star Alliance member flies the route four times a week from Terminal E at BOS, using a two-class A319 with 12 business class seats and 108 in economy. The flight operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from Boston, and is the only non-stop service between the two cities.

Etihad Airways has put an Airbus A380 onto its second daily New York JFK-Abu Dhabi  flight, replacing a 777-300ER. The other daily flight has been using an A380 since late 2015, so the aircraft change makes JFK-Abu Dhabi one of the airline’s few all-A380 routes, along with Abu Dhabi-London and Abu Dhabi-Sydney.

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Using your face or finger as a boarding pass

Here’s how JetBlue’s facial recognition system will work. (Image: JetBlue)

Two months ago, we reported on the first deployments of biometric technologies for passenger processing at some European airports and airlines. And now JetBlue and Delta are trying out similar methods in the U.S.

JetBlue said it will team up with airport technology specialist SITA and with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) beginning in June to test a “paperless and deviceless self-boarding process” for international flights from Boston to Aruba.

No enrollment or preregistration is required. Passengers who want to try the new facial recognition process for boarding without a boarding pass or a passport check will simply step up to a camera near the boarding gate and have their image captured.

“The custom-designed camera station will connect to CBP to instantly match the image to passport, visa or immigration photos in the CBP database and verify flight details,” JetBlue said. “The customer will be notified on an integrated screen above the camera when they are cleared to proceed to the jet bridge.”

Delta’s biometric test at Washington Reagan National uses fingerprints.(Image: CLEAR)

Delta’s test at Washington Reagan National involves stored biometric fingerprints instead of facial recognition. Participation is limited to SkyMiles members who are enrolled in the CLEAR trusted traveler program, in which Delta holds an equity stake. CLEAR members already have their digitized fingerprints stored in the system.

In the first phase of Delta’s test at DCA, already underway, participants can use fingerprints as a proof of identity at the Delta Sky Club instead of showing a boarding pass or ID. In the next phase, the fingerprint scan could also be used to check a bag and board a flight. The DCA test will help Delta fine-tune the integration of its own passenger database with CLEAR’s member records and biometrics.

Delta is testing facial recognition with new self-service bag drops at Minneapolis-St. Paul. (Image: Delta)

And this summer, Delta plans to use facial recognition technology  at one of four self-service bag-drop stations it is installing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. That device will provide identification verification by matching customers’ digital images with their passport photos.

“We’re rapidly moving toward a day when your fingerprint, iris or face will become the only ID you’ll need for any number of transactions throughout a given day,” said Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer.

How do you feel about this new tech? A great convenience, or an invasion of privacy? Please leave your comments below. 

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United upgrading new “Premium Transcontinental Service”

United Transcontinental

Hot cookies in business class on United 757 between SFO EWR (Chris McGinnis)

Responding to new creature comforts its competitors are offering on prime transcontinental routes, United said it will introduce hot meals for Economy Plus passengers and will add San Francisco-Boston to its premium transcon network, with flat-bed seats in the front cabin on all flights.

In doing so, it will eliminate its longstanding premium branded service product known as “p.s.,”and refer to the new product as simply Premium Transcontinental Service.

The airline said that effective July 1, in-flight food and beverage service for passengers in its extra-legroom Economy Plus seating on Premium Transcontinental routes (Newark-SFO/LAX and now Boston-SFO) will include a free hot entrée, dessert and fruit, pre-arrival snack, and alcoholic drinks. 

The upgraded flights are available for booking today. As with United’s premium flights into Newark, elite level members of Mileage Plus can use their status to upgrade to Economy Plus. But status won’t get you into the cozy confines in those big seats at the front of the plane– you have to pay for that. Checking today, the cheapest round trip business class nonstop between SFO and BOS is running at about $1,200. Economy class is is about $450.

United will have flat bed business class seats like this on all between SFO and BOS starting in July (United)

Its new Boston-San Francisco schedule will use mostly 757-200s. But it will also have 777s on the route (“the market’s only widebody service,” United noted), including early-morning departures from both cities, an 8:30 p.m. departure from Boston and several red-eyes from San Francisco. “The most popular timings in peak periods will operate with widebody Boeing 777 aircraft including 8 a.m. service from San Francisco and an early evening Boston departure, ideal for business customers traveling at the end of the work day,” United said.

Back to the upgraded food offerings… “Sample menu selections include savory roasted chicken with a smoked barbecue sauce and butternut squash tortellini with sage cream sauce. Dessert options will include New York’s favorite sweet treat, cheesecake, as well as a chocolate brownie and fresh seasonal fruit,” United said.

Seatmap on United 777 SFO-BOS in August

In recent weeks, both Delta and American announced free meals for main cabin passengers in transcontinental markets. Delta said it would offer the amenity on a dozen coast-to-coast routes, while American limited it to JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO. The difference in United’s announcement: Delta and American are serving up free cold meals to all economy passengers; United will offer hot meals, but only to those with Economy Plus seats, not all main cabin passengers.

By adding Boston-San Francisco to its premium transcontinental network, United is promising flat-bed business class seating on all flights in that market. The flat-bed battle for SFO-BOS customers started when JetBlue expanded its premium transcontinental Mint front-cabin service to BOS-SFO; then Delta announced it would jump back into the Boston-San Francisco market on June 8, offering two flights a day using 757-200s configured with front-cabin flat-bed seats.

United said that in addition to flat-bed seats, its SFO-BOS business class service will provide duvets and pillows from Saks Fifth Avenue; new amenity kits, also from Saks; a signature Moscow Mule cocktail; hot towel service; and seasonally refreshed cuisine from a network of celebrity chefs.

After suffering through years of flying on United’s oldest, tattiest 757s on frequent trips to Boston, this is great news– mostly because those 6-7 hour slogs are so painful. What do you think of the new service? Which airline will you likely fly between California and Boston? Please leave your comments below. 

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LAX’s Big Move was a Big Success

Delta’s overhauls of T2 and T3 at LAX will feature a light, spacious design. (Image: Delta)

Los Angeles International Airport finished up its monumental relocation of 20 airlines this week with no significant problems reported, and carriers are now proceeding to freshen up their new digs.

Over a period of five days, airlines moved from one terminal to another to accommodate the largest piece of the project, Delta’s shift from Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3. Only one little piece of the project is left – the planned June 4 move of XL France from T2 to T6.

Despite the scope of the operation, “There were no reported delays attributable to the airline move across all three operational periods,” an airport spokesperson said, “although some were initially reported due to East Coast weather conditions and previously-scheduled runway safety area construction.”

In the final stage of the project, on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, Delta completed its relocation into T2 and T3, and JetBlue, Hawaiian and Air Canada shifted their operations into T5 and T6. In addition, Southwest Airlines’ international flights now arrive and leave from the Bradley international terminal.

Delta said it is already seeing operational improvements from the move. “In the short-term, moving Delta’s operations closer to its partners has already improved its flight departure times and substantially lowered the time aircraft need to taxi before takeoff and arrival,” a spokesperson said. The move is the first step in what Delta is calling the Delta Sky Way at LAX, a $1.9 billion, seven-year project to modernize and connect T2, T3 and the Bradley Terminal.

Virgin America is now located near partner Alaska Airlines in T6. (Image: Alaska)

Also benefiting from the relocations is Alaska Airlines Group, as its Virgin America subsidiary moved close to sister company Alaska Airlines in Terminal 6. That will simplify Alaska Airlines Group’s plans to integrate the operations of the two carriers at LAX as their merger proceeds.

“By sharing the same space at LAX, it will be even easier for guests to make a connecting flight across the airlines’ combined network. Instead of changing terminals, guests will only need to walk a few steps,” Alaska said in a blog posting. “It also means that frequent flyers will have a new airport lounge to enjoy: The Alaska Lounge at Terminal 6.” That lounge is on T6’s mezzanine level near Gate 64.

JetBlue will remake its LAX T5 lobby to look like this one at its New York JFK Terminal 5 home base. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue, now in LAX’s Terminal 5, said it is planning  a series of redesign projects for its new check-in lobby there, using the same team that redeveloped the airline’s home base at New York JFK’s Terminal 5.

“The LAX plan will feature JetBlue’s new self-service lobby with ten check-in positions plus ten interactive self-service kiosks – both are more than double the number at Terminal 3,” JetBlue said. “The new interactive kiosks feature the latest personal, helpful and simple technology, including self-bag tagging and bag drop capabilities that increase efficiency and reduce frustrating airport lines. JetBlue Mint customers and Mosaic members will also have a dedicated check-in area.”

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Routes: Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, Delta + seaplanes to Tahoe!

Alaska Airlines will offer the first commercial service out of Paine Field next year. (Image: Alaska)

In domestic route developments, Alaska Airlines will start flying out of a new Seattle-area airport; JetBlue kicks off its newest transcontinental Mint route from San Francisco; Southwest adds some Milwaukee routes and drops one; Delta will enter a New England market from JFK; and Blackbird starts flying seaplanes from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe.

Travelers who live in Washington State’s northern Puget Sound region will get a new air travel option starting next year when Alaska Airlines begins operating out of Paine Field in Everett, Wash., also known as Snohomish County Airport. The carrier hasn’t yet announced routes, but said it expects to begin flying at Paine Field by the fall of 2018, operating nine flights a day with 737s and E175s. Alaska, which will be the first carrier to offer commercial service from Paine Field, said construction of a passenger terminal there will begin next month.

In other news, Alaska last week started service on the newest spoke from its Seattle hub, operating one daily 737 roundtrip to Indianapolis.

JetBlue’s front-cabin Mint service is expanding to more transcon routes. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue this week deployed a Mint-equipped A321 on another transcontinental route: San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale.  According to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, advance-purchase one-way fares on the route are in the $599 range, but can be found as low as $499. Two months ago, JetBlue introduced Mint service on its Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale route, and more Mint expansion will come later this year, including San Diego-New York JFK, San Diego-Boston and Las Vegas-JFK.

Southwest Airlines will make some changes to its Milwaukee operations starting November 5. The carrier will begin new service in two markets: Milwaukee-Nashville, with two flights a day; and Milwaukee-Cleveland, with two daily flights Sunday-Friday and one on Saturdays. At the same time, Southwest will boost Milwaukee-Denver frequencies from three a day to four, and will add a second daily Milwaukee-St. Louis flight. However, Southwest’s two daily Milwaukee-Minneapolis flights will be eliminated.

Delta plans to add another spoke to its New York JFK hub later this year, according to Routesonline.com. On September 10, the carrier is planning to begin one daily roundtrip between JFK and Portland, Maine, operated as a Delta Connection flight by Endeavor Air with a CRJ-900.

Blackbird’s seaplanes will fly from Sausalito to Lake Tahoe. (Image: Blackbird)

Who needs an airport? Blackbird Air, which offers small-plane service on several intra-California routes from the Bay Area, will introduce something new and totally different this summer: seaplane service from Sausalito to Lake Tahoe. Or as the company puts it, “Take off on the bay and land in the lake.” Blackbird has a downloadable app that can be used to book the service, which it says will start June 16 with fares from $124.

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Routes: United, JetBlue, AA, Emirates, Air China, El Al, LOT Polish

United will add service to Buenos Aires from Newark. (Image: Buenos Aires Tourism)

In international route news, United is adding a South American route from Newark; JetBlue expands Mexico City service and strengthens ties with Icelandair; American will sell premium economy seats from Chicago to Paris; Emirates trims its JFK schedule; Air China changes its mind about a new LAX route; El Al comes to Florida; and LOT adds Newark service.

United Airlines said it will begin new year-round daily service on October 28 between its Newark hub and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The route will use a 767-300 with business class, Economy Plus and regular economy seating. And both northbound and southbound flights will be red-eyes, with a 9:50 p.m. EWR departure and a 9 p.m. Buenos Aires departure time. United also said it will increase service between Newark and Bogota, Colombia from one flight a day to two for the summer season, June 8-August 14.

JetBlue will increase capacity between Florida and Mexico City  effective September 6, boosting its schedules from one flight a day to two from both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, offering early morning and midday southbound departures on both routes.  Meanwhile, JetBlue has also enhanced its partnership with Icelandair to include frequent flyer reciprocity. Members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue program can now earn points on Icelandair flights, and vice-versa for Icelandair Saga Club members flying on JetBlue.

American’s new premium economy seating is on 787-9s in select markets. (Image: American Airlines).

American Airlines is reportedly planning to put a 787-9 equipped with its new premium economy cabin into service this summer between Chicago O’Hare and Paris. It’s currently offered only on a few routes out of Dallas/Ft. Worth. But the ORD-Paris debut of the new cabin is only for a short period: July 5 to August 5. American normally uses a 787-8 on the route.

A few weeks ago, Emirates said it was cutting frequencies on its routes from Dubai to five U.S. destinations (Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Seattle, Los Angeles and Boston), partly because the U.S. ban on in-flight electronic devices aboard inbound flights was taking a big toll on bookings. And now it is adding New York JFK to that list. According to Routesonline.com, Emirates will trim its Dubai-JFK non-stop schedule from three flights a day to two effective June 4 through at least the end of June.  The carrier also offers one-stop JFK-Dubai service via Milan.

Air China apparently never started taking reservations on the new Los Angeles-Shenzen service that it planned to start flying July 6, and it’s a good thing – because the carrier has now pulled the route from its schedule, Routesonline.com said. Air China had planned to operate the service three times a week with a 787-9.

El Al will start Tel Aviv service from Miami this fall. (Image: Israel Ministry of Tourism)

Miami will go back onto El Al’s route map in November, when it plans to start flying MIA-Tel Aviv three times a week. The Israeli carrier discontinued Miami service in 2008. Its other U.S. gateways include Boston, New York JFK, Newark and Los Angeles.

The newest U.S. route for LOT Polish Airlines is Newark-Warsaw, which it recently started flying four times a week with a two-class 767-300. It will upgrade the route to a three-class 787 in August, and boost frequencies to five a week.

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Routes: Delta, JetBlue, United, Virgin America, Alaska, Southwest, American

Boston will get new Delta Connection service to four cities. (Image: SkyWest)

In domestic route developments, Delta and JetBlue both announce more service out of Boston; United expands Basic Economy to more routes; Virgin America starts flying new A321neos; Alaska adds a pair of Seattle markets; Southwest adds service at Sacramento; and American grows at Santa Rosa and Charlotte.

Boston travelers are the beneficiaries of an ongoing battle for market share between Delta and JetBlue. In the latest round, Delta unveiled new or expanded service on several BOS routes, in addition to its previously announced plans to start Boston-San Francisco flights on June 8. The carrier said its summer schedule this year will include new mainline service from Boston to Austin, along with new Delta Connection flights to Kansas City, Jacksonville, Buffalo and Norfolk. And on September 10, Delta will add a second daily roundtrip between Boston and Nashville.

And there’s more to come next winter: Delta said effective December 21, its Boston-West Palm Beach and BOS-Ft. Myers service will increase from weekend-only to daily, and Boston-Ft. Lauderdale will increase from weekends-only to twice-daily.  The expanded schedule will give Delta 12 new destinations out of Boston since November of last year.

A few days later, JetBlue announced its own expansion plans for Boston-Florida routes, including the addition of one more seasonal daily roundtrip from Boston to Jacksonville, to Palm Beach and to Ft. Myers. JetBlue had already announced that it will lay on a fourth daily Boston-Los Angeles Mint roundtrip in October, and will start Boston-San Diego Mint service in December. At Ft. Lauderdale, meanwhile, JetBlue said it will begin a daily roundtrip to Salt Lake City beginning November 16.

Lie-flat front cabin seating on a Delta 757-200. (Image: Delta)

Speaking of Delta, we noticed a couple of unusual entries on Routesonline.com, which tracks all airlines’ filings of new routes and service changes. Routesonline said Delta plans to put a 757-200 with flat-bed Delta One seats into service on one of its daily Boston-Minneapolis flights starting January 3 of next year. And from this month through October, Delta will use the same aircraft on one of its three daily New York JFK-Philadelphia flights; the other two still use Endeavor Air regional jets. Are these domestic legs of international flights? Any ideas, readers?

When United started offering bare-bones Basic Economy fares earlier this year, it did so mainly on routes between Minneapolis-St. Paul and its major hubs. But now United has started selling the ultra-low, no-frills fares in more than 100 domestic markets, mainly from its hubs to leisure destinations and to other hubs, for travel beginning May 9.  That includes routes like Newark-Orlando, Chicago-Denver, Washington Dulles-Orlando, Denver-Houston, San Francisco-Orlando and Chicago-Ft. Lauderdale. We’ve even heard they are in markets without ultra-low-cost-carriers such as LAX-SFO. 

An Airbus A321neo in Virgin America livery. (Image: Virgin America)

Although it’s now technically part of Alaska Airlines Group, Virgin America remains a separate brand and operating unit with its own new aircraft deliveries. And over the next several weeks, Virgin will put its newest aircraft type into service – the Airbus A321neo.  (The neo stands for New Engine Option.) The company said the new A321neos – it has ordered 10 of them – will have 185 seats. That will make it the largest in Virgin’s fleet; its current A320s have 146-149 seats, while its A319s have 119. The first A321neo will go into service May 31 between San Francisco and Washington Reagan National, and the second will start flying June 14 between SFO and New York JFK.

Speaking of Alaska Airlines, it recently started service on a pair of new routes out of its Seattle hub.  That includes one daily roundtrip from Seattle to San Luis Obispo and one between Seattle and Wichita. Both routes are operated by SkyWest with 76-seat, three-class E175s.

Southwest Airlines is growing at Sacramento. Besides new twice-daily flights between Sacramento and Long Beach starting August 1, the airline will also start daily Sacramento-Spokane service on the same date. And on June 5, Southwest will add more frequencies in two other markets, boosting its Sacramento-Seattle schedule to as many as six flights a day, and increasing Sacramento-San Diego to as many as 11 a day.

American Airlines’ new service (started in February) between its Phoenix hub and Sonoma County, California’s Charles Schulz Airport in Santa Rosa has been filling up fast, so the carrier plans to add a second daily flight in the market starting July 5. The Santa Rosa flights use American Eagle 70-seat, two-class CRJ-700s. Elsewhere, American plans to add two new American Eagle routes out of its Charlotte hub on August 22, with two flights a day to Shreveport, La., and two a day to Toledo, Ohio. Both will use CRJ-200s operated by PSA Airlines.

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Economy class legroom: How low can it go?

A 737 MAX in American Airlines livery. (Image: Boeing)

It’s ironic that word leaked out this week about American Airlines’ plans to reduce seat pitch on some of its new single-aisle aircraft. Ironic because it’s the same week that the House Transportation Committee held hearings in Washington about U.S. airlines’ poor treatment of passengers– and the possibility of regulating airline seating was discussed.

CNN said it learned that American plans to stuff more seats into its new 737 MAX aircraft by reducing seat pitch from the standard 31 inches to  a tight 29 inches on three rows in the economy cabin, and to 30 inches on the rest. The report said United Airlines “is considering a similar move.”

Our guess is that those three painful rows will be reserved for passengers who have booked the cheapest “basic economy” fares which the major airlines say they’ve introduced to compete with ultra low cost carriers. Since these will be the least desirable seats, and basic economy passengers are the last to board, they’ll end up in these seats by default. Another issue left up to speculation now is whether or not these seats will recline. I would hope not, but you never know.

Related: Should you ever book a Basic Economy fare? 

The new configuration will give American 170 seats on the new planes, vs. 160 on existing 737-800s, although they will still offer first class and Main Cabin Extra (with 35-37 inch pitch) seating.

According to the CNN report, 40 of the 100 737 MAX aircraft ordered by American are expected to join the fleet by the end of 2019, and the airline is reportedly thinking about reconfiguring economy seating in its older 737-800s to match the new planes.

“As the big airlines match each other move for move, the risk is that 29 inches becomes the standard (seat pitch) for flying economy in the United States,” CNN said.

JetBlue’s Airbus fleet has standard seat pitch of 32 to 34 inches. (Photo: JetBlue)

Frequent travelers know that an inch or two of more (or less) legroom can make a big difference in comfort, and if the legacy carriers were to reduce that number, they risk losing one of their main advantages over ultra-low-cost carriers.

Among the major airlines, seat pitches on single-aisle domestic aircraft generally range from 30 to 32 inches. Almost all airlines offer extra legroom seats with 34-36 inches of legroom for elite level members of frequent flyer programs or those who pay higher fares.

According to Seatguru.com, American offers 31-inch pitch on its 737-800s in economy class, and pitches of 30-31 inches on A319s, 31 on A320s and 31-32 on A321s. Delta’s economy pitch is 30-31 inches on 737-900s, and 31-32 inches on 737-800s and single-aisle Airbus planes. At United, 737-800s and -900s offer 30-31 inch pitch. Alaska’s 737-800s have 31-32 inches and 737-900s have from 31 to as much as 35 inches.

Spirit Airlines squeezes ’em in with a 28-inch seat pitch. (Image: Spirit Airlines)

JetBlue appears to be the most generous, with economy class legroom ranging from 32-33 inches on A321s to 34 inches on A320s. Southwest’s standard pitch is 31 inches on 737-700s and 32-33 on 737-800s. At Virgin America, economy seat pitch is 32 inches on A319s and 320s.

By contrast, low-cost Spirit Airlines has a standard pitch of 28 inches across its fleet of single-aisle Airbus planes. Frontier Airlines’ economy seat pitch is 28-31 inches on A319s, 28-29 on A320s and 30-32 on A321s.

What do you think about the tighter configurations? Is the new “get what you pay for” mentality among major airlines going to far? Should seat pitch minimums be regulated by the feds? 

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

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 Boeing 787 Dreamliner

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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JetBlue-backed startup eyes short-haul aircraft revolution

A start-up is working on 10- to 50-passenger hybrid electric aircraft. (Image: Zunum Aero)

There are hybrid electric cars, so why not hybrid electric passenger aircraft? A start-up company backed by JetBlue says new technology could revolutionize travel to smaller airports.

The company is Zunum Aero, which has funding from both Boeing and JetBlue Technology Ventures, the airline’s subsidiary that invests in travel-related innovation. The company is working on new 10- to 50-passenger aircraft using hybrid electric technology that could have planes in the sky within a few years, serving routes of up to 700 miles.

“These aircraft, as part of new regional electric air networks, will offer a fast, flexible and affordable alternative to highways and high-speed rail, operating point-to-point and as feeders to hub airports,” the company said.

Zunum envisions an air travel system that shifts traffic from the bottlenecks of giant hubs to one that takes advantage of under-utilized regional airports, eliminating the need for connections and/or long drives for many travelers. The company said the aircraft it is developing could serve markets of up to 700 miles by the early 2020s, and more than 1,000 miles by 2030.

Zunum says its planes could be flying by the early 2020s. (Image: Zunum Aero)

“Designing aircraft for walk-on, walk-off travel from nearby airports addresses the major pain points of modern air transit while filling a vast regional transport gap,” Zunum said. “For example, passengers can expect to travel from regional airports in the Boston area to Washington, DC for half the fare and in half the time it takes today door-to-door. For those on the West Coast, Silicon Valley to the LA area drops to two and a half hours door-to-door, from over five hours today, or to Lake Tahoe in just two hours at a fraction of today’s cost.”

Besides cutting door-to-door travel times by 40 to 80 percent, the company said, its technology would reduce operating costs enough to permit a 40 to 80 percent cut in fares. It would also greatly reduce aircraft emissions and noise.

“As a company that is also deeply committed to innovation in sustainable travel, we believe that Zunum and its quiet, environmentally-friendly aircraft will light up a vast network of underutilized airports and reinvent regional travel,” said Bonny Simi, president of JetBlue Technology Ventures.

Wright Electric and EasyJet are considering a 150-passenger electric-powered plane. (Image: Wright Electric)

Zunum and JetBlue aren’t the only ones exploring new ways to power aircraft. Another U.S. start-up, Wright Electric, is in discussions with U.K.-based low-cost carrier EasyJet about the development of a battery-powered or hybrid plane that could carry 150 passengers on flights of up to 300 miles.

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JetBlue sets next wave of Mint expansion

A private suite in JetBlue’s Mint cabin. (Image: JetBlue)

Claiming that demand for its Mint premium cabin product “continues to exceed expectations,” JetBlue is moving ahead with plans to offer the flat-bed seats on more routes later this year.

JetBlue this week confirmed recent reports that it will introduce Mint-equipped A321s on three new routes from late summer through fall. JetBlue also said this week it will expand Boston-Los Angeles Mint service, and will offer it on more Caribbean flights.

On August 15, JetBlue will launch Mint service on one daily San Diego-New York JFK flight; and on October 10 it will add a second Mint roundtrip in that market. San Diego-Boston will get similar treatment, with one daily Mint roundtrip kicking off December 10, and a second beginning December 20.

You can see specific schedules for the new flights here.

Las Vegas will get Mint service to JFK starting in November. (Image: Jim Glab)

Mint service will come to the New York JFK-Las Vegas route on November 6 with one daily roundtrip, followed by a second daily frequency November 10, JetBlue said.

The airline noted that on those three routes, “JetBlue will be the only airline to offer a regularly scheduled lie-flat domestic product.”

JetBlue introduced Mint on the Boston-Los Angeles route last year, but the carrier said it has seen such demand that it plans to add a fourth daily Mint roundtrip between Boston and LAX on October 20.

JetBlue’s Mint class offers upgraded meals. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

To the Caribbean, JetBlue will add a second Saturday roundtrip with Mint service from JFK to Barbados effective November 4, in addition to its year-round JFK-Barbados Saturday Mint service.  The company will also revive seasonal Mint service from JFK to Aruba September 9, to St. Maarten November 4, and to St. Lucia and Grenada effective December 2. Seasonal Mint flights from Boston to Barbados start November 4, and from Boston to Aruba September 9.

JetBlue said that by the end of the year, it will be offering Mint service on 70 daily flights, or about one in every 14 flights it operates.

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Most popular: Delta 747 + Aircraft noise + New routes + SFO runways + Hyatt points

Flight attendant hat

Flight attendant wore uniforms from the 70s at the Delta 747 Experience last week. Hat designed by Yves St Laurent (Image: Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 What a sight! First look deep inside a Delta 747-400 [PHOTOS]

2 Causing consternation: Ugly aircraft noise, beautifully displayed

3 Routes: Delta, Alaska, AA, JetBlue, United, JetSuiteX

4 Virgin’s new moves Routes: Seattle and SFO; Delta, WOW, AA, Emirates, United, BA + more

5 Airport news: San Diego, Newark, Atlanta, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland

6 Chris flies to London this week from OAK> Deal: $503 roundtrip Oakland-London on British Airways

Marriott Residence Inn

My fave hotel in Boston: Marriott’s popular Residence Inn Downtown Seaport (Chris McGinnis)

7 Fares still available on FOUR carriers: Full-on fare war: Atlanta-Boston $80 economy, $335 first

8 Flatter seats, fewer upgrades: Delta, JetBlue lay on more lie-flat seats, but…

9 ICYMI My most jaw-dropping window seat view…ever [VIDEO]

10 Still a hot issue: Alaska Airlines reveals fate of Virgin America

Don’t miss: Working around the laptop ban

Listen up! TravelSkills sponsor Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection recently created a podcast interview about the latest travel news with editor Chris McGinnis! Listen for yourself by clicking below, or find it on Soundcloud — Chris’s bit starts at the 10:30 minute mark:

Coyote runway

Fake, or decoy, coyotes are used to scare birds off the runway at SFO (Image: Chris McGinnis)

Runway repairs will cause 9 week(ends) of delays at SFO

Richard Branson: Alaska Air must pay for Virgin brand thru 2040!

American Express increases Platinum sign up bonus to 60,000 (keep scrolling!)

San Jose airport manager moving south

Very helpful: How to travel with an Alzheimers or dementia companion

Boeing’s new Skyview window (Boeing)

Largest airplane windows of all time offer pano views

Hyatt rolls out new double points promotion

Virgin Atlantic reveals new Upper Class design for A330s

New jacket for travelers has 10 functions

Silvercar sold this week (Facebook photo: Than Maung)

Audi plans to acquire 100 percent of U.S. specialty rental firm Silvercar

Hilton’s digital room key app now available in 1,000 hotels

U.S. company plans to build 150-passenger electric-powered aircraft

These airlines are most likely to bump you

The 10 U.S. cities ranked best for business travel

How Lyft is like a “better boyfriend”

Get the app and get $10 off your first Lyft ride!

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Full-on fare war: Atlanta-Boston $80 economy, $335 first

JetBlue’s arrival in ATL sparks major fare war (Image: Google Flights)

Today JetBlue launched new nonstops between Atlanta and Boston, sparking one of the craziest fare wars I’ve seen to date- even in first class.

As of today, JetBlue is selling roundtrips as low as $109 on its five ATL-BOS flights per day. That’s crazy.

But even crazier? Spirit Air, which offers one daily nonstop, is selling seats for just $80 roundtrip (plus fees).

Delta, long the major player in this market (with 11 roundtrips per day), seems to be keeping above the low-fare fray, but just barely. Its lowest round trips are going for just $136 roundtrip. But for $136, you get one of Delta’s new bare bones basic economy fares. For regular main cabin seats, you’ll pay $165 roundtrip– still cheap by historical standards.

Delta is also discounting its first class seats on ATL-BOS— a nice upgrade for the 2.5 hour flight! We’ve found found first class round trips for $335 to $475 in April and May.

Southwest has jumped into the fray as well… with roundtrips going for as little as $121 round trip on its three daily ATL-BOS nonstops.

Last week JetBlue announced that it was fighting a decision by ATL authorities to make it use gates in ATL’s Concourse D when it was told it would be able to use gates at the much nicer Concourse E. As of today, the issue has not been resolved, and JetBlue is using gates in both D and E concourses according to a spokesperson.

In any case, these are great deals for Bostonians who’d like to soak up some southern springtime hospitality. They are also perfect for the many cash strapped students traveling between ATL and Boston– or elsewhere.

Go get some beans with these low fares!

Note: These fares were available on Google Flights on Thursday March 30 and are subject to change.

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Routes: Delta, Alaska, AA, JetBlue, United, JetSuiteX

Delta’s A319s have nine-inch screens at every seat. (Image: Delta)

In domestic route news, Delta will start multiple daily flights between two key business centers; Alaska eyes deployment of new E175s this spring and summer; American adds spokes from its Miami and Dallas hubs; JetBlue invades Delta’s hometown; United drops an East Coast route; and JetSuiteX steps up for music lovers.

Delta set June 19 for the start of new service from its growing Seattle hub to the largest city where it doesn’t yet fly from SEA. The carrier said it will inaugurate service between SEA and Chicago O’Hare, offering three flights a day with Airbus A319s. Departures in both directions are scheduled for early morning, midday and late afternoon, and tickets are on sale now. Meanwhile, later this year Delta will revive service on a route it dropped years ago: Salt Lake City-Tampa. Service will begin December 21 with one daily 737 roundtrip. And effective July 9, Delta will deploy a second daily roundtrip on its Atlanta-Rochester, Minn. route, using a CRJ-700.

Alaska’s Horizon Air subsidiary is deploying new three-class E175s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines has ordered a bunch of new Embraer E175s, and several of them are being delivered this spring and summer. Routesonline.com reports that Alaska’s Horizon Air unit has started scheduling the new planes onto its route network, initially operating one daily roundtrip in each market. You’ll see the new E-175s staring May 4 on the Portland-St. Louis route, followed on May 18 on routes from Seattle to Oakland, Ontario, Portland, San Francisco, and St. Louis. The plane debuts June 4 between Portland-Salt Lake City; June 15 from Seattle to Calgary, Colorado Springs, Santa Barbara and San Jose; July 17 from Portland to Dallas/Ft. Worth; July 18 from SEA to Fresno and San Luis Obispo; August 17 from Seattle to Bozeman; August 18 from Orange County and Portland to Albuquerque; September 18 from San Francisco to Albuquerque and Kansas City; and October 18 from San Diego to Albuquerque.

The new aircraft are part of Alaska’s largest order ever for Horizon – a total of 30 new planes. And they will come with a three-class seating configuration including 12 first class seats, 16 in Alaska’s new Premium Class and 48 in the main cabin. The premium class seats will have a 34-inch pitch, vs. 36 to 38 inches in first and 31 inches in the main cabin. The planes will also have Wi-Fi, power outlets throughout, and free streaming entertainment.

American Airlines plans a July 5 start for new service between its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub and Spokane. The carrier will operate one daily roundtrip using a 124-passenger A319. On the same date, American will add another spoke from its Miami hub with the inauguration of one daily roundtrip to Omaha, Nebraska. MIA-Omaha will be an American Eagle operation, using a 76-seat E-175.

JetBlue and Delta are adding a new competitive arena as JetBlue invades the Boston-Atlanta market. (Image: Jim Glab)

We’ve mentioned this before, but just a reminder: This Tuesday (March 28), JetBlue is set to jump into a market thoroughly dominated by Delta and Southwest: Boston-Atlanta. JetBlue plans five flights a day on the route. The carrier planned on operating out of ATL’s Terminal E, but the airport reportedly wanted JetBlue to split its flights between Terminals D and E – prompting a JetBlue complaint to the FAA.

With a big hub at Newark, United Airlines doesn’t have much of a presence at New York LaGuardia – and that presence is about to get smaller. United Express/Republic Airlines operates up to three flights a day between LGA and Raleigh-Durham, but those flights are scheduled for termination effective June 7. United already serves RDU from Newark.

Music fans who want to get to the renowned Coachella Festival next month without a long drive through the desert have a new option. JetSuiteX, which operates small-jet scheduled service on intra-California routes, is planning to run special flights on two April weekends from Burbank to the Jacqueline Cochran Desert Resorts Regional Airport in Thermal, California. The service is scheduled for April 14-17 and April 21-24; tickets start at $199 each way at www.JetSuiteX.com.

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Delta, JetBlue lay on more lie-flat seats, but…

Rendering of Delta’s lie flat seating on transcon 757s. (Image: Delta)

Last week, we reported that more airlines are bringing front cabins with flat-bed seating to transcontinental routes out of Boston; and now Delta and JetBlue are bringing more enhanced service to other coast-to-coast routes.

Delta said that not only will it offer front cabin seats that lie flat on its upcoming new routes between Boston-San Francisco and Washington Reagan National-Los Angeles; it will also give those routes the full transcon treatment that it offers from New York to SFO and LAX. Meanwhile, JetBlue has set the starting dates for expansion of its premium cabin Mint service to more transcon markets.

The 757-200s that Delta will start flying between DCA-LAX once a day on May 24 and BOS-SFO twice a day on June 8 will have a Delta One cabin with full flat-bed seats “as well as enhanced amenities throughout…the aircraft,” Delta said.

But there’s a downside to this lie-flat goodness: Delta will no longer offer complimentary upgrades to first class on these routes. Delta medallions get free upgrades to Delta Comfort and Delta First, but not to Delta One.

First class lie-flat seats in Delta’s BOS-SFO 757-200 starting in June. (Image: Delta)

The Delta One flat seats will come with Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding; enhanced in-fight dining with “chef-curated menus served on Alessi serviceware;” wines that change seasonally; a dedicated flight attendant for the front cabin; power ports and USB outlets; seatback screens with free entertainment; noise-canceling headphones; and a Tumi amenity kit. Delta One customers on the new routes will also get Sky Club access and priority check-in and baggage handling.

As previously announced, passengers in Delta Comfort and Main Cabin seats will get the same free meals that Delta is introducing on other transcon routes, and Delta Comfort flyers will get a pre-arrival snack, free alcoholic drinks and a frozen yogurt bar, along with a modest amenity kit.

A private suite in JetBlue’s Mint cabin. (Image: JetBlue)

Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that JetBlue has set starting dates for the deployment of Mint-equipped A321s on more transcon routes.

On August 15, JetBlue will put Mint service onto one of its two daily JFK-San Diego flights, extending it to the second daily flight on October 19. Boston-San Diego will get Mint service on one daily flight beginning December 10, and on the second by December 20. JetBlue’s three daily JFK-Las Vegas flights will see Mint service on one flight starting November 6 and on a second effective November 10.

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Boston basks in lie-flat comfort

JetBlue’s front-cabin Mint service is expanding to more transcon routes. (Image: JetBlue)

Thanks to JetBlue, flat-bed seats on transcontinental flights are spreading from the New York market to Boston. And that is music to the ears of West Coasters who have to endure those six-hour hauls. Boston is so. far. away! And so is California…

When JetBlue introduced its Mint front-cabin service, which offers lie-flat seats and other perks to premium passengers, it was initially limited to the highly competitive New York-Los Angeles and New York-San Francisco markets dominated by United, Delta and American.

What started out as an experiment by JetBlue – offering biz-class service with a lie-flat seat comparable to its competitors but at lower fares – became a huge success for the carrier’s bottom line.  So it started fitting out more aircraft with flat-seat Mint cabins and expanding the service to more transcontinental markets – starting with its three daily San Francisco-Boston flights.

First class lie-flat seats in Delta’s BOS-SFO 757-200s starting in June. (Image: Delta)

Last September, Delta announced plans to re-enter the San Francisco-Boston market on June 8 with two daily roundtrips, using 757-200s. Delta has four models of 757-200s, one of which offers lie-flat seats in its first class cabin. And those are the 757s Delta will use on the BOS-SFO route.

And something else is happening June 8:  United reportedly plans to change the aircraft mix on its San Francisco-Boston flights from the current 757-300s, 777-200s and 737-900s to just two types: 777-200s and 757-200s, all with lie-flat seating in the front cabin.

JetBlue, meanwhile, plans to boost frequencies in the BOS-SFO market by adding a fourth daily Mint roundtrip in July. Game on.

Looking ahead to June when the competition heats up,  business class fares on jets with lie-flat seats in the Boston-San Francisco and Los Angeles market are currently running at about $1,200 roundtrip. Flights with standard recliner seats are as low as $892 roundtrip.

JetBlue’s current and upcoming Mint routes. (Image; JetBlue)

Meanwhile, JetBlue has also put Mint-equipped A321s onto its Boston-Los Angeles flights as of last fall. So far, we haven’t see any front cabin flat-bed response from its competitors on that route. United, Delta and American all use 737-800s on their BOS-LAX flights. (However, Delta plans to use flat-seat 757-200s on its new transcon route from Washington Reagan National to LAX that starts next month.)

(Note: Virgin America is in all these transcon markets, but it doesn’t offer true flat-bed seats in the front cabins of its Airbus jets.)

If JetBlue’s competitors decide to offer a comparable premium product on BOS-LAX, this flat-seat fight could spread to even more markets.

JetBlue’s longer-term plan for Mint includes deployment of the flat-bed front cabin on more transcon routes in the months ahead including Boston-Seattle, Boston-San Diego, New York-San Diego and New York-Las Vegas, along with San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale and Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale.

What do you think about the emerging lie-flat wars? Is lie-flat really necessary on a domestic flight? Which airline do you use for transcons and why? Please leave comments below! 

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Getting easier to fly to Mexico City

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines will use 737-900s for new Mexico City flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The U.S. Transportation Department has issued a tentative decision awarding Mexico City airport slots to six airlines, with U.S. carriers winning rights for new service to the Mexican capital from California, Florida and Texas.

The takeoff and landing slots at Mexico City became available after DOT required Delta and Aeromexico to give them up if they wanted antitrust immunity for their joint venture partnership. The government wanted the slots to go to low-cost airlines to counteract the increased market dominance that Delta and Aeromexico would gain from the joint venture.

Subject to agreement by Mexican government authorities and final DOT approval, the transfer of slots to new carriers will come in two phases. The first new services are expected to begin this summer, and the second phase should take effect before summer of 2018.

In the first phase, Alaska Airlines was a big winner, gaining tentative approval for everything it requested. The slot awards will let it begin flying to MEX once a day from San Francisco, once a day from San Diego, and twice a day from Los Angeles International.  Alaska said it will use 737-900ERs for the SFO and LAX service, and regional jets from San Diego. Schedules will be  announced after final approvals, Alaska said.

Aeromexico and Delta had to give up slots at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez Airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Also in the first phase, JetBlue won enough slots to operate two daily roundtrips from Orlando and two from Ft. Lauderdale. And Southwest received slots for two daily flights from Houston Hobby.

Mexican carriers in the first phase include Volaris, which won slots for daily service to Mexico City from Los Angeles, San Antonio and New York JFK. Interjet also got a slot pair for JFK-Mexico City service, and VivaAerobus won rights to a daily roundtrip between MEX and Las Vegas.

Slot awards in the second phase will give Southwest one daily roundtrip between Ft. Lauderdale and MEX and one between LAX and MEX. JetBlue will get slots for two daily roundtrips between LAX and MEX. Volaris is the big winner in the second phase, with slots that will allow new roundtrips from MEX to Denver, Washington Dulles, San Jose, Oakland, Ontario and Chicago O’Hare. VivaAerobus will get rights to two daily flights from MEX to New York JFK.

Have you been to Mexico City before? To me it’s one of the best places to go in North America- great food, robust cultural offerings, cool hotel scene… what about you? 

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Battle for Mexico City brings cheaper fares, more flights

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines wants to fly to Mexico City from San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. (Image: Alaska Air)

U.S. and Mexican airlines are competing for newly available access to Mexico City as Delta unveils plans to buy a much larger stake in Aeromexico.

The Transportation Department could soon announce new route authority for several carriers to Mexico City, using takeoff and landing slots that Aeromexico and Delta had to give up as a condition for approval of their joint venture. Alaska Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest are all in the running, along with Mexican low-cost carriers Volaris and VivaAerobus.

DOT plans to dole out 14 Mexico City slot pairs this year  for U.S. service, concentrating on low-fare airlines to counteract the greater market power that antitrust immunity will give to the new Delta-Aeromexico joint venture.

Alaska Airlines, which has no service to the Mexican capital, has asked for authority to fly there twice a day from Los Angeles and once a day from San Francisco and San Diego. The SFO route and one of the LAX flights would use 737-900ERs; the others would use regional jets.

Mexico City

Mexico City’s international terminal (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Southwest wants authority to add a fourth daily Houston-MEX flight, and to move one of the other three flights to more convenient times. JetBlue wants slots that would allow it to move its MEX-Ft. Lauderdale and MEX-Orlando departures out of Mexico City to later times in the day (both currently leave before 6 a.m.), and to add second frequencies on both routes.

Mexican low-cost carriers VivaAerobus and Volaris also want slots. VivaAerobus wants to start flying to Oakland three days a week and to San Antonio four days a week, and to operate daily roundtrips to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Volaris wants to add new daily service to San Antonio and Washington D.C., and to add frequencies on its routes to New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Don’t miss: Why Mexico City is one of Chris’s favorite places- BBC

Delta wants to boost its stake in Aeromexico to 49 percent. (Image: Delta)

Delta wants to boost its stake in Aeromexico to 49 percent. (Image: Delta)

Meanwhile, Delta said this week it plans to buy up a much larger stake in Aeromexico. It currently holds 4.2 percent of that airline’s shares, and now said it will buy another 32 percent. It already holds options to buy 12.8 percent, so after the transaction is over, Delta will hold ownership or options on 49 percent of Aeromexico’s shares – the same as its equity stake in Virgin Atlantic. Delta and Virgin also have a joint venture with antitrust immunity, and have used it to closely coordinate schedules on transatlantic routes to the U.K.

Delta owns smaller stakes in Brazil’s GOL and in China Eastern Airlines.

“The tender offer and investment (in Aeromexico) will further strengthen the relationship that will be established when our joint cooperation agreement is implemented in the second quarter,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian.

Have you been to Mexico City lately? To me it’s one of the great sleeper cities of the Western Hemisphere. What about you?

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Are seatback screens becoming obsolete?

Seatback screens are still staying on American wide-bodies like this 787 -- for now. (Image: American)

Seatback screens are still staying on American Airlines wide-bodies like this 787 — for now. (Image: American)

American Airlines has decided to do without seatback video screens in its newest single-aisle planes, and it is betting that passengers won’t care.

The carrier is due to take delivery of its first four next-generation 737 MAX aircraft this year – it has ordered a total of 100 – and they will come without the traditional seatback screens. American will still offer the screens on wide-bodies used for international routes, for its three-class A321Ts used on lucrative transcontinental routes, and on some other single-aisle aircraft, including 40 A321s and other 737 models due for delivery this year.

Instead of using seatback screens, passengers on the new 737 MAX planes will be able to see entertainment programming on their personal electronic devices, the airline said in a memo to employees.

The carrier said more than 90 percent of AA passengers now bring along their own tablet, laptop or smartphone, and that passengers prefer to use those devices. The airline will allow passengers to access its collection of movies, TV programs and live TV at no charge.

Satellite-based Wi-Fi links will be available for a fee, so that passengers can stream on-demand video entertainment from other providers. All of American’s new 737 MAX aircraft, and several hundred of its other domestic planes, will be getting new satellite-based Wi-Fi technology from ViaSat, the same vendor used by JetBlue.

Direct streaming to tablets and laptops will preclude the need for seatback video screens in the future. Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Direct streaming to tablets and laptops will likely preclude the need for seatback video screens in the future. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The new technology will permit much faster Wi-Fi for easy video streaming from sources like Netflix and Amazon. The ViaSat Wi-Fi should be on about half of AA’s single-aisle fleet by mid-2018.

American hasn’t decided yet whether it will extend the “no screens” policy to other aircraft types in the future.  But its memo to employees did say that the company expects seatback monitors to be “obsolete within a few years.”

Other carriers seem to be taking the same approach; United’s new 737-900s rely on entertainment streaming without video screens, and Alaska also uses streaming-only in-flight entertainment, although on longer flights it offers rental tablets that are preloaded with movie and TV programming.

Readers: Do you care if your domestic flight has a seatback screen as long as you can stream entertainment directly to your laptop or tablet at a reasonable speed?

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Mineta San Jose airport adding even more flights in 2017

United Airlines 737-800

United Airlines Boeing 737-800s will soon fly nonstop to New York and Chicago from San Jose (Image: Chad Slattery / United)

With major U.S. airlines adding more flights at Mineta San Jose International this winter and spring, and with international flight options taking off, the airport has been making substantial improvements to handle increased passenger traffic.

New domestic flights starting in the first half of the New Year include:

  • A pair of new nonstops for United Airlines, both starting March 9. United will begin twice-daily flights to its big hub at Chicago O’Hare, and one daily roundtrip to its East Coast hub at Newark Liberty International. United will use 737-800s on both routes.
  • Staking a bigger claim in California, Alaska Airlines will inaugurate new transcontinental service on the SJC-Newark route on March 12, operating one daily roundtrip, followed by new intrastate service three times a day from San Jose to Hollywood-Burbank beginning March 16. These are the fourth and fifth new Alaska Airlines routes at SJC since late 2015, giving the carrier a total of 16 destinations.
  • On May 1, Air Canada is due to add a third daily frequency between San Jose-Vancouver.
  • American Airlines’ seasonal service between San Jose and Charlotte is set to resume May 5.
  • Delta will boost its presence at San Jose beginning May 25, when it expands its schedule to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson from two flights a day to three.
  • And Southwest will kick off daily San Jose-Reno service June 4.

You can find more details about new San Jose routes here.

First stop: SJC's new business class lounge

SJC’s popular business class lounge awarded “Priority Pass Lounge of the Year for North America.” (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Even without these new flights, SJC has been experiencing healthy growth in passenger numbers. Through the first 10 months of 2016, the domestic passenger count topped the 4 million mark, an increase of more than 7 percent year-over-year. And thanks to new flights across both the Atlantic and Pacific, international traffic at SJC jumped more than 68 percent during that period.

New and improved passenger amenities at Mineta San Jose make life easier for travelers. The three-year-old Club at SJC in Terminal A, a lounge open to all travelers on a paid basis and also a part of the Priority Pass network of airport lounges, was recently named the Priority Pass Airport Lounge of the Year for North America.

International travelers at SJC are finding their lives a little easier thanks to recent improvements that help them to speed through passenger processing. Precheck logo TMMany domestic travelers rely on TSA’s PreCheck program to move through security screening more quickly, but now some international travelers at San Jose can also take advantage of that benefit: Lufthansa – which began San Jose-Frankfurt flights last summer – recently became the first European airline to begin participation in PreCheck.

International travelers at SJC can now download Customs and Border Protection’s free Mobile Passport Control app on their phones or tablets and use it to submit their passport data and Customs declaration form to CBP. A coded electronic receipt shown to the CBP officer lets them move quickly through the arrivals process. And the airport also offers CBP’s Global Entry kiosks for international arrivals who belong to that trusted traveler program, allowing them to bypass lines. Also available at SJC are Automated Passport Control kiosks where arriving travelers can submit their entry information.

Mobile Passport Control

No need to fill out paper customs and immigration forms when you have the new Mobile Passport Control app

And more enhancements are on the way. This spring, the airport is expected to finish a renovation of its International Arrivals Building that will add 5,600 square feet along with a second baggage carousel and an enclosed waiting area.

A look at what the new International Arrivals lobby (Image: SJC)

A image of the future International Arrivals lobby (Image: SJC)

On a lighter note, Mineta San Jose has garnered attention and acclaim for its recent deployment of three interactive customer service robots – an appropriate innovation for an airport that serves as the gateway to Silicon Valley. Even more interactive robots – smaller ones – are featured in the airport’s new play area for children in Terminal B.

You can find more details about new San Jose routes here.

This post is sponsored by Mineta San Jose International Airport  

San Jose Airport banner

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In-flight wi-fi makes small but steady gains

Gogo says new technology will increase Wi-Fi speeds tenfold. (Image: Delta)

Gogo says new technology will increase Wi-Fi speeds tenfold. (Image: Delta)

A new report finds that U.S. airlines remain way ahead of their foreign counterparts in the availability of in-flight Wi-Fi.

However, the Routehappy.com report also notes that the world’s airlines have quite a ways to go in offering what it calls the “best” Wi-Fi – i.e., “comparable to a home connection” in that it offers the highest speeds available and permits advanced media streaming.

“U.S. airlines continue to get closer to offering Wi-Fi on nearly every flight, a benefit of having started Wi-Fi rollouts earlier than airlines in most other regions,” Routehappy said. “Delta and United now have it installed on every single aircraft larger than 50-seat regional jets, while American is also closing in on this milestone. This is the result of multi-year installation programs, which are finally wrapping up.”

Airlines are shifting to Wi-Fi systems that communicate via satellites like this one.. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Airlines are shifting to systems that communicate via satellites like this one.. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

The company said that for U.S. airlines, 80 percent of available seat miles (ASMs) are now flown on Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft, compared with just 18.5 percent of ASMs on foreign airlines worldwide.  (U.S. airlines that offer none at all include ultra-low-cost carriers like Frontier and Spirit, “which have no intention of rolling it out in the near future,” Routehappy said.)

In terms of quality, the company found that of equipped aircraft worldwide, only 7.2 percent offer the “best” product – an increase of just 1.2 points in the past year. Most aircraft (61 percent) provide what Routehappy calls “better” quality – i.e., capable of full web browsing and limited media streaming, while the rest have just basic service.

However, that should change fast. “While the overwhelming majority of flights operating with Best Wi-Fi today are found on JetBlue and some United flights, next-generation systems are now rapidly coming online, with major airline commitments announced more regularly than in prior years,” Routehappy said.

Source: Routehappy.com

Source: Routehappy.com

“Gogo’s 2Ku system (i.e., an advanced satellite-based network) has recently launched with multiple major global airlines such as Delta, Aeromexico, and Virgin Atlantic. Inmarsat’s GX for Aviation is also in the beginning stages of going live to passengers. Deutsche Telekom’s high-speed air-to-ground network is being built throughout the European Union and UK, and British Airways will use this network starting in mid-2017; SAS and Finnair have also tapped Viasat for European Wi-Fi. All these systems are pending installation in thousands of aircraft. While equipment installation will take years to complete, by the end of 2017 flyers will see a big increase of Best Wi-Fi available to them.”

The deployment of these newer technologies means that in-fight Wi-Fi speed and quality “will dramatically improve” in the months and years ahead, the company said, and the cost to passengers should come down as well.

Looking just at long-haul flights – which Routehappy defines as more than 2,800 miles – the report says that only seven airlines now offer Wi-Fi on 100 percent of their flights: United, Delta, Iberia, Etihad, Icelandaor, Lufthansa and Singapore’s Scoot.

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Routes: Delta at Seattle, Alaska at Portland + AA, JetBlue, Spirit

Delta is adding several more routes out of Seattle (Photo: Jim Glab)

Delta is adding several more routes out of Seattle (Photo: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, Delta, Alaska and American each announced several new markets for 2017; JetBlue kicks off a California corridor route; and Spirit adds 10 markets.

Delta just announced plans to pile on more flights at its growing Seattle hub this year, with tickets for the new routes going on sale January 14. The new service includes a daily roundtrip to Milwaukee beginning March 9; three flights a day to Eugene, Oregon starting April 1; a daily Nashville flight as of May 26; a daily Raleigh-Durham flight effective June 8; a daily roundtrip to Austin beginning June 12; two flights a day to Redmond, Oregon as of June 12; and one a day to Lihue, Kauai starting December 21.

Portland International will get more Alaska Airliners service this spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Portland International will get more Alaska Airliners service this spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines will beef up its operations at Portland this spring and summer with new service in four markets. It will begin a daily roundtrip May 22 from Portland to Philadelphia; another on June 5 from PDX to Milwaukee; and a third on June 6 from Portland to Baltimore/Washington International. Those will all operate seasonally until the last week of August; Milwaukee gets a SkyWest E175 while the other two will use 737s. Then on August 18, Alaska’s Horizon Air will start new daily year-round service from Portland to Albuquerque with an E175.

Routesonline.com reports that American Airlines’ latest schedule updates include new summer service in seven markets, all starting June 2. From its Phoenix hub, American will add service once a day to Eugene, Oregon; Jackson Hole, Wyoming (seasonal until August 21); and Medford, Oregon. Jackson Hole gets an A319 and the other two will use American Eagle/SkyWest CRJ-700s. From Dallas/Ft. Worth, American Eagle/Envoy Air will start flying once a day to Traverse City, Michigan (seasonal through August 21) and to Billings, Montana, using E175s. And from Chicago O’Hare, Eagle/SkyWest will start one daily CRJ-700 roundtrip to Bozeman, Montana (seasonal until October 4).

JetBlue last week revived an intra-California route. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue last week revived an intra-California route. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue, which briefly flew the intra-California route from its Long Beach focus city to San Jose seven years ago, jumped back into that market last week. The airline will use its 150-seat A320s to fly the route four times a day.

Spirit Airlines unveiled plans to add 10 new routes this spring from Houston, New Orleans, Baltimore/Washington and Detroit. From Houston Bush Intercontinental, Spirit will begin year-round service to Newark and seasonal flights to Seattle on April 27. New routes from New Orleans, all operating year-round beginning May 25, include Baltimore/Washington, Cleveland and Orlando. The new BWI service, all seasonal and starting May 25, will be to Oakland, San Diego and Seattle. And new seasonal service starts May 25 from Detroit to Oakland and Seattle.

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Routes: American, China Airlines, Xiamen, JetBlue, Alaska + more

American's new premium economy seating is on 787-9s in more markets. (Image: American Airlines).

American’s new premium economy seating is on 787-9s in more markets. (Image: American Airlines).

In international route updates, American Airlines is adding premium economy-equipped 787-9s to more markets; China Airlines planes an aircraft change and more flights to San Francisco; Xiamen opens sales for a new LAX route; JetBlue boosts Bermuda capacity; Alaska adds a Mexico route from Sacramento; Avianca increases Los Angeles service; and Delta expands Caribbean code-shares.

The new premium economy section that American Airlines is putting into its 787-9 Dreamliners will soon appear on more routes. The section first appeared on Dallas/Ft. Worth-Sao Paulo and DFW-Madrid flights in November, and now it is due to debut on DFW-Paris and DFW-Seoul flights starting January 9 and February 16 respectively.  Although the seats are out there, they’re not yet officially on sale as premium economy fares. That will begin early next year, American said. In other news, American is planning to upgrade the aircraft on its Raleigh-Durham to London Heathrow route. On March 5, it will switch from a 767 to a 777-200, offering about 40 percent more seats.

China Airlines will put a new Airbus A350 onto its San Francisco-Taipei route next spring. (Image: Airbus)

China Airlines will put a new Airbus A350 onto its San Francisco-Taipei route next spring. (Image: Airbus)

More flights are coming on the San Francisco to Taipei route, along with a new aircraft type. China Airlines, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam alliance, reportedly plans to boost frequencies on the route from seven a week to nine starting May 14, and to switch aircraft from a 777-300ER to a new Airbus A350. Then in early August, the carrier will add two more weekly flights on the route for a total of 11 a week.

China’s Xiamen Airlines has started taking bookings for its planned new service between Xiamen and Los Angeles International, due to begin on June 27. The carrier will use a 787-9 Dreamliner to fly the route three times a week.

JetBlue is adding more capacity to Bermuda from its Northeast focus cities. Beginning May 18, it will operate daily year-round flights from New York JFK, with a second daily frequency from May 18 through October. The airline will also increase its Boston-Bermuda daily service from seasonal to year-round as of May 18, and will upsize aircraft on its Bermuda routes from 100-seat Embraer 190s to 150-seat Airbus A320s.

Alaska Airlines plans to add a new route from California to Mexico next summer. As of June 10, the airline will offer weekly 737 service (on Saturdays) between Sacramento and San Jose/Los Cabos.

The LAX-Bogota route will get more Avianca Dreamliner flights next year. (Image: Avianca)

The LAX-Bogota route will get more Avianca Dreamliner flights next year. (Image: Avianca)

Got  business in Colombia? The Colombian carrier Avianca will boost its West Coast service in 2017, increasing frequencies on the Bogota-Los Angeles route from four a week to daily starting on March 28. Avianca uses a 787-8 Dreamliner on the route.

Delta is expanding its code-share partnership with Seaborne Airlines on flights beyond San Juan to various Caribbean island destinations. In recent weeks, Delta has put its DL code onto Seabourne flights from San Juan to St. Maarten, Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis, and on March 5 it will do the same on Seabourne service to La Romana, Dominican Republic.

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Roundup: San Jose’s flourishing flight options

British Airways added San Jose-London service last spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways added San Jose-London service last spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

Mineta San Jose International Airport is entering a real boom period, with both domestic and international airlines adding new routes right and left. With a growing regional population and a perfect location as the gateway to one of the world’s biggest technology hubs, Mineta San Jose is well positioned for continued growth into the 21st century.

That technology hub, of course, is Silicon Valley. Some of the world’s leading tech giants have offices no more than a dozen miles from SJC, including companies like Apple, Google, Symantec, Intel, Cisco, Adobe Systems, Netflix, SanDisk and many more. Not only is a trip to Mineta San Jose a fraction of the distance to San Francisco International Airport for these companies, but SJC’s smaller size makes the airport experience less hectic for passengers (through the first nine months of 2016, SJC boarded fewer than 4 million passengers, vs. almost 20 million at SFO).

With all those business travelers close by, and with its fast-growing, high-income population (San Jose is the 10th largest city in the sponsored-sliderU.S., and its metropolitan area has a median household income of $100,385), it’s not surprising that airlines are eager to accommodate that market.

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

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

In recent months, Mineta San Jose has attracted new routes from several international airlines, among them:

  • Lufthansa this past summer began flying non-stop to Frankfurt five times a week, using a 298-passenger, three-class A340-300. Through its Frankfurt hub, the German carrier offers connections to 100 cities in Europe and beyond.
  • British Airways last spring kicked off the first non-stop service from SJC to London Heathrow, using a brand-new, 216-passenger, four-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It’s BA’s fourth destination in California, along with Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
  • In September, Air China launched a new transpacific route from SJC to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport, making San Jose the airline’s 10th North American gateway. The Chinese carrier uses a two-class, 237-seat Airbus A330-200 to fly the new route three days a week. SJC Aviation Director Kim Becker said the new route is expected to bring $65 million a year in economic investment to the San Jose area.
  • It’s not as far away, but another new international destination for SJC that started this year is Vancouver. Air Canada last spring kicked off twice-daily service between the two cities, using Bombardier CRJ-705s. Airport officials noted that Vancouver is sometimes called Silicon Valley North, since more than 200 Silicon Valley companies have offices there.

While the Lufthansa and British Airways flights represented SJC’s most recent transatlantic non-stops, it already offered transpacific service to Tokyo with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and to Beijing with Hainan Airlines.

Alaska, Southwest, United and JetBlue are all growing at SJC. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska, Southwest, United and JetBlue are all growing at SJC. (Image: Jim Glab)

New domestic routes are also proliferating.  San Jose got another new transcontinental flight last month, when Southwest Airlines began a daily roundtrip to Baltimore/Washington International. At the same time, Southwest also started new twice-daily SJC-Salt Lake City service. And American Airlines this past summer added daily seasonal service between SJC and its Charlotte hub.

In March of next year, both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are set to begin new daily non-stops from SJC to Newark Liberty International, and United will start twice-daily flights from SJC to its big Chicago O’Hare hub as well. In mid-May, Delta will add a third daily SJC-Atlanta flight.

Intra-California traffic is also booming, attracting new service in the California corridor. Last summer, Alaska Airlines started flying three times a day from SJC to both San Diego and Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. And on January 4, JetBlue will kick off SJC-Long Beach service, offering four daily roundtrips, followed by three daily Alaska Airlines flights to Burbank beginning in mid-March.

You can find more details about new San Jose routes here.

This post is sponsored by Mineta San Jose International Airport  

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Disclosure: Thank you for reading TravelSkills! We will periodically send out messages like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel.  Our sponsors’ support, and yours, help us keep TravelSkills a free publication. 


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Airline points for Amazon shopping + remarkable JetBlue sale

JetBlue has a new TrueBlue tie-in with Amazon. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue has a new TrueBlue tie-in with Amazon. (Image: Jim Glab)

Still have holiday shopping to do? If you’re a member of JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty program, you’ll be able to earn extra points through the airline’s new shopping tie-in with Amazon.

JetBlue said the new partnership means TrueBlue members will earn three program points for every eligible dollar spent on Amazon.com when the purchase is made through the airline’s in-flight Fly-Fi Internet service, or at other times by clicking on an Amazon link when they sign into their account at www.trueblue.jetblue.com.

“The benefit begins rolling out on aircraft in December and will be installed on all aircraft by January 2017,” JetBlue said.

JetBlue has already installed the satellite-based Fly-Fi system on all of its A320s and A321s, and is expected to finish installation soon on its Embraer 190s. Last year, JetBlue announced a tie-in that allows Amazon Prime members to stream Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music programming through its Fly-Fi system.

Click for the 12 days of Christmas sale

Click for the 12 days of Christmas sale

Also today, JetBlue launched a clever 12-days-of-Christmas sale with some strikingly low $20 fares. Granted, these fares are very restricted (for example, $20 fares for SFO-Las Vegas only good on Monday, and you must pay $49 to return). But still, if you are flexible, they are CHEAP! More examples of $20 fares: Boston-New Orleans, Buffalo-Los Angeles, New York-Ft Myers. Crazy! And worth a look.

Remember what we said about cheap fares during the dead weeks? Well, it’s happening now!

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How much to fly to Havana? Not much!

Havana Cuba car

Hot competition is leading to super low fares to Havana this winter (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

With nearly every major airline taking the deep dive into Cuba this month, you may be wondering: Hmmm. I’m curious about going there, but how much might it cost? Here’s the answer: Not much! For example, flights from the New York City area are on sale now for just $205 roundtrip and even lower elsewhere.

And if you are looking for an unusual place for a warm winter trip, you may want to pounce on these sale fares. Want even more incentives to go to Cuba soon? President-elect Donald Trump is talking about reversing the recent opening of Cuba to American visitors.

Also, according to Bloomberg, interest in flying to Cuba is less than expected, with some airlines already trimming their schedules. And low demand means lower fares!

Here’s a rundown of deals from LA, SF, ATL, NYC and Miami. Check Google Flights for fares from the airport nearest to you.

(Note: Fares available on Thursday Dec 1 and subject to change)

From Los Angeles, you can get to Havana for around $350 from January through June on several different airlines, but only one nonstop- Alaska Air, and it has the cheapest fare at just $303. Spirit actually has some LAX-HAV fares as low as $286- but you have to layer on extra fees for Spirit flights.

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San Francisco does not have any nonstop flights to Cuba, but one-stop flights on several carriers are running as low as $376 all winter long. JetBlue has the best deals via New York or Ft Lauderdale

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From Atlanta, Spirit Air will jet you down to Havana for about $210 round trip (plus fees!) and Delta’s nonstop is just over $300 round trip for winter trips.

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The New York City area has excellent prices from three major players on nonstops– just $205 roundtrip in January and February on Delta, JetBlue and United.

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From Miami or Ft Lauderdale you’ll find the cheapest nonstop roundtrip fares of all– just $130. And yes, that is round trip.

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So, are you ready to give Cuba a try? Been there yet? Please leave your comments below.

Don’t miss: Chris’ Trip Report from first trip to Cuba!

Shave in Cuba

Chris getting a shave in Cienfuegos, Cuba

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Routes: Havana, London, Doha, Paris, China, Panama City, Mexico City

Havana this week became the 100th point on JetBlue's route map. (Image: JetBlue)

Havana this week became the 100th point on JetBlue’s route map. (Image: JetBlue)

In international route developments, major U.S. carriers this week started service to Havana; Virgin Atlantic expands capacity out of Los Angeles; Qatar Airways will add another U.S. gateway; Norwegian increases service to Paris; two carriers add Vancouver routes to China, and one begins Las Vegas flights; San Francisco gets more capacity to Panama; and a Mexican low-cost carrier starts a Chicago route.

Major U.S. airlines this week are starting their long-planned new service to Havana, Cuba. American Airlines operated the first scheduled flight in 50 years, on its new Miami-Havana route. American also kicked off Havana service from its Charlotte hub this week. United Airlines started flying from its Newark hub to Havana, and this weekend it will add a weekly Saturday flight from Houston Bush Intercontinental to the Cuban capital. Havana became the 100th city on JetBlue’s route map, with the carrier starting service there this week from New York JFK, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale.

Delta on December 1 is set to begin Havana flights from Atlanta, Miami and New York JFK. And there’s more to come, including Southwest Airlines service to Havana from Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale beginning December 12, and Alaska Airlines’ service from Los Angeles starting January 5. Despite all the hoopla about U.S. airlines returning to Cuba, there is still some uncertainty about whether or not the incoming Trump Administration will allow these flights – and other Obama-initiated liberalizations – to continue. Trump has threatened to end some or all of the new U.S.-Cuba initiatives unless he can get a better “deal” from the Cubans.

Virgin Atlantic's LAX Clubhouse has views of the runway and the Hollywood Hills. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

Virgin Atlantic’s LAX Clubhouse has views of the runway and, in a really clear day, the Hollywood Hills. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

Delta SkyMiles members on the west coast will see more capacity to London Heathrow in 2017 as Delta joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic plans to add a third daily Los Angeles-LHR flight starting on May 1. All three of Virgin’s daily LAX-London flights will use three-class 787-9s. The three flights will depart LAX at 5:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m. (the new one) and 8:55 p.m. (Interesting to note that all of Virgin’s SFO-LHR flights are now on 787s, too.)

Qatar Airways, which started service from Doha to three new U.S. cities this year – Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles – said it plans to add Las Vegas as its 11th U.S. gateway in 2017, although it hasn’t yet announced a starting date or schedule details.

Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Paris in 2017. (Image: Creative Commons)

Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Paris in 2017. (Image: Norweigan)

According to Routesonline.com, Norwegian plans to add Orlando-Paris Charles de Gaulle as its newest transatlantic route in 2017, starting service July 31 with one 787 flight a week. The report said Norwegian will also increase capacity on other U.S. routes to Paris at the end of July, boosting Los Angeles-CDG frequencies from two a week to four; New York JFK-CDG from four a week to daily flights; and Ft. Lauderdale-CDG from one to two a week for the summer season.

December 2 is the launch date for Hainan Airlines’ new Las Vegas-Beijing route. The carrier will use a 787 to operate three flights a week. In other China developments, China Eastern Airlines is due to begin a new route between Vancouver and Nanjing three times a week beginning December 20, using an Airbus A330-200; it already flies from Vancouver to Shanghai and Kunming. And Hong Kong Airlines plans to launch daily Hong Kong-Vancouver flights – subject to government approvals – on June 30 as its first North American route.

At San Francisco International, Panama’s Copa Airlines — a Star Alliance member — has added a second daily roundtrip to Panama City with the unfortunate departure time of 12:38 a.m. from SFO.  And at Chicago O’Hare, Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet has started flying to Mexico City. The airline is operating two flights a day with 150-seat Airbus A320s.

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Routes: Delta, United, Alaska, Southwest, Spirit

The interior of Delta's new Airbus A321. (Image; Delta)

The interior of Delta’s new Airbus A321. (Image; Delta)

In domestic route developments, Delta will put new aircraft types on routes to San Francisco, Portland and San Diego; Alaska adds a couple of transcontinental markets; Southwest grows at Austin and Denver; and Spirit jumps into four Ohio-Florida markets.

Delta this year started to take delivery of new Airbus A321s, and according to Routesonline.com, customers in San Francisco and Portland will start to see them in 2017. The site said Delta’s advance schedule shows the new plane being introduced on a few of its many San Francisco-Atlanta flights starting in early March, and replacing the 737-900ER on its Portland-Detroit service starting in June. Delta said the A321s will feature big, pivoting overhead bins; next-generation seats in all three seating categories; large entertainment screens; USB and power ports; and LED lighting that changes with the phase of flight. (The A321 is the plane that seems to be replacing the aging Boeing 757, which is no longer being made.)

Meanwhile, following the recent news that JetBlue plans to extend its front-cabin Mint service onto the New York-San Diego route next August, thepointsguy.com reports that Delta apparently will be putting a 757 with front-cabin lie-flat seats onto one daily flight in the same market effective in June 2017. (Update: Airlineroute.net tells us that Delta had this aircraft on a SAN-JFK flight this past summer as well.) It’s the same aircraft type Delta uses for the lucrative JFK-San Francisco/Los Angeles routes. JetBlue has embarked on a long-term expansion of Mint service onto more transcon routes. Similarly, United has deployed a couple widebody B777-200s on SFO-BOS (but with standard first, not lie-flat) to take on JetBlue’s Mint expansion.

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Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines is adding more transcontinental flights. (Image: Alaska Air)

Speaking of San Diego and transcontinental routes, Alaska Airlines just announced a new one: The carrier said it will begin daily roundtrips between San Diego and Baltimore/Washington International starting March 15. The eastbound leg will be a red-eye. Alaska already flies to BWI from Los Angeles and Seattle, and its other San Diego transcons include Boston, Orlando, and new service to Newark starting next week. Last week, Alaska also kicked off a new daily roundtrip between Portland and Newark. Next spring, Alaska will start San Jose-Newark service as well. In other news, Alaska just began weekly seasonal service on Saturdays between Bellingham, Washington and Kona, Hawaii.

Southwest Airlines will begin new service on March 13 linking Kansas City with Austin, offering one daily roundtrip. Southwest also plans to expand its limited service between Denver and Albany, N.Y. The airline currently flies that route on weekends only, and just on a seasonal basis, but on April 25 it will make Denver-Albany a year-round route with daily flights.

Spirit Airlines has added Ohio’s Akron-Canton Airport as the newest dot on its route map. Last week, Spirit launched daily flights from Akron-Canton to Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers. The Tampa and Ft. Myers routes will be seasonal only. Next spring, Spirit will add seasonal flights from Akron-Canton to Myrtle Beach and year-round service to Las Vegas.

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Routes: Southwest, JetBlue, Delta, American, Surf Air

Southwest has added two more California routes out of San Jose. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest has added two more California routes out of San Jose. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route developments, Southwest kicks off new service out of San Jose; JetBlue sets one new transcontinental route and plans the extension of Mint service to another; Delta and American establish new spokes from their Seattle and Charlotte hubs respectively; and all-you-can-fly Surf Air has a new way for customers to meet its membership fees.

Southwest Airlines this week launched service on a pair of new routes out of Mineta San Jose Airport. The carrier started flying once a day from SJC to Baltimore/Washington International and twice a day to Salt Lake City. The eastbound BWI flight is not a redeye, but it departs very early – at 6:35 a.m.

JetBlue's front-cabin Mint service is coming to San Diego-JFK next year. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue’s front-cabin Mint service is coming to San Diego-JFK next year. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue Airways has announced plans to add yet another transcontinental route next spring. The airline set a May 3 start for once-daily service linking its Long Beach, California focus city with its Florida counterpart at Ft. Lauderdale. The new flight – which operates as a redeye eastbound – will give JetBlue a total of 35 daily flights to 13 destinations out of Long Beach. Earlier this year, it started new service form Long Beach to Reno/Tahoe and to San Jose. Meanwhile, Routesonline.com says that JetBlue is targeting its San Diego-New York JFK route for the next expansion of its Mint service. The site said the carrier has tentatively set August 15, 2017 for the introduction of Mint service on one of its two daily JFK-SAN flights.

Delta’s next expansion of its growing Seattle base will be a daily flight linking SEA with Milwaukee, due to begin operating on March 9 – a route already served by Alaska Airlines and Southwest. Delta plans to use a Delta Connection/SkyWest Embraer 175 on the route.

American Airlines this week inaugurated service on a new spoke out of its Charlotte hub, offering twice-daily flights to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The service uses CRJ-700s operated by American Eagle/PSA Airlines.

Surf Air offers private aircraft flights around California. (Image: Surf Air)

Surf Air offers private aircraft flights around California. (Image: Surf Air)

Want to try out Surf Air, the all-you-can-fly membership club that offers small-plane flights on a California intrastate network? If you’re a member of Lufthansa’s Miles & More loyalty program, you can take advantage of a special promotion through the end of March 2017. The company said it is inviting Lufthansa frequent flyers to try out a single roundtrip flight for 25,000 award miles, or an all-you-can-fly membership for travel within California (and to Las Vegas) with redemptions starting at 50,000 for a one-month participation.

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Delta, JetBlue dive deeper into “sharing economy”

Airbnb was at GBTA for the first time with a cool hipster like lounge booth (Chris McGinnis)

Airbnb’s cool hipster like lounge booth at recent business travel conference (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

“Sharing economy” companies continue to go after business travelers by forging loyalty program connections with major airlines and hotel chains. In the latest examples, Delta is teaming up with Airbnb and JetBlue has a new tie-in with Lyft.

Delta SkyMiles members can now earn one mile per dollar spent on qualifying stays (not counting taxes and fees) when they book Airbnb accommodations through a link on the Delta website (www.delta.com/airbnb). New Airbnb customers can earn up to 1,000 bonus miles and a $25 coupon code applicable toward their first stay.

The new Delta connection comes just a few weeks after Airbnb forged a similar link with Qantas’ loyalty program. That one also earns one point per dollar spent, and also requires booking through the Qantas website. Virgin America has had a similar loyalty program link with Airbnb for over a year, and United recently added Airbnb to its MileagePlus X smartphone app, enabling customers to pick up three miles per dollar spent on accommodations.

Meanwhile, ride-sharing service Lyft this week announced a partnership with JetBlue Airways. Members of the airline’s TrueBlue program who link their accounts with Lyft can earn 30 TrueBlue points for each Lyft ride to and from any U.S. airport, up to a maximum of 1,200 points per year. Here’s how to link accounts.

New users who sign up for the ride-sharing service through JetBlue will get a $15 ride credit or 720 TrueBlue bonus points, and will have access to discounts via in-flight and digital promotions. Lyft will also get a special pick-up and drop-off area at JetBlue’s New York base, Terminal 5 at JFK Airport.

Are you more likely to give Airbnb a try now that you can earn Delta miles? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: Delta, ANA, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, JetBlue, Alaska

Delta and ANA have shifted routes from Narita to Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

Delta and ANA have shifted routes from Narita to Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

In international route news, Delta shifts a pair of Tokyo routes to a new airport and ANA does the same; Delta and Virgin Atlantic expand code-sharing to India with Jet Airways, and Delta drops a couple of Italy routes; British Airways adds a U.S. gateway – but not from Heathrow; JetBlue sets the launch dates for its new Havana service; and Alaska postpones the start of its new Cuba route.

New rights to fly to/from Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport took effect over the past weekend, resulting in some route changes at Delta and at Japan’s All Nippon Airways. Delta has started its new nonstops from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Tokyo Haneda, which replaces its MSP-Narita service; Delta also shifted its Los Angeles-Tokyo flights from Narita to Haneda (and earlier this month, Delta dropped its New York JFK-Narita route as well). Delta still flies to Narita from Seattle, Portland, Detroit and Atlanta.

ANA, meanwhile, has shifted its New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare routes from Tokyo Narita to Haneda.

Delta's code-sharing with India's Jet Airways is expanding to London and to Virgin Atlantic. (Image: delta)

Delta’s code-sharing with India’s Jet Airways is expanding to London and to Virgin Atlantic. (Image: Delta)

Across the Atlantic, Delta and partner Virgin Atlantic announced an expansion of Delta’s code-sharing partnership with India’s Jet Airways, which is currently available for connections to India via Paris and Amsterdam. Starting November 2, passengers on Delta and Virgin Atlantic flights into London Heathrow will be able to connect onto Delta code-shares operated by Jet Airways to Mumbai and Delhi, and beyond to 20 domestic destinations in India.

In other transatlantic news, for 2017 Delta will no longer offer summer seasonal service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Rome or from New York JFK to Pisa; both routes had been planned to launch May 25. And to South America, Delta has just switched aircraft on its Atlanta-Buenos Aires route from a 767 to an A330-300, providing a 20 percent increase in the number of seats it flies.

British Airways next summer will add a new Florida route. The carrier said that starting July 6, it will fly to Ft. Lauderdale four days a week during summer and three days a week the rest of the year. But it will fly the route out of London Gatwick, not Heathrow. BA will use a 777-200 on the route, which will be its fourth into Florida.

Havana

Refrigerator magnets from a recent trip to Havana (Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue is the latest U.S. carrier to announce the starting dates for new service into Havana. JetBlue, which won rights for three routes into the Cuban capital, said it will begin daily roundtrips out of its New York JFK base on November 28; daily flights from Orlando on November 29; and daily service out of Ft. Lauderdale starting November 30 (increasing to twice a day December 1)

Alaska Airlines, meanwhile, has pushed back the start of its single new Havana route. The carrier had planned to start Los Angeles-Havana service on November 29, but now won’t begin flying the route until January 5.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

Kicking support animals off planes | Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | Marriott-Starwood: Higher prices, better rewards | The 10,000 points question! | Eye-catching maps explain state of the world | Test your planespotting skills!

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Most popular: Longest flight + California airlines + Best credit card + New lounge + Qantas

Chris McGinnis

Chris excited and looking fresh before this week’s 17-hour flight from SFO to Singapore- and back in just 4 days (Photo: Charles Schuler)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 17 moments in 17 hours on Singapore Airlines Airbus A350Weekend Edition

2 Singapore Air opens up about longest nonstop

3 Routes: United at San Jose + Delta, JetBlue, American, Virgin America

4 Trip Report: The long flight home SIN-SFO

JetSuiteX

The JetSuiteX Terminal at Concord, CA, east of SF- a nice break from the craziness at OAK or SFO! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

5 Big news at two small California airlines

6 First look: LAX’s fancy new Terminal 6 (photos)

7 9 key phrases every traveler should know

8 How to choose the best travel credit card

National pop up lounge

National is installing free popup lounges with wifi like this one at Washington Dulles (Photo: Jeff Pearce)

9 Airports: Screening upgrades, Oakland lounge, National Car pop-ups + more

10 A new look & feel for Qantas

What do flight attendants love most about SFO? A fun new promotional video from San Francisco International Airport, introduced by Tony Bennett, offers personal accounts from flight attendants representing a number of airlines about the interesting things to see and do at the airport. See video What do you love most about SFO? Leave your comments below.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

US State Department orders departure of family members at Istanbul consulate

DOT: Average U.S. air fares down almost 10 percent year over year

Got 2.5 million SkyMiles to burn? You can fly Delta Private Jets

(Image: Delta News Hub)

Use your SkyMiles for a ride on a private jet? Yep. (Image: Delta News Hub)

Southwest eyes new fees, but not for bags or ticket changes

JetBlue introduces fancy new amenity kits for Mint cabin passengers

Air India re-routes its SFO-DEL nonstop

Air India's first flight from New Delhi arrived at SFO before dawn. (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Air India’s flight path has changed (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Lowest airfares since 2009

Latest on Alaska-Virgin deal: Close, but still, no cigar

Delta app enhancement lets users follow their checked bags

Want to find your Uber rating? Here’s how

United introduces improved earbuds for economy passengers

AA/BA partner Iberia will get on board with premium economy seating next year

U.K. government backs plan to build a third runway at London Heathrow

Austrian Airlines promises instant replies to customer queries via Facebook Messenger

14 new Boeing 747-8 aircraft ordered, but you’ll never get to fly on one

(Photo: Brandon Farris)

Does that flagged winglet look familiar? (Photo: Brandon Farris)

Alaska Airlines reveals new military inspired special livery

This week Alaska Airlines revealed a new paint job, or livery, on a new 737-900ER. At first glance, that American flag wingtip may look like a move to integrate Virgin America design elements (see its flagged winglet here)  into the look of Alaska Airlines, but it’s part of a new initiative called “Alaska Airlines Salutes,” to support and honor those who serve. The design features an Alaska Airlines Salutes medallion and a fallen soldier badge, with the Battlefield Cross to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The plane also features five rings surrounding the engine, representative of the five branches of the United States military, and American flag winglets.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

Kicking support animals off planes | Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | Marriott-Starwood: Higher prices, better rewards | The 10,000 points question! | Eye-catching maps explain state of the world | Test your planespotting skills!

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Routes: United at San Jose + Delta, JetBlue, American, Virgin America

United will fly E175s from San Jose to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (Image: United)

United will fly E175s from San Jose to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (Image: United)

In domestic route developments, United will offer special service out of San Jose for a big convention in January; Delta adds an Austin route and expands in the Twin Cities; JetBlue is about to jump into the fray on one of the northeast’s busiest routes; American exits three Philadelphia markets; and Virgin America will operate a pair of seasonal services out of New York City.

With a nod to the big temporary demand coming out of Silicon Valley, United Airlines plans to operate a virtual shuttle service for techies going to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next January. According to Airlineroute.net, United Express/SkyWest will offer seven daily roundtrips between SJC and Las Vegas from January 4 through January 9 only, using Embraer 175s. The temporary United service will offer an alternative to Southwest’s heavy schedule in the SJC-LAS market.

Austin Bergstrom Airport will get new Delta service to Raleigh-Durham. (Im,age: City of Austin)

Austin Bergstrom Airport will get new Delta service to Raleigh-Durham. (Image: City of Austin)

Delta has set a March 9 starting date for new daily service linking Austin, Texas with its growing Raleigh-Durham base. The carrier said Austin is the “largest unserved non-stop market” from RDU. The flights will be operated by Delta Connection/GoJet with a 76-seat, two-class CRJ-900.

Meanwhile, Delta also announced some additional service out of its Minneapolis-St. Paul hub next year. A key development for SkyMiles summer vacationers: Delta’s winter seasonal service from MSP to Honolulu, which begins on October 29, will now continue operating continuously through Labor Day 2017 instead of stopping in April as previously planned. Also coming from Delta at MSP next summer: The addition of a third daily flight to San Jose, a sixth to Phoenix, and a second to Richmond.

JetBlue will use E190s for its new LaGuardia_Boston flights. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue will use E190s for its new LaGuardia-Boston flights. (Image: JetBlue)

October 31 is the launch date for JetBlue’s entry into the busy New York LaGuardia-Boston market, which is dominated by the Delta and American shuttle operations. JetBlue plans to offer six daily roundtrips between LGA and BOS, using E190 aircraft with 100 seats, including 16 in JetBlue’s Even More Space section and 84 in regular economy. The entry into the LaGuardia market will make JetBlue the only airline serving Boston from all three New York-area airports. In another part of the country, JetBlue recently started daily service between New Orleans and Ft. Lauderdale, in competition with Southwest and Spirit.

As part of an ongoing rethinking of the Philadelphia hub it inherited from US Airways, American Airlines plans to end service next February in three regional markets. Getting the axe are AA’s three daily CRJ200 fights between PHL and Newark, along with its twice-daily service from Philadelphia to Binghamton., N.Y. and Elmira, N.Y.

Virgin America said this week it plans to bring back service next month in two seasonal markets out of New York JFK. On November 1, it will begin daily non-stops between JFK and Ft. Lauderdale, and on November 19, it will begin service between JFK and Palm Springs, California.

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Big news at two small California airlines

Interiors on JetSuite's Embraer 135 aircraft (Photo: JetSuite)

Interiors on JetSuite’s Embraer 135 aircraft (Photo: JetSuite)

There’s exciting news this week from two small but innovative California-based carriers that could put them on a strong growth track. JetSuite, a small-plane public charter operator in the California corridor and elsewhere, announced an equity partnership with a major U.S. airline; and Surf Air, which employs an all-you-can-fly pricing model, is talking about a major fleet expansion – and it said it will extend its operations to Europe starting next month.

JetSuite Inc. said that JetBlue Airways has taken a minority stake in the company, an investment that it said will help to “fuel its fast-growing JetSuiteX service.” JetSuiteX uses 30-passenger jets on a network that includes Burbank; San Jose; Las Vegas; Carlsbad, Calif.; Concord, Calif.; Mammoth, Calif.; and Bozeman, Mont. JetSuiteX promises “more destinations and flights coming soon,” and claims to be the fastest-growing public charter company in the country.

From the Bay Area, JetSuiteX offers nonstops between Concord (in the East Bay) and Burbank. (Its Concord-Las Vegas nonstops were cut in May). From San Jose (using the Atlantic Aviation terminal), it flies to Burbank and Carlsbad (near San Diego). Currently, fares are running as low as $79 on a handful of flights each week in November. In December, the lowest fares are at about $99 each way.

Jetsuite

JetSuite CEO Alex Wilcox at a kickoff event in Concord, CA earlier this year (Photo: Chris McGinnis

JetSuiteX markets its flights as “a private jet experience that is affordable and accessible to a broad audience.” JetSuite CEO Alex Wilcox said JetBlue will not be just a passive shareholder, but a “strategic partner” that will “allow us to accelerate our growth.”  JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes commented that acquiring a stake in JetSuite “makes sense as we continue to execute on our west coast plan and invest in innovative ideas that reflect the disruptive spirit of JetBlue.”

The two had already created a customer loyalty link, with TrueBlue members able to earn points on JetSuiteX flights. Among the points currently served by JetSuiteX, JetBlue flies to San Jose, Burbank and Las Vegas. JetBlue has been beefing up its west coast presence lately – for example, it said it will launch multiple daily flights between San Jose and Long Beach in January – as it positions itself for tough competition from a combined Alaska Airlines-Virgin America after those two companies complete their merger.

JetSuiteX

The JetSuiteX Terminal at Concorde- a nice break from the craziness at OAK or SFO! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Meanwhile, Santa Monica-based Surf Air – which operates even smaller planes and calls itself “an all-you-can-fly private air travel club” – is said to be in talks with Brazilian manufacturer Embraer for a major fleet expansion. Media reports from Brazil said Surf Air is looking to buy up to 50 small Phenom 300 executive jets, an order worth about $495 million.

SurfAir jet

Although it currently uses Pilatus turboprops for intra-California flights, Surf Air says it will use executive jets like this one for its new European division. (Image: Surf Air)

The Phenom 300, which can carry seven to nine passengers, is Embraer’s most popular business jet. The reports quoted Surf Air’s CEO as saying that the company is also talking to U.S. manufacturer Textron about its Cessna Citation CJ4 business jets.

Surf Air operates executive private aircraft on scheduled flights around an intrastate California network that includes airports in the Bay Area, metro Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Truckee/Tahoe, Napa, Monterey, Sacramento and Palm Springs, as well as Las Vegas.

Surf Air needs more planes in part to accommodate its planned expansion to intra-European markets, which is now planned to get under way at the end of November. Its monthly membership fees there will start at $2,400. It will begin with flights between London’s Luton Airport and Zurich, and then gradually expand to add flights to Geneva, Cannes, Paris, Dublin, Ibiza and Amsterdam.

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Big news for Marriott Starwood credit card holders; JetBlue, too

London's Great Northern Hotel is now part of Starwood's Tribute Portfolio. (Image: Starwood)

Use your Marriott Rewards credit card at London’s hip Great Northern Hotel, a Starwood property (Image: Starwood)

Members of Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and JetBlue’s TrueBlue program have new options for racking up program points through credit card usage.

Marriott and Starwood said that effective immediately, U.S. holders of the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by American Express will earn two Starpoints for every eligible dollar they spend with the card at any hotel that’s in the Marriott Rewards program.

On the flip side, U.S. holders of the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card from JPMorgan will get five points in those loyalty programs for every eligible dollar spent on the cards at hotels that participate in Starwood Preferred Guest.

It’s the latest step in ongoing efforts by Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Starwood to integrate their guest loyalty programs following the merger of Marriott and Starwood. Earlier, the companies said that loyalty members can link their accounts at members.marriott.com to achieve elite status matching and unlimited points transfers. At a meeting in New York, Marriott CEO said that members were linking accounts at a rapid clip– about 100,000 per day!

Citi cardholders can now move program points into JetBlue's TrueBlue program.. (Image: JetBlue)

Citi cardholders can now move program points into JetBlue’s TrueBlue program.. (Image: JetBlue)

Meanwhile, banking giant Citi announced that JetBlue’s TrueBlue has become the 14th travel loyalty program to link up with its ThankYou Rewards program.

The company said that Citi Premier and Prestige cardholders will be able to transfer ThankYou points into JetBlue program points at a rate of 1.25 to 1, and Preferred cardholders can do so at a 2-to-1 rate.

Eligible Citi cardholders can transfer points to JetBlue at www.thankyou.com/transfer or by calling 1-800-Thankyou.

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Love a lie-flat seat? You’ll love this…

Lie-flat front cabin seating on a Delta 757-200. (Image: Delta)

Lie-flat front cabin seating on a Delta 757-200. (Image: Delta)

Delta’s announcement this week that it will introduce lie-flat first class seats next spring on a new transcontinental route is just the latest step in a growing expansion of flat-bed front-cabin seats on routes across the country – an expansion largely fueled by JetBlue’s increased commitment to its Mint premium service.

Delta said it will use a 757-200 with flat-bed seats in first class when it starts flying on April 24 between Los Angeles International and Washington D.C.’s close-in, Reagan National Airport (DCA) which is preferred by most with business in the district. (Because perimeter rules limit DCA to just a handful of flights longer than 1,250 miles, Delta said it will drop one of its two daily DCA-Salt Lake City flights, but will begin a new flight from Salt Lake to Washington Dulles.)

The introduction of lie-flat front-cabin seats on domestic flights a few years ago was initially limited to service between the New York area and San Francisco and Los Angeles, where it is now offered by American and Delta out of New York JFK and by United’s “p.s.” service out of Newark Liberty International. When JetBlue rolled out its competing Mint premium cabins with lie-flat seats, it initially did so in those same two transcon markets out of JFK.

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis is in Washington DC this week-- flew nonstop SFO-Washington National on Virgin America

Washington National Airport gets lie-flat seats from Delta (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

But Delta has also introduced lie-flat seats on 757-200s between JFK and its growing Seattle hub. And that market has become one of several targeted by JetBlue in a big expansion of its Mint service.

JetBlue recently added the Mint option to its Boston-San Francisco route, and is doing the same on Boston-LAX this fall. And earlier this year, the carrier announced its intention to bring lie-flat Mint seating to even more transcontinental routes, with plans to increase the size of its Mint-equipped A321 fleet from 17 planes to 31 by 2017.

Transcontinental routes that JetBlue has targeted for Mint service expansion in the months ahead include Seattle-Boston, Seattle-JFK, San Diego-JFK, San Diego-Boston, San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas-JFK.

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

Two months ago, Delta unveiled plans for new routes out of Boston next year, including twice-daily service to San Francisco with 757-200s. (Although the announcement didn’t specify that these aircraft will have lie-flat front-cabin seating, it seems a safe assumption given JetBlue’s Mint service in that market.) JetBlue then said it will lay on a fourth daily Mint-equipped Boston-San Francisco flight next summer.

Virgin America has a nice premium cabin on its transcon routes, but the seats do not recline fully flat. The airline has talked about refreshing its front cabin, but that has taken a back seat to the impending merger of Virgin and Alaska Airlines. The combined carrier (assuming they are eventually combined rather than remaining as separate brands under common ownership) will have a big stake in transcon Seattle markets as well as SFO-JFK and LAX-JFK. The question is, what will Alaska decide to do with the front cabin product?

Whatever it decides, Alaska is already committed to adding a new Premium Class cabin to its 737-800s, 900s and 900ERs – not just regular coach seats with extra legroom, but an actual premium product with extra amenities and perks, situated between first class and economy.

Will that be the next big battlefield in transcontinental passenger options? How important is a lie-flat seat to you on transcon flights? Please leave your comments below. 

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The season for jaw-dropping low fares

The view over the Venetian from my room at the Palazzo in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The view over the Venetian from my room at the Palazzo in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Tis’ the season for jaw-dropping last-minute fare sales from airlines. Yesterday, JetBlue offered round trip fares between San Francisco and Las Vegas or Long Beach for as little as $19 one way. Today, the fare has increased to about $39 each way, which is still a very good deal. Another crazy deal? American Airlines is offering $100 round trip fares between New York Kennedy and San Juan.

These super low fares are good examples of JetBlue’s (and all airlines’) strategy of dumping unsold inventory at super low prices during the slow fall months. It’s the time when kids are back in school, parents are back at work and there’s not much interest in flying. In the travel biz, this is what’s known as the “shoulder season” and it’s always a great time for bargain hunters with the flexibility to drop everything and go when a deal pops up.

In the case of JetBlue, it’s a relatively small player in the Bay Area, and not the first airline that comes to mind when you think of flying to Las Vegas or Southern California. This type of “flash sale” helps them gain mindshare (and not fly empty planes!). Keep in mind that the very best deals with this sale are those that have passengers departing and returning on mid-week. If you want to fly down and back for the weekend, you’ll pay $200-$300.

Fare calendar from Google Flights shows rock bottom fares to Vegas

Fare calendar from Google Flights shows rock bottom fares to Vegas-

A JetBlue spokesperson told TravelSkills: “Flash Fares are something we do from time to time, offering amazing deals on select flights and dates. The fares are subject to availability and for a limited time. For those watching @JetBlue or @JetBlueCheeps on Twitter, or our Facebook account though,  there are some great deals for those that can act fast!”

The Bay Area to Las Vegas market is highly competitive these days. We’ve seen similar crazy low fares (just $58 round trip) between Oakland and Las Vegas, which just entered the market last month. Southwest, Virgin America, Spirit, United are all in the market and frequently match these low fares.

Puerto Rico

On the beach in Culebra, my favorite place in Puerto Rico (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Here’s another example of crazy low fares: This morning, American Airlines has $100 round trip fares between New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico for those willing to fly midweek during October. (That’s a whopping 3,200 miles round trip!)

JFK SJU

$100 roundtrip JFK-SJU for October flights (Source Google flights)

Keep an eye on TravelSkills, or follow the social media accounts of the airlines to stay abreast of these last minute deals. We are in for some very good deals between now and Thanksgiving when shoulder season ends and fares go back up. The next time you’ll see crazy low last minute fares will be during the “dead weeks” of early January- and we’ll have ’em here!

Happy fare hunting!

–Chris McGinnis


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Airlines start rolling out Havana schedules, fares

Cuba cars

Vintage cars serve as tourist taxis in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolucion (Chris McGinnis)

One Caribbean capital is about to experience what could be the biggest influx of new airline service from the U.S. of all times. In early July, the Transportation Department approved routes to Havana, Cuba for several U.S. airlines. Those route awards were finalized in late August, and airlines have started to announce their inaugural service dates for late fall and winter. Some are still subject to Cuban government approvals.

Alaska Airlines, which will have the only non-stop service to Havana from the West Coast, has set a January 5 start for its new Los Angeles-Havana flights, which will depart LAX at 8:50 a.m. The flight will originate in Seattle. Roundtrip fares from LAX start at $490.

Because the purpose of a traveler’s visit must fall within one of a dozen specific categories, and other formalities and requirements must be met, Alaska has posted  a handy blog page with details for customers to know before they book their flight. Alaska said it is working with Cuba Travel Services to help customers obtain visas, accommodations and ground transportation at the destination.

Here is a link to the U.S. government’s official restrictions on travel to Cuba; scroll down to Page 10 to find specifics of the 12 categories of travel.

Havana nonstops

Nonstops to Havana from U.S. airlines. (Image: Great Circle Mapper)

Delta has targeted December 1 for the launch of daily flights to Havana from Miami and New York JFK along with one-stop service from Atlanta. For travel in February, we found roundtrip fares starting at $200 from Miami, $410 from JFK and $452 from Atlanta.

United Airlines has set a November 29 start for daily non-stops from Newark to Havana, followed on December 3 by weekly Saturday service from Houston Bush Intercontinental to the Cuban capital. Fares in January start at $413 roundtrip from Newark and $513 from Houston.

November 30 is the target date for American Airlines’ new daily flight to Havana from its Charlotte hub. American was also awarded rights for four daily roundtrips from Miami, although it hasn’t yet announced a starting date for those. January roundtrip fares start at $421 from Charlotte.

Shave in Cuba

Chris getting a shave in Cienfuegos, Cuba in May 2016

Frontier Airlines on December 1 is expected to start daily service from Miami to Havana, and will offer connections to that flight from Denver and Las Vegas.

Other new Havana routes expected to start in the next few months include JetBlue service from JFK, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando; Southwest Airlines flights from Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa; and Spirit Airlines from Ft. Lauderdale. Several airlines have already started or are about to launch service on routes to secondary cities and beach resorts in Cuba; those routes were awarded earlier.

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Routes: New JetBlue transcon + more Mint, Delta, OneJet, United, AA

JetBlue will add Los Angeles-Orlando flights. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue will add Los Angeles-Orlando flights. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, JetBlue announced a new transcontinental route out of Los Angeles and has scheduled more transcon Mint service; Delta Connection starts using new jets on the West Coast and wants more; small-plane OneJet adds another Pittsburgh route; United expands Puerto Rico capacity with big jets; and American adds a New England route out of LaGuardia.

JetBlue has announced a January 5 start for new transcontinental service between Los Angeles and Orlando, operating one daily A320 roundtrip (the eastbound segment will be a redeye). That will give the airline a total of 17 daily departures at LAX, including service to all four of its focus cities in the northeast and Florida. Meanwhile, JetBlue said the next expansion of its premium-cabin Mint service will come on May 15, when it will introduce Mint on both of its daily flights between San Francisco and Ft. Lauderdale. Mint is already slated to debut on JetBlue’s LAX-Ft. Lauderdale flights on March 20. In other news, JetBlue said it is expanding its partnership with Cape Air, putting its B6 code onto the latter’s flights from Boston and San Juan to small airports in the northeast and in the Caribbean.

Delta Connection/SkyWest is putting upgraded E175s into West Coast service. (Image: delta)

Delta Connection/SkyWest is putting upgraded E175s into West Coast service. (Image: delta)

Delta Connection partner SkyWest has started flying the first of several new, upgraded Embraer 175s for Delta on the West Coast. SkyWest will be getting 19 of the new jets, to be used mainly as Delta Connection aircraft on the latter’s West Coast Shuttle routes linking Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The 76-seat E175s offer in-seat power outlets, seats similar to those on Delta mainline flights, faster Wi-Fi and ambient lighting. “This brand new E175 comes with all the trim and finishes of a mainline aircraft on a plane with 76 seats,” a Delta official said. “We designed the interior of this aircraft, in cooperation with SkyWest Airlines and Embraer, for a consistent brand experience.”

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reports this week that Delta wants to buy up to 50 new aircraft in the 70- to 76-seat range, part of a continuing effort to replace smaller 50-seat planes in its regional fleet. The report noted that over the past three years, Delta has eliminated half of the 309 50-seat jets in its Delta Connection fleet. The big hurdle for the new planes: Delta must obtain the approval of its pilots’ union, which has veto power over any plan for new, larger regional aircraft to be flown by Delta’s partner carriers instead of Delta itself.

OneJet uses small Hawker 400XPs on short-haul routes. (Image: OneJet)

OneJet uses small Hawker 400XPs on short-haul routes. (Image: OneJet)

OneJet, a small but growing operator that specializes in “nonstop travel in small and medium size markets, at relatively low cost,” will add new service between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati on October 19, with two flights a day. The carrier has been growing at PIT, where it also offers flights to Hartford, Indianapolis, Louisville and Milwaukee. The company uses small Hawker 400XP jets and concentrates on underserved markets of less than 700 miles.

United Airlines said it will give a big capacity boost to its route between Newark Liberty International and San Juan, Puerto Rico this winter. The carrier plans to increase its EWR-San Juan schedule from one flight a week to six – using a 344-passenger 777.

American Airlines will expand its presence at Burlington, Vermont on December 15, launching a new daily flight to New York LaGuardia and a second daily flight to its Charlotte hub.

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Would you fly a 737 transatlantic for $69?

A Boeing 737 MAX in Norwegian livery. (Image: Boeing)

A Boeing 737 MAX in Norwegian livery. (Image: Boeing)

Odds are you haven’t flown a small single-aisle aircraft like a 737 or an Airbus A320 across the Atlantic. But you could get your chance in the next couple of years – and one airline is promising one-way fares as low as $69 on the new planes.

The few 737s and A320s currently going over the pond either have a sharply reduced number of seats so they can exceed their normal range, or they’re between two points as close as you can get over the Atlantic, like WestJet’s flights between far eastern Canada and Scotland/Ireland. But the new generation of these aircraft will make longer flights possible with a full load.

Boeing’s 737 MAX and Airbus’ A320neo can fly about 500 miles farther than earlier versions, and use 15 percent less fuel. That will permit flights up to 3,000 miles between the eastern U.S. and western Europe. The initial operators of the planes will include Norwegian Air, JetBlue, and TAP of Portugal.

And a Norwegian Air executive this week told Business Insider UK that his airline plans to use the new aircraft to offer $69 transatlantic fares – about half the level of its current lowest fares. Norwegian has ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and it should start to take delivery sometime next year.

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The Airbus A320neo. (Image: Airbus)

The Airbus A320neo. (Image: Airbus)

“I can promise you that you will see trans-Atlantic flights on the 737 MAX next year,” Norwegian’s chief commercial officer Thomas Ramdahl told the publication in an interview, “and that’s when you will see the $69 fares.” The airline has also ordered 30 A320neo LRs for delivery starting in 2018 – a plane with slightly more capacity and longer range than the new 737s. He did not say which routes might offer the super-cheap fares.

Norwegian currently relies on Boeing 787 Dreamliners for its fast-growing transatlantic network, like its recently announced new service to Barcelona from Oakland, Los Angeles, Newark and Ft. Lauderdale.

JetBlue has ordered 30 A321neos, some of them likely to be the long-range version, prompting a lot of speculation about the carrier’s transatlantic intentions, although JetBlue has not said definitively that it will fly to Europe.

How would you feel about flying a 737 across the ocean? Please leave your comments below!

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JetBlue, Delta slugfest could mean lower fares

JetBlue and Delta are adding new flights out of Boston as JetBlue invades the Boston-Atlanta market. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue and Delta are adding new flights out of Boston as JetBlue invades the Boston-Atlanta market. (Image: Jim Glab)

Delta Air Lines, already embroiled in a tough struggle for market dominance with Alaska Airlines at Seattle, is now facing a new battle in the Northeast.

Just a few weeks after Delta announced plans for a significant increase of service out of Boston next year, JetBlue has unveiled its own strategy to keep ahead of competitors in that city with route expansions of its own. And part of JetBlue’s plan includes a strike into Delta’s base, by launching several flights a day between Boston and Atlanta. JetBlue served Atlanta back in 2003 with nonstops to New York-JFK and Long Beach, but only for a few short months.

JetBlue said that on March 30 it will start flying five times a day between Boston and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, a route dominated by Delta and Southwest, with a few Spirit Airlines flights as well. What’s more, “In addition to Boston-Atlanta flights, JetBlue also intends to add service between Atlanta and its focus cities of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, New York JFK, and Orlando,” the company said.

In a challenge to Delta’s (and American’s) Shuttle service in the northeast, JetBlue had earlier announced plans to start flying between Boston and New York LaGuardia on October 31 of this year, with six flights a day on weekdays. JetBlue already serves the Boston-New York JFK and Boston-Newark markets.

JetBlue A321

More JetBlue A321 with posh Mint class coming soon to SFO-BOS (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Delta’s announcement last month noted that it will resume Boston-San Francisco service, with two daily 757-200 flights, starting June 8; and will boost its Boston-Seattle schedule from one flight a day to two. JetBlue responded this week with a plan to add a fourth daily Mint-equipped roundtrip to its SFO-Boston schedule starting next July. The airline noted that its existing three daily BOS-SFO flights will all have Mint service by September 21 of this year, as will all its Boston-Los Angeles flights by November 18.

The addition of two SFO-BOS flights a day by Delta and a fourth by JetBlue could mean lower fares for travelers in a market where United and Virgin America are competing as well.

JetBlue

Economy Class on JetBlue (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Delta said it will also begin Boston-Nashville service, add a second daily Boston-Milwaukee flight, and begin weekly service from BOS to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and St. Thomas, USVI. In response, JetBlue said its existing seasonal service from Boston to St. Thomas and Montego Bay will be extended to year-round operations.

Delta said that by next June, its increased schedule will give it 90 flights a day out of Boston to 26 destinations. That will leave it well behind JetBlue, which currently has 140 weekday departures from Boston, and plans to increase that to 200 flights a day to 63 destinations.

If you could choose between JetBlue and Delta, which way would you go? Please leave your comments below. 

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Domestic Routes Roundup | Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

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Routes Roundup: United, Delta, JetBlue, AA, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier

United SFO

United & Delta adding even more flights at SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There’s plenty of domestic route news to catch up on from the last few weeks. United and Delta are adding routes from San Francisco; Alaska and Delta are doing the same at Seattle; United is growing at San Jose; JetBlue is adding service at Long Beach; and new routes are coming at American, Southwest and Frontier. (We’ll post an international routes update later this week.)

At San Francisco, United plans to begin service next spring to both Detroit and Cincinnati. Effective June 8, the airline will operate one daily A319 roundtrip in each market, competing against Delta. And from December 17 through April 1, United will fly once a week (on Saturdays) with a CRJ-700 from San Francisco to Kalispell, Montana.

United also revealed plans to bulk up at San Jose by adding new 737-800 flights starting March 9 from SJC to its hubs at Chicago O’Hare and Newark. The carrier will fly twice a day to O’Hare and once a day to Newark. (United’s planned San Jose-Newark flight will begin just three days before Alaska Airlines’ recently announced new service on the same route, which will have the same departure time from SJC.) American and Southwest both fly from SJC to Chicago, and JetBlue serves the SJC-New York JFK market. Meanwhile, United on September 7 is due to launch new service to Chattanooga, Tenn., from both Newark and Chicago O’Hare, with two daily flights in each market.

In October, United will discontinue its existing twice-daily intra-California service between San Francisco and Santa Maria, which is operated by United Express/Skywest with a CRJ-200. On the other coast, United set a November 29 termination date for its twice-daily United Express service between Newark and Binghamton, New York.  But on December 16, United plans to resume seasonal flights between its Washington Dulles hub and Ft. Lauderdale, with one flight a day through January 4, then two a day until May 4.

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

Delta's premium economy seat, Economy Comfort (Photo: Delta)

Delta adding SFO-Boston nonstops using a 757s (Photo: Delta)

Delta has unveiled plans for a growth spurt at Boston next spring, including a resumption of Boston-San Francisco service. The carrier will offer two BOS-SFO flights a day, using 757-200s, beginning June 8. On the same date, Delta will double its Boston-Seattle schedule from one daily flight to two. Delta will also begin new Delta Connection/Endeavor Air service between Boston and Nashville, with one daily flight using a two-class CRJ-900. Also coming from Delta is new service from Seattle to Eugene, Oregon, with three daily CRJ-700 flights beginning April 1; and a new daily roundtrip between Seattle and Raleigh-Durham effective June 8.

Long Beach, California will get more service from JetBlue next year. The carrier set a January 4 launch for new Long Beach-San Jose service, where it will offer four daily roundtrips. The airline will also beef up its schedules on existing Long Beach routes, adding three more flights a day to Las Vegas, one extra departure to San Francisco, and one more to Salt Lake City. (The Bay Area will also get new service to Long Beach from Southwest in June, when the carrier is set to launch four flights a day from Oakland.) Elsewhere on its system, JetBlue plans to add new daily service on January 12 between Chicago O’Hare and Ft. Lauderdale, but on January 11 it will discontinue service between O’Hare and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

JetBlue will begin San Jose-Long Beach flights in 2017. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue will begin San Jose-Long Beach flights in January. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines will continue to build up its Seattle hub next spring with the addition of two more routes to the Midwest. On April 13, Alaska will kick off new daily service from SEA to Wichita, Kans., with a SkyWest Embraer 175; and on May 11 it will add new daily 737 roundtrips between SEA and Indianapolis.

The spring schedule from Southwest Airlines, which begins in March, includes new daily service between Houston Hobby and Omaha, along with new twice-daily flights between Newark and Ft. Lauderdale. At the same time, the airline will begin seasonal daily service linking Las Vegas with Minneapolis-St. Paul.

SkyWest, operating as American Eagle, will begin new daily service November 4 linking AA’s Phoenix hub with St. George, Utah. The flight will use a 50-seat CRJ-200. On the east coast, American has scheduled a December 15 start for new American Eagle/Republic Airlines service between New York’s Westchester County Airport and Miami, offering two flights a day with two-class E-175s.

Ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines plans a December 6 expansion at Phoenix, where it will begin service to Milwaukee and St. Louis, each with four flights a week; and to Nashville and Des Moines, each with three flights a week.

On December 15, American will launch daily roundtrips from Phoenix to Santa Fe and Sioux Falls. The Santa Fe flights will use a SkyWest CRJ 700, and the Sioux Falls service will be operated by a Mesa Airlines CRJ 900.

–Chris McGinnis

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

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Surprisingly few Americans use Uber, Lyft

Ride-hailing apps like Lyft are surging in their share of business travel spending. (Image: Lyft)

Ride-hailing apps like Lyft are popular with a surprising small sliver of Americans (Image: Lyft)

As ride-hailing apps continue to grow in importance an option for business travelers, it seems they still have a way to go among the public at large. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that only 15 percent of U.S. adults have ever used a ride-hailing app – and fully one-third of adults have never heard of them! (That’s definitely not the case among TravelSkills readers!)pew

Of those who do use the apps, only 17 percent said they do so daily or weekly, while 26 percent use them at least once a month and 56 percent do so less frequently than that. Why? Pew says “With some exceptions, they are largely only available in and around urban areas.” It notes, not surprisingly, that Uber or Lyft are most popular among young adults, urbanites and college grads. 

Check out the Pew Survey here for some more enlightening numbers about the use of ride hailing services.

In related news this week Uber rolled out a new app for business customers – and it’s not for smartphones. 

Instead, it’s for tablet computers. It’s called UberCENTRAL, and companies can use it to order rides for their customers, clients and guests. The app can handle multiple ride requests simultaneously, and provides for payment by the company and centralized billing and reporting from different locations.

When a company orders a ride for a customer, that person will receive a text message informing them of the trip and driver, along with a link to a live map to facilitate pick-ups.

Uber's new tablet app lets companies order rides for customers. (Image: Uber)

Uber’s new tablet app lets companies order rides for customers. (Image: Uber)

The company said UberCENTRAL works on any tablet and with any browser, and it is now available for use in the U.S. and Canada.

In other ground transportation news, JetBlue said this week that its new Silicon Valley-based venture capital subsidiary, JetBlue Technology Ventures, is putting money into a four-year-old tech star-up called Mozio. JetBlue said the San Francisco-based company’s mission “is to build the ultimate urban mobility app,” one that allows consumers to book shuttles, taxis, limos, express trains, buses and public transit from one interface.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Airports update: Denver’s problem, More CLEAR, O’Hare expands, JetBlue innovates + more

Denver Airport

Two of Denver’s biggest carriers don’t offer inseat power. And that’s a problem (Image: DIA)

In recent airport news, Denver solves a big problem, CLEAR keeps expanding; Chicago unveils plans for more gates at O’Hare; JetBlue makes a big change in passenger procedures at JFK; airlines move around at Milwaukee; and Baltimore/Washington adds a unique new traveler amenity.

Denver International has a big problem: Two of its largest carriers, Southwest and Frontier, do not offer in-seat power outlets at all. United’s power outlet offerings are spotty at best, and in many cases, the only way to get inflight entertainment is via personal devices since many United planes no longer have seatback screens. That means that Denver fliers are frequently scrambling to get a good charge on the ground before they find themselves powerless in the sky. To help travelers get charged, DIA recently installed nearly 10,000 charging points throughout the airport. Charged up there recently?

CLEAR's new logo

CLEAR’s new logo

The CLEAR trusted traveler program, which now has Delta Air Lines as a minority stakeholder, continues to expand its presence at U.S. airports. The company has opened new CLEAR lanes at Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan National airports as well as Seattle-Tacoma International. Last week the company announced that its next airport will be Detroit– not surprising since Delta has a hub there. CLEAR charges a $179 annual membership fee and uses biometric technology to verify travelers’ identities at its airport lanes. (Delta frequent flyers can get big discounts, though) Once they go through the lane, bypassing the regular TSA lines, members proceed directly to screening; those who also belong to TSA PreCheck go to that station, and those who don’t go to regular screening stations. With these additions, CLEAR now has a presence at 16 U.S. airports. 

In Chicago, there’s even more development coming at O’Hare International. Earlier this year came news of new runway construction, five new gates being added for American Airlines, and plans to develop two on-site hotels at the airport. Now the city says it will add nine new gates to O’Hare’s International Terminal (T5), a $300 million project that will grow the terminal’s capacity by 25 percent. It’s the first expansion of T5 in 23 years. And that’s not all: The city also said it will redevelop O’Hare’s Terminal 2 into “a new central terminal within the existing terminal complex.” The project could involve a new Customs facility, a departures hall with more space for TSA screening, additional concessions and other passenger amenities. Longer term, “the planning contemplates new concourses to be constructed to the west as airline passenger demand dictates,” the mayor’s office said. It did not give a timeline for completion of the new projects.

JetBlue has added more self-service options at its New York JFK Terminal 5 home base. (Image; JetBlue)

JetBlue has added more self-service options at its New York JFK Terminal 5 home base. (Image; JetBlue)

At New York JFK, JetBlue has completed a major overhaul of its check-in and ticketing lobby area in Terminal 5. The focus is on passenger self-service, with 70 check-in kiosks, along with a new feature: self-service baggage tagging and a dozen stations where customers can drop off their tagged luggage. The overall lobby space has also been expanded by 75 percent, and plenty of JetBlue staffers are on hand to help customers familiarize themselves with the new kiosks and procedures.

Travelers passing through Milwaukee’s Mitchell International will see some changes in the weeks ahead, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The newspaper said that in mid-August, Air Canada will move from Concourse C to Concourse E, and United will do the same in early September. Southwest will remain in Concourse C. The newspaper said the moves are being made in preparation for a longer-term project that will see Concourse E – the airport’s smallest – eventually converted into a facility that will handle international flights. The airport’s existing international terminal is in a separate building not connected to the main passenger concourses.

Baltimore/Washington International plans to open a new passenger facility this fall that is available at other major airports: a full-service health club. Operated by an Oregon-based start-up called ROAM Fitness, the 1,200-square-foot facility will offer equipment like treadmills, stationary bikes and free weights. It will also have shower facilities and will rent workout clothes to customers.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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JetBlue lie-flat seats coming to an airport near you?

JetBlue A321

More of JetBlue’s new A321s will come equipped with Mint cabins. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Claiming that its premium-cabin Mint service has “opened up a new market untapped by other carriers,” JetBlue said this week it has big long-term plans to keep expanding Mint to new markets beyond those it has already announced. But will it succeed?

The company said it has amended its long-term purchase agreement with Airbus to bring even more new A321s to its fleet, many of them configured with Mint premium cabins. By the end of this year, JetBlue said, it will have 17 Mint-equipped A321s; by 2017, it will have 31.

Equipped with lie-flat seats and offering “curated” food and amenities and “hospitality trained” flight attendants, JetBlue’s Mint service was initially introduced on the New York JFK-Los Angeles and JFK-San Francisco routes to give business travelers a lower-cost alternative to the lie-flat premium seating in specially-configured aircraft operated by American, Delta and United on those two key transcontinental routes (United last fall moved its p.s. transcon service from JFK to Newark).

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue will add Mint to these cities, and eventually even more(Image: JetBlue)

And apparently the experiment has worked: JetBlue said that since it introduced Mint in 2014, routes that offer the premium service have become some of its most profitable. “Revenue per available seat mile on Mint routes has grown 20 percent since 2014, and Mint has helped attract new corporate clients and west coast point of sale,” the company said.

JetBlue recently added Mint to transcontinental flights between Boston and San Francisco, and will bring it to Boston-LAX flights this fall. This past spring, the carrier said it will expand Mint service over the next two years to even more transcontinental markets, including Seattle-Boston, Seattle-JFK, San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas-JFK. It has also started adding Mint service on a few select Caribbean routes from New York and Boston.

Have you flown Mint yet? Check out our Trip Report here!

JetBlue's Mint class offers upgraded meals. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue’s Mint class offers upgraded meals. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In announcing the addition of more Mint-equipped A321s to its fleet, JetBlue didn’t reveal any more new routes for the service, although it suggested it may add more frequencies to existing LAX and SFO transcon routes.  But citing its success in “outperforming competitors” on Mint’s existing routes, it said that “transcontinental markets outside of New York and Los Angeles are prime for similar disruption. For example, only 5 percent of transcontinental flights over 1,800 miles consistently offer regularly scheduled lie-flat seats.”

According to Bloomberg, JetBlue is considering using its new tranche of planes for trans-Atlantic flights. 

This makes us wonder: How many markets of more than 1,800 miles can support front cabins with lie-flat seats, and how many more customers will be willing and able to ante up the fare premium? Is JetBlue trying to position itself for a future transcon battle not against the Big Three but against a combined Alaska-Virgin America? Neither of those airlines has true lie-flat premium seats on transcon routes, and although Virgin is said to be planning a first class refit, lie-flat seats are apparently not part of those plans.

Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, Alaska hasn’t yet figured out whether to keep operating Virgin as a separate brand, or two fully merge the two – and if so, how?

JetBlue

A JetBlue Mint seat in full recline (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Meanwhile, as JetBlue expands its transcon front cabins, will it be able to maintain a cost savings over the premium service of its Big Three competitors? Even now, that advantage appears to be eroding. A random check of premium cabin prices between JFK and LAX for mid-September finds JetBlue’s Mint in the same general space as the Big Three, with roundtrip fares ranging from roughly $1,150 to $1,600.

In other news, JetBlue said that it expects to grow significantly at California’s Long Beach Airport, adding nine new daily flights there starting in the fourth quarter of this year. It didn’t say where the new flights will operate from Long Beach, but it noted those routes will not offer Mint service.

So what do you think? Would you fly JetBlue if it brought Mint to an airport near you? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Most popular: Southwest PreCheck | SFO secrets | New routes | China trip report | JetBlue to ATL?

SFO

An unusual perspective of SFO sent in by reader Monte Deignan who was inspired by our SFO secrets post this week!

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 Southwest’s interesting new PreCheck promotion

2 6 SFO secrets you should knowWeekend Edition

3 Routes: Alaska, American, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant

4 Trip Report: United BusinessFirst to Xi’an, China

5 The secret reason for new hotel loyalty discounts

6 Be the first to try American’s premium economy cabin

7 Surf Air: All-you-can-fly in Europe for $3,250

8 New tech speeds up airport security screening

9 6 highly annoying habits of infrequent fliers (Don’t miss the reader comments on this one!)

10 Lyft’s posh new option, but how much does it cost?

Virgin Atlantic SFO

Deep selection of bourbon & new nibblies at Virgin Clubhouse at SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

We took a spin through the recently refurbished Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at SFO this week for a reveal of its new snack menu (from Whitechapel in SF) and a presentation by its talented mixologist Justin who’s been running the exquisite full service bar with his wife for 10 years. TIP: A Virgin spokesperson said that the club should have airside access by next fall (2017). Virgin Atlantic has two flights per day from SFO, the first one, which departs at 5:40 pm is still using the older Airbus A340; the 9:10 pm departure uses its new 787 Dreamliner. By October, both flights will be operated with a Dreamliner. Our advice: Book the 9:10 pm departure and arrive at the Clubhouse early for a few Manhattans or Old Fashioneds, then pour yourself onto the plane for a good night’s sleep! Don’t forget that the club is open to business class ticketholders and both Virgin and Delta Elites with same-day transatlantic nonstop flights to London.

Remember when a US Airways A320 took a dive into the Hudson River? Watch part of that drama unfold here on the official trailer of “Sully” (IMDB) starring Tom Hanks in theaters this September.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

JetBlue to return to Atlanta in 2017

The REAL story behind TSA PreCheck enrollment mess

WIRED mag goes inside Delta’s “Mission Control” VIDEO

United’s board goes from worst to first in 3 short months- sign of turnaround?

TSA Horror Show has been fixed- for now at least

Maybe ATL is not so “international” after all

How much do Uber drivers really make? Not much!

FAA funding bill in Congress would keep more PreCheck lanes open during peak periods
TSA answers travelers’ questions in Facebook Messenger
KLM Beer Heineken

KLM to offer a first: Beer on tap inflight (Photo: KLM)

KLM will offer in-flight beer on tap

One major airport in the world hasn’t lost a bag in 20 years

Travel + Leisure names Virgin America best U.S. airline for ninth straight year

Boingo offers free airport Wi-Fi to Android users for six months

Singapore Airlines will introduce bidding system for seat upgrades

Hey have you given Lyft a try yet? We’ve recently been won over by friendlier drivers, ease in tipping, and rides in the front seat. Get $20 off your first ride when using our link!

Lyft Logo

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Southwest’s interesting new PreCheck promotion

Southwest has a new PreCheck membership offer for Rapid Rewards members. (Image: Southwest Airlines)

Southwest has a new PreCheck membership offer for Rapid Rewards members. (Image: Southwest Airlines)

We’re starting to see a bandwagon effect among airlines that want to see more of their customers signed up for TSA’s PreCheck trusted traveler program. The latest is Southwest, which just came out with a new offer for Rapid Rewards members.

Southwest said in an email to members that for a limited time, they can redeem 9,000 points to obtain a code that will cover the $85 cost of a five-year PreCheck membership.

Members can take advantage of the offer through August 22, the airline said, adding that the authorization code for the PreCheck fee will be sent to them by mail after they apply for the redemption online. Rapid Rewards members can use points to obtain up to eight codes per customer.Precheck logo TM

To join PreCheck, they must still go through the usual sign-up process including a personal interview at an application center.

Southwest’s offer comes on the heels of a JetBlue promotion announced last week that offers a similar code at no cost to Mosaic-level elite members of its TrueBlue loyalty program. The JetBlue gift codes can be redeemed for PreCheck payment through September 30.

And Delta has started offering free or discounted membership in the CLEAR trusted traveler program to members of SkyMiles. The membership, normally $179 per year, is free to Diamond Medallions; $79 for Platinum, Gold and Silver members; and $99 for other members. The CLEAR program uses biometric IDs to let members go to the head of the regular TSA screening lines. CLESR is currently available at 13 airports.

Bloomberg: TSA Horror Show has been fixed. For now, at least

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

twitter-floowmeDo you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

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Routes: Alaska, American, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines will add a new trancon route. (Image: Alaska Air)

In domestic route developments, Alaska Airlines will add a new transcontinental route as well as service to another California city; American plans to trim capacity for its Northeast Corridor shuttle service; JetBlue sets a starting date for more transcontinental service with Mint-equipped aircraft; Frontier adds a pair of routes from Las Vegas; and Allegiant enters new markets from Newark and Oakland.

Alaska Airlines has scheduled a March 16 start for new daily non-stop 737 service linking Portland, Oregon with Orlando – the only non-stops between those two cities. Meanwhile, Alaska also said it will add new service effective April 13 between its Seattle hub and San Luis Obispo, California. That route will be flown for Alaska once a day by SkyWest using a 76-passenger E175 with first class, Preferred Pus and main cabin seating.

American Airlines plans to adjust capacity this fall on the Northeast Corridor shuttle service that it inherited from US Airways. Starting November 4, the carrier will reduce the number of daily shuttle flights between New York LaGuardia and Boston from 16 to 15, and will trim the schedule between LGA and Washington Reagan National from 16 to 13 daily roundtrips. In addition, American will begin to use Embraer 175s operated by Republic Airlines on five daily LGA-Boston flights and on eight LGA-Washington flights; the rest will continue to user larger E190s.

JetBlue will add more Mint flights on transcon routes this fall. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue is slowly expanding its premium cabin Mint service to more routes. (Image: JetBlue)

As JetBlue continues the gradual expansion of its Mint premium cabin service to more markets, it has reportedly set a date for the start of Mint flights on the Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale route. According to airlineroute.net, JetBlue will introduce Mint service on one of its two daily LAX-FLL flights on March 20, and will offer it on both flights by April 20. The carrier has expanded Mint from its JFK-LAX and JFK-San Francisco routes to San Francisco-Boston, with plans to add LAX-Boston this fall; next year, Mint should appear on select routes from Seattle, San Diego and Las Vegas as well.

Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines is growing at Las Vegas McCarran, with plans to add new daily service from there to both Nashville and Tampa starting September 6. Using 150-seat A319s. And on October 30, Frontier will begin new daily flights between Colorado Springs and Orlando.

Another low-cost carrier, Allegiant, plans to launch the only non-stop service between Oakland and El Paso, Texas on October 6, offering two flights a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. Meanwhile, Allegiant also plans to move into United’s Newark hub in November after the airport opens up more takeoff and landing slots. Allegiant will fly from Newark to Cincinnati, Savannah (Georgia), Asheville (N.C.) and Knoxville.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

twitter-floowmeDo you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

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JetBlue’s holiday gift to TrueBlue elites

JetBlue wants more of its elites to have TSA PreCheck membership. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue wants more of its elites to have TSA PreCheck membership. (Image: Jim Glab)

With another holiday weekend upon us, travelers will get a fresh reminder of how stressed TSA’s security checkpoints can get. But now JetBlue has come out with an offer for its most loyal flyers that could get them out of those long lines.

The airline said it is sending out emails this week to its TrueBlue program members who have achieved Mosaic status, offering them a promotional award code that can be redeemed for a TSA PreCheck enrollment voucher.

The codes can be redeemed any time through September 30. The emails are going out to Mosaic-level members who don’t currently have a Known Traveler Number in their program profiles. The offer is good for persons who have achieved Mosaic status before June 30.

The regular fee for joining PreCheck is $85 for a five-year membership. TSA has been urging more travelers to join PreCheck as the best way to ameliorate the long lines that have plagues many airport security checkpoints so far this year. JetBlue noted that it has already taken other steps to help ease PreCheck lines, mainly by providing its own employees and some third-party hires to help out with non-screening tasks at checkpoints.

We could be seeing a trend here with airlines taking steps to move more of their most loyal customers to faster screening. Just a few days ago, Delta said it would offer free or discounted membership in the CLEAR trusted traveler program to SkyMiles elites, depending on their status level.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Most popular: Unprecedented JetBlue offer | Annoying flyers | Next for United? | Turkish | Reclining wars

JetBlue will add several extra flights between DEN and SFO for the Super Bowl (Image: Jim Glab)

One of the most lucrative offers ever from JetBlue this week. CLICK pic for details (Image: Jim Glab)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 6 highly annoying habits of infrequent fliersWeekend Edition

2 United Airlines CEO outlines what’s next

3 Routes: JetBlue, Virgin America, Alaska, American, United

4 Airport news: SFO, Denver, Washington, Hartford, Uber/Lyft

5 To recline or not to recline…

Turkish Airlines Olive Bar

One of FOUR olive bars scattered around Turkish Airlines massive lounge at IST (Chris McGinnis)

6 Trip Report: Turkish Airlines Business Class to Istanbul (Lounge review coming next!)

7 Clear gets a second wind

8 Say what? JetBlue matching Virgin America points balances

9 Airport briefs: LaGuardia, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Atlanta

Sounds like Qantas 747 will be at SFO for a while (Photo: Peter Biaggi)

Sounds like Qantas 747 will be at SFO for a while (Photo: Peter Biaggi)

10 A chat with Qantas CEO re LAX, SFO, 787, Lounges

–

Remember when the posh Ritz in Paris closed down almost two years ago for a full renovation? Well, it appears that cocktails at the Hemingway Bar should help foot the bill for the redo. TravelSkills reader BD sent us a photo of the drinks menu– each cocktail is 30 euros- about $35. Sante! Rooms this summer start at 1,100 euros or about $1,250.

Cocktail menu from the Ritz Paris hotel's Hemingway Bar

Cocktail menu from the Ritz Paris hotel’s Hemingway Bar

Hey have you given Lyft a try yet? We’ve recently been won over by friendlier drivers, ease in tipping, and rides in the front seat. Get $20 off your first ride when using our link!

Lyft Logo

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

This guy got a whole plane to himself! MSY-ATL

United’s plans for transpacific growth

5 things to know about travel to UK post Brexit- featuring a quote from Chris

Airports where Uber is available | Airports where Lyft is available

World’s longest (35 mile) train tunnel opens in Europe, cuts north-south travel time

Costco credit card switch goes into effect

Bright red sinks in restrooms & shower suites at Delta's new SFO Sky Club (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Bright red sinks in restrooms & shower suites at Delta’s SFO Sky Club (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

NYT: Airline lounges in the US getting an upgrade

Starwood’s Aloft brand introduces content streaming to guest room TVs

Study identifies credit cards with best travel insurance coverage

Major airports predict their busiest travel days this summer (mostly Thursdays and Fridays through Labor Day)

Airlines’ first quarter haul from bags, ticket changes: $1.7 billion

Video shows behind-the-scenes view of how your luggage is handled

Will the future of travel include flying hotel rooms?

EU will let Iran Air fly there again; carrier places big Boeing order

Don’t miss this gorgeous video of Cathay Pacific’s BRAND new Pier Business Class lounge at Hong Kong- getting RAVE reviews! Can’t wait to see it in person!

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NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Say what? JetBlue matching Virgin America points balances

JetBlue's A320s (pictured) and some A321s will get new seating and tech improvements. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue wants you really badly and is making an offer that’s tough to refuse! (Image: JetBlue)

This new promo from JetBlue is more jolting than Brexit! If you have a big stash of Virgin America Elevate points, check this out:

Now, we’ve all heard about how airlines will match elite status in order to get flyers to switch allegiances. Well, this new promo from JetBlue goes WAY beyond that.

Today JetBlue announced that it will MATCH your Virgin Elevate balance– that’s right, they will GIVE you a wad JetBlue points if you’ll fly them just one time by August 31.

Even if you have as few as 500 mealy Virgin Elevate points, JetBlue will give you 5,000! Here’s the breakdown:

(Image: JetBlue)

(Image: JetBlue)

To get the points, here’s what you have to do:

Email a screenshot of your Virgin Elevate account dashboard (that shows your balance) to pointsmatch@jetblue.com by July 4. Screenshots must include first name, last name, and points balance. You must include your TrueBlue number in the email. Not a member of TrueBlue? Sign up here.

Once JetBlue has that, they say they’ll assess your balance and eligibility, and then email you to let you know if you’re officially registered for the promotion.

After that, you must book and fly ONE one roundtrip JetBlue flight by August 31. My advice if you live in California? Take a day trip between SFO and Las Vegas or Long Beach for as little as $93 round trip!

Fares checked on June 24 between SFO and Las Vegas

Fares checked on June 24 between SFO and Las Vegas

Once you do that, JetBlue will deposit the points in your True Blue Account.

Full details of the offer right here! This is a no brainer, folks! 

What do you think? Will you take advantage of this? Have you flown JetBlue before? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Routes: JetBlue, Virgin America, Alaska, American, United

JetBlue added a new transcontinental route from San Diego. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue added a new transcontinental route from San Diego. (Image: Jim Glab)

Don’t miss: Unprecedented JetBlue offer for Virgin America flyers

In domestic route news, JetBlue has kicked off a new transcontinental route from San Diego; Virgin America adds another Hawaii flight from the West Coast (but you still can’t surf from it); Alaska adds new routes from San Diego and Anchorage; American plans new service from O’Hare this fall; and United enters a new East Coast market from LaGuardia.

The newest transcontinental route for JetBlue Airways is San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale, which it started flying last week. The daily eastbound segment is a red-eye, departing San Diego at 10:15 p.m. and arriving at 6:19 a.m. It’s the latest step in an ongoing JetBlue expansion at Ft. Lauderdale, where it is already the busiest airline. Last month, JetBlue started service from FLL to Nashville and to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Virgin America has added its fourth Hawaii route from California. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America has added its fourth Hawaii route from California. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America Airlines has added a fourth route to Hawaii with the launch of new service between Los Angeles and Kahului, Maui. The new daily service departs LAX at 9:35 a.m.; like the airline’s other Hawaii flights, it uses an Airbus A320 equipped with “sharklet” wingtips that create greater fuel efficiency and increase the aircraft’s range. Last month, Virgin started LAX-Honolulu service; it also flies to both Hawaiian destinations from San Francisco. Note: Virgin’s satellite based wi-fi is still not operational on its Hawaii flights from LAX or SFO. A spokesman told TravelSkills that it’s “coming later this year.”

Dont miss: 6 habits of highly annoying infrequent fliers

Alaska Airlines has started new seasonal service between Anchorage and Spokane, Washington, operating once a week (on Saturdays) with a 737 from now through August 27 – the first-ever non-stop service in that city-pair. The airline also announced plans to operate seasonal service this coming winter from San Diego to Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Colorado for the ski season. Those flights, on Wednesday sand Saturdays, will use 76-seat Embraer 175s operated by SkyWest.

Starting October 6, American Airlines will add a pair of spokes from its Chicago O’Hare hub. New American Eagle flights will operate twice a day between O’Hare and Akron/Canton, Ohio; and three times daily between O’Hare and Lansing, Michigan. Both routes will use Embraer 145s.

On the heels of Delta’s announcement to start Raleigh-Durham service from Newark this fall, United now plans to do the same from New York LaGuardia. The United service begins October 30, when it will start operating three flights a day (except Saturdays) between LGA and Raleigh-Durham, using Embraer 170s.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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What’s missing from DOT’s Cuba flights announcement?

Cienfuegos Palacio Azul

The lovely Palacio Azul in Cienfuegos, a tiny Cuban city set for nonstop flights from the US (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The U.S. Transportation Department has issued a long-awaited decision awarding U.S. airlines new route authority to fly to Cuba, but it left out one major destination.

Several U.S. carriers had applied for as much route authority as they thought they could handle, anticipating a boom in U.S. travel to the island nation following the Obama Administration’s decision to open up relations with Cuba. In its decision Friday, DOT gave its approval to six U.S. carriers, five U.S. cities and nine Cuban destinations for new air service beginning as soon as this fall.

But the Cuban capital of Havana was not among the cities listed. And Havana is the big prize. 

The U.S.-Cuba aviation pact provides for each country to operate up to 10 daily roundtrips between the U.S. and Cuba’s nine airports other than Havana, or a maximum total of 90 flights a day. Over the longer term, it also allows up to 20 daily roundtrips between the U.S. and Havana.

DOT said the requests it received from U.S carriers for Havana rights totaled almost 60 flights a day – too many to sort through for the initial route awards. “A decision on the Havana routes will be announced later this summer,” DOT said.

Related: Curious about traveling in Cuba? Then read this!

Santiago Cuba Cathedral

Cathedral in central Santiago, Cuba’s second largest city, and one I’d definitely fly back to, is getting new nonstops from the US (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In its initial decision, DOT designated Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philadelphia for scheduled service to the Cuban cities of Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba. U.S. carriers winning route authority included American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest and Sun Country.

Notably absent from this list: Delta and United, which we expect to be on the list for Havana flights.

In the wake of DOT’s announcement, American Airlines said it expects to begin scheduled flights in September from its Miami hub to five of the destinations, while JetBlue plans to launch service to three Cuban destinations from Ft. Lauderdale.

As of now, there is still no word on how much it might cost jump on a commercial flight to Cuba. Flights on the current charter flights are in the $500 range, roundtrip.

While most Caribbean islands have just one international airport, Cuba is a much larger place – it’s 750 miles long, with a population of 11 million – and has built up some tourism infrastructure over the years, mostly accommodating visitors from Canada and Europe.

Are you planning to visit Cuba in the next year? Why or why not? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Award seats: More on Delta, fewer on AA, United

The chance of getting the award seats you want varies considerably by airline and by season. (Image: Jim Glab)

The chance of getting the award seats you want varies considerably by airline and by season. (Image: Jim Glab)

What are your odds of scoring the frequent flyer award seats you want, on the dates you want? The odds change over time, but the latest (i.e., 2016) annual study of availability by IdeaWorks Company and Switchfly suggests that Delta SkyMiles members are seeing significantly better odds this year, while availability declined on Alaska, United and especially American.

But among the U.S. carriers covered in the survey, Southwest’s award seat availability was head and shoulders above everyone else’s, with JetBlue running second.

The survey team made more than 7,000 queries during March for at least two roundtrip award seats on the websites of 25 airline loyalty programs worldwide. They requested travel on dates from June through October, looking for the lowest-priced (i.e. “saver style”) award seats.

Low-cost (or as the study team calls them, “value-oriented”) airlines dominated the results, as they have most years. Among U.S. carriers, the success rate for finding the desired seats was 100 percent on Southwest and 92.9 percent on JetBlue. For Southwest, that was the same as last year, while the JetBlue result showed a gain of 5.7 points. (In fact, Southwest was found to have at least three available flight choices for every query.)

As for other large U.S. carriers, the success rate on queries to Delta was 68.6 percent, an improvement of 10.7 points over the 2015 survey. The comparable rate on United was 72.1 percent, down 2.9 points. For Alaska it was 72.9 percent, down 7.1 points. And for American, the success rate was just 56.4 percent, a drop of 10.7 percent from 2015.

Virgin America was not included in the study.

awardseats2

The report noted that availability varies considerably based on the month of travel. For 2016, the best availability was in September (84.3 percent) and October (84.8 percent), while the worst was in July (53.1 percent). It also observed that long-haul rewards can be especially elusive in the summer months. “Some airlines radically reduce reward inventory for long-haul travel during June, July and August. This is often a major source of member frustration,” the report said.

Here’s a chart summarizing the results for long-haul flights:

awardchart

Readers: Is it getting easier to use you miles and points….or not? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Are passengers really happy with air travel?

J.D. Power says airline passengers are more satisfied these days. Are you? (Image: Jim Glab)

J.D. Power says airline passengers are more satisfied these days. Are you? (Image: Jim Glab)

Is U.S. airline service getting better? Or are passengers just becoming more resigned to things as they are?

According to J.D. Power’s just-released 2016 North American Airline Satisfaction Survey, respondents’ satisfaction with their air travel experience is at a 10-year high, reaching an overall score of 726 on the company’s 1,000-point scale, up 9 points from last year.

J.D. Power said the survey of more than 10,000 persons who traveled by air on the past year shows that “airlines are making positive strides by adding value to their products and services with newer and cleaner planes, better in-flight services, improving on-time arrivals and bumping fewer passengers.”

But it also noted that a 12-point improvement this year in satisfaction with costs and fees is partly due to the fact that “passengers are more tolerant of paying ancillary fees such as baggage fees or fees for extra legroom.” It also noted that the score for in-flight services (650) is still “the lowest-scoring factor overall” in satisfaction levels; other factors include costs and fees, boarding/deplaning/baggage, flight crew, aircraft, check-in and the reservations process.

The company observed that for the first time in the survey’s history, business travelers showed a higher satisfaction level than leisure travelers (733 to 725), probably because business travelers are less concerned about price. (Or possibly because airlines have been focusing their product and service improvements on the highest-paying customers.)

The survey splits airlines into “traditional” carriers and “low-cost” carriers, although the distinctions don’t seem as significant as they once did (and for some reason, it does not include Virgin America or Spirit Airlines in the survey). Once again, “low-cost” carriers got the highest overall scores, with JetBlue in first place with 790 – its 12th year at the top of the J.D. Power charts. Southwest scored 789. The highest score for a “traditional” carrier was Alaska at 751.

jdpowereairline

United had the lowest score among traditional airlines at 675, while Frontier ranked at the bottom in the low-cost category at 662.

In a companion survey on airline loyalty programs – which did not divide the airlines into two categories — the same airlines dominated the results, with Alaska’s Mileage Plan earning the highest score (757) for the third year in a row, followed by Southwest’s Rapid Rewards at 754 and JetBlue’s TrueBlue at 743. United also took the bottom spot in the loyalty survey, with Mileage Plus earning a score of 673.

J.D. Power recognized that loyalty programs at major carriers are changing from mileage-based to spending-based schemes, although it didn’t ask respondents what they thought about that. It said the most significant factor for travelers in rating loyalty programs is still the ease of redeeming points/miles.

The last time we reported on a J.D. Power survey – on hotel loyalty programs – some of our readers expressed skepticism about the entire process. One noted that the results chart “uses an old trick to accentuate differences.” Another charged that it used “far too small a sample,” and a third wrote, “I took a look at what went into the survey, and it’s complete garbage in garbage out.”

What do you think about the airline survey, readers? Are J.D. Power surveys worth reporting on?

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Routes: Virgin America, JetBlue, Delta, Surf Air, Sun Country

Virgin America has started flying to Hawaii from Los Angeles. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America has started flying to Hawaii from Los Angeles. (Image: Virgin America)

In domestic route news, Virgin America kicks off a new Hawaii service, JetBlue will jump into a busy Northeast Corridor market, California’s Surf Air has a new pricing option, Delta adds a route from Washington D.C., and Sun Country Airlines comes to Denver.

Virgin America Airlines continued its expansion in the Hawaii market by launching new daily non-stops this week from Los Angeles International to Honolulu. It will add more new Hawaii service next month, with plans to start flying from LAX to Kahului Airport on Maui as of June 14. The carrier already flies from San Francisco to both destinations in Hawaii. To promote the new Los Angeles routes, Virgin has launched a Hawaiiscape sweepstakes for Elevate members, offering free flights, hotel stays and 50,000 Elevate points. Members who enter at www.MakeYourHawaiiscape.com by May 27 will get 250 Elevate points.

JetBlue is planning to start flying this fall between New York LaGuardia and Boston Logan, a market thoroughly dominated by Delta and American. The carrier set an October 31 start for the service, which will offer six flights a day on weekdays between LGA and BOS, with lighter schedules on weekends. That will give JetBlue customers the option of flying to Boston from any of New York’s three airports. JetBlue said it will also take advantage of the FAA’s decision to open up slot controls at Newark Airport by adding more frequencies this fall from Newark to Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Ft. Myers. Meanwhile, JetBlue this week added Nashville to its route map, launching two daily roundtrips from there to Boston and one to Ft. Lauderdale.

Surf Air offers private aircraft flights around California. (Image: Surf Air)

Surf Air offers private aircraft flights around California. (Image: Surf Air)

Surf Air, which promotes itself to California travelers as an “all-you-can-fly private air travel club,” is offering a new lower-priced membership option through the end of this month with no initiation fee. The new Explorer Membership is priced at $850 per month, with a minimum three-month commitment. It includes one monthly roundtrip flight to any Surf Air destination. A regular membership starts at $1,950 a month. The company operates executive private aircraft around an intrastate network that includes airports in the Bay Area, metro Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Truckee/Tahoe, Napa, Monterey, Sacramento, Palm Springs and Las Vegas.

Delta Air Lines plans an August 1 start for new Delta Connection service between Washington Reagan National and Raleigh, according to Airlineroute.net. The carrier will offer four flights a day on the route, using CRJ900s operated by GoJet Airlines.

Sun Country Airlines, a niche carrier based at Minneapolis/St. Paul International, this week kicked off new service between Denver and MSP. The carrier operates one daily roundtrip in the market, offering Denver-originating passengers eastbound connections to Boston, Washington D.C. and New York JFK.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Virgin America alters Elevate, expands status match

Virgin America's Elevate elites get free or discounted access to the airline's Loft lounge at LAX. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America’s Elevate elites get free or discounted access to the airline’s Loft lounge at LAX. (Image: Virgin America)

Even though it is on the verge of being swallowed up by Alaska Airlines Group, which will no doubt lead to still-undetermined changes, Virgin America has unveiled an upgrade in benefits for elite-level members of its Elevate frequent flyer program – and the news includes a swipe at rival JetBlue.

Virgin said it has expanded its Elevate Status Match offer – previously open to elite-level loyalists of American, United, Delta and Southwest – to include JetBlue as well. Mosaic-level members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue program can now obtain Gold status in Virgin’s program just by joining Elevate and applying at Virgin’s Status Match page. “Members can enjoy Gold status perks for three months, plus the opportunity to retain Gold status through the end of 2017,” Virgin said.

Meanwhile, Virgin has increased the bonus points that Elevate Silver and Gold members can earn, and has introduced a new pathway to elite status by counting flight segments.

(Image: Virgin America)

(Image: Virgin America)

Members can achieve Elevate Silver status now by completing 15 flights on Virgin, or by earning 20,000 status credits at 5 per $1 spent. Thirty completed flights will now confer Gold status, as will 50,000 status credits. Plus, the new flight counter is retroactive to January 1 of this year.

Once a member achieves Silver status, he or she will earn a bonus of 50 percent, or a total of 7.5 points per $1, up from the previous 25 percent bonus. For Golds, the earning bonus has increased from 100 percent to 120 percent, or 12 points per $1 spent.

Why would Virgin go to the trouble of doing this? A spokesperson told TravelSkills, “The Elevate enhancements announced today are part of our continuing mission to make flying fun again and even more rewarding for our frequent flyers. We’re also encouraging guests who may be feeling a bit ‘blue’ with their current carrier to fly Virgin America and enjoy a more premium travel experience.” He also reminded us that airline mergers can take years, not months, to complete.

When TravelSkills met with Alaska Airlines execs in San Francisco this week, they promised a generous transfer rate for Elevate members when the program the programs integrate next year. Stay tuned!

Is it worth attaining status with Virgin now that its days are numbered? Please leave your comments below. 

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NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Airports: Delta Sky Club re-do, Hotel at MSP, United Club CLE, JFK nap pods

Minneapolis-St. Paul's new airport hotel will be an InterContinental. (Image: Graves Hospitality)

Minneapolis-St. Paul’s new airport hotel will be an InterContinental. (Image: Graves Hospitality)

In airport news, Minneapolis-St. Paul is the latest facility to announce plans for a new on-site hotel; Delta reopens a SkyClub at Dallas/Ft. Worth; United downsizes at Cleveland; JetBlue has a new amenity for passengers at New York JFK; and O’Hare welcomes new food and beverage concessions.

Denver International Airport officials cut the ribbon on a new on-site Westin hotel last fall; on-site airport hotels are coming soon to San Francisco International and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson; and now Minneapolis-St. Paul will get one as well, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Minneapolis developer Graves Hospitality will begin work this summer on a 300-room, 12-story hotel at the airport’s entrance, with completion expected by early 2018. It will be operated by InterContinental Hotels, the same firm that will manage Atlanta’s new airport hotel.

A section of the newly reopened Delta Sky Club at DFW. (Image: Delta)

A section of the newly reopened Delta Sky Club at DFW. (Image: Delta)

Last year, Delta had to move its Sky Club at Dallas/Ft. Worth International to a temporary location in order to accommodate renovation work, but now it has reopened the club at its previous site between Gates E10 and E11. Delta said the refreshed DFW Club can accommodate 114 persons in its 7,800 square feet. The Sky Club offers free food and beverages, Wi-Fi and power outlets for passengers, and serves up a local beer, Deep Ellum Brewing IPA. The airline opened a renovated Sky Club at Nashville last month, and plans to cut the ribbon on new Sky Clubs later this year at the Atlanta, Seattle and Denver airports.

Speaking of airport lounges, United Airlines has reportedly pledged to keep its United Club in Cleveland Hopkins Airport’s Concourse C open through 2029 even though the airline’s operations have downsized considerably there. The Cleveland Plain Dealer said that a new lease agreement between United and the airport will give the airline just 14 gates, C-16 through C-29, at the far end of the C Concourse through 2029. United gave up several closer-in C gates. Several years ago, United/Continental had up to 41 gates at CLE; it decided two years ago to end the airport’s hub status. Airport officials said American Airlines is expected to take on five of the vacant Concourse C gates.

Update to post earlier this week about LAX: A spokesperson told TravelSkills that the new United Club with outdoor deck at LAX is slated to open in September 2016.

JetBlue's JFK terminal now has privacy pods for cat-napping. (Image: MetroNaps)

JetBlue’s JFK terminal now has privacy pods for cat-napping. (Image: MetroNaps)

The newest amenity at JetBlue’s New York JFK Terminal 5 is a set of four new “JetNap EnergyPods” where passengers can catch a few winks. (A few is right – they’re available free on a first-come, first served basis, but only for 20-minute naps, the airline said.) Users can plug their own headphones into the pods, which feature privacy visors and built-in speakers that reduce background noise. Personal items can be stowed in internal storage bins, and users are awakened with lights, music and vibrations. The pods were developed by Long Island-based MetroNaps.

Newly opened food concessions at Chicago O’Hare include a restaurant called Summer House Santa Monica in Terminal 2 and Green Market in Terminal 3. Summer House, located past security across from the Coach and MAC stores, serves up California-influenced American cuisine and some grab-and-go items. It’s operated by Chicago’s Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group, which has a Summer house in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Terminal 3’s Green Market, near Gate L3, offers selections from local Chicago providers like Red Hen Bread, Molino Baking, Chicago Classic Confections, Vosges Chocolates and Breadcrumb, as well as local brewers Berghoff and Goose Island.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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JetBlue’s big Mint expansion: Seattle, Ft Lauderdale, San Diego

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. Seattle’s in for a treat (Image: JetBlue)

Encouraged by the success of its Mint lie-flat premium cabins on their existing routes, JetBlue said it will expand the service to seven more transcontinental markets over the next two years.

The airline first introduced Mint service on its New York JFK-San Francisco and JFK-Los Angeles routes; it recently added Mint cabins between San Francisco-Boston and will do the same this fall between Los Angeles-Boston.

Today the carrier said that starting next year, it will introduce the premium service between San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas-JFK, San Diego-JFK, San Diego-Boston, Seattle-JFK and Seattle-Boston. The company said all of those routes have “strong demand for premium travel.”

JetBlue's Mint class meals- choose three of five options. I chose the terrine, lentil salad and pot roast. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue’s Mint class meals- choose three of five options. I chose the terrine, lentil salad and pot roast. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

“Our plan has long called for strategic growth of Mint on these valuable transcontinental routes, and now is the right time for us to capture this opportunity to bring much needed competition where customers are facing dwindling choices,” said JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes.

JetBlue is due to take delivery of nine Mint-equipped Airbus A321s in 2017 and even more of the aircraft the following year. The Mint cabins have seats that recline to a fully-flat position, some with low sliding doors for privacy; 15-inch video monitors with free entertainment selections; enhanced food and beverage offerings, and amenity kits. JetBlue also provides its free high-speed Wi-Fi service – called Fly-Fi – for all passengers on its Airbus fleet.

JetBlue's lie flat Mint class seat fully reclined (Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue’s lie flat Mint class seat fully reclined (Chris McGinnis)

The airline has also been expanding Mint service to parts of its Caribbean network. The premium cabins are available on year-round service from New York JFK to Barbados and on a seasonal basis from New York to Aruba and Boston-Barbados. JetBlue recently announced it will also offer the premium cabins on a seasonal basis starting in November from New York JFK to St. Lucia and St. Maarten and from Boston to Aruba.

Have you flown in Mint class yet? Do you plan to? We have! Be sure to see our JetBlue Mint Trip Report SFO-JFK. Does it look posh enough to tear you away from United, Delta or American?

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NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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New Virgin America prices for faster wi-fi

Virgin America starts charging for fast satellite-based Wi-Fi this month. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America starts charging for fast satellite-based Wi-Fi this month. (Image: Virgin America)

For the past several months, Virgin America has been installing and testing a new satellite-based Wi-Fi system on 10 of its new A320s– and offering the service for free. Those tests have been successfully completed, and this month the airline will start charging for the faster in-flight Internet service, according to a Virgin America blog post.

Virgin said the tests of its new ViaSat satellite-based Wi-Fi found that it operates eight to 10 times faster than other in-flight systems, providing passengers with “speeds similar to what they have at home so they can stream everything from movies to TV shows, music and breaking news to their own devices.”

Effective this week, the Wi-Fi pricing on ViaSat-equipped A320s ranges from $4.99 for short flights (under two hours) to $17.99 for trips longer than five hours (e.g., transcontinental flights). Flights of two to three hours cost $7.99, three to four hours are $9.99 and four to five hour flights charge $13.99 for the fast Wi-Fi. For 5+ hour transcons, the fee will be $17.99. (That’s much cheaper than what you’ll pay for a standard buy-on-board Gogo pass for slower ground-based service, which now fetches over $50.)

Virgin America's new satellite based wi-fi is fast enough to stream movies (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America’s new satellite based wi-fi is fast enough to stream movies (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America said Elevate Gold members will get free ViaSat Wi-Fi through the end of the year, and will get emails with promo codes for access. Since Gogo and ViaSat are separate companies with different platforms, holders of monthly or annual passes for Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi – which is on the rest of Virgin’s fleet – can also access the ViaSat service for free, but will receive emails with access codes. An announcement at the beginning of a flight will tell passengers whether their aircraft has the ViaSat service. Virgin America does not currently offer Wi-Fi on its Hawaii routes, but it’s expected some time this summer.

The airline has teamed up with LinkedIn to offer free “professional development” video tutorials from Lynda.com to all passengers on the ViaSat-equipped planes.

The new service raises competitive questions on some routes – i.e., how will Virgin’s satellite service compete against the free Fly-Fi high-speed service that JetBlue offers on its fleet, especially as JetBlue appeals to more transcon business travelers with the expansion of its Mint premium cabins?

Last fall, JetBlue finished installing the satellite-based Fly-Fi service on its entire Airbus fleet, and it expects to have it on all its E190s by this fall. And so far, the service remains free.

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Routes: Southwest, American, United, Alaska, JetBlue

Southwest will jump into the Oakland-Log Beach market. (Image: Oakland Airport)

Southwest will jump into the Oakland-Long Beach market. (Image: Oakland Airport)

In domestic route developments, Southwest expands within California and adds several other markets; American adds three routes from the Midwest; United adds a spoke from its Denver hub and drops one from Dulles; Alaska tries a new Kona gateway; and JetBlue adjusts the launch of LAX Mint flights.

Southwest Airlines will add Long Beach, California to its map on June 5, when it begins operating four flights a day from there to Oakland. The carrier is offering $49 one-way fares for travel through November 4, with an April 14 booking deadline. Southwest also has new service starting April 12 on several routes, with one daily flight in each market, including Atlanta to Greenville-Spartanburg; Baltimore/Washington to Minneapolis-St. Paul; Chicago Midway to Dayton, Ohio and to Flint and Grand Rapids, Mich.; Newark to Las Vegas and to Orlando; Phoenix to Wichita, Kans.; and St. Louis to Wichita and to Des Moines, Iowa.

With the Republican Convention in Cleveland coming up in July, American Airlines this week kicked off new Eagle service to Cleveland from Washington Reagan National with three flights a day (at the same time. American dropped its Cleveland-Phoenix service). Other new American Eagle service that started this week includes three flights a day from Washington Reagan National to Minneapolis-St. Paul, and two a day between Chicago O’Hare and Providence.

United is adding two new routes from Denver International to the East Coast this spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

United is adding two new routes from Denver International (Image: Jim Glab)

United has added a new spoke from its Denver hub, launching daily service to Richmond, Virginia; it’s the longest flight and the westernmost point served no-stop from Richmond. Meanwhile, United has set June 8 as the last day for United Express service between its Washington Dulles hub and Moline, Illinois.

Bellingham, Washington isn’t all that far from Seattle, but Alaska Airlines decided the city needs its own service to the Big Island of Hawaii. Alaska said it will operate once-a-week seasonal service (on Saturdays) between Bellingham and Kona from November 12 through April 1, using a 737-800.

According to Airlineroute.net, JetBlue has moved up the starting date for putting a Mint-equipped aircraft onto its Boston-Los Angeles route. The first Mint-equipped A321 will start flying LAX-Boston on October 20 instead of October 30. By November 17, the premium cabins should be on all three of JetBlue’s three daily flights in the market.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Breaking: Alaska Airlines reportedly wins Virgin America

Alaska Airlines is adding an international mileage and code-share partner. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines is reportedly going to get Virgin America (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines has reportedly clinched a deal to purchase Virgin America, snatching the opportunity away from JetBlue.

The Wall Street Journal reports that “people familiar with the situation” say that there’s no guarantee that Alaska will get Virgin, but if it does, Alaska Air is expected to pay around $2 billion for the Burlingame-based carrier– a price inflated by all the recent speculation that Virgin was actually up for grabs. (Prior to the kerfuffle about the sale, Virgin America was valued at around $1.5 billion.)

If Virgin and Alaska Air combined, it would create the nation’s fifth largest carrer– a title currently held by JetBlue.

I’m writing this post having just returned from the sunny slopes of Northstar at Lake Tahoe and my mind is of course bursting with speculation and possibilities…. here’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to know what YOU are thinking, too, so read on and leave your comments below.

Related : Travel industry mergers that make sense!

-If Alaska Airlines buys Virgin America, which name would survive? If Alaska Airlines wants to be a national carrier, it will likely need to shed its regional name, right? But would Alaska be willing to pay whatever fee Richard Branson wants for it to carry the Virgin name? And speaking of regional-sounding names, Southwest Airlines sounds regional, but it has succeeded in becoming a national carrier, so who knows?

-What’s going to happen to Virgin’s hub at the fab Terminal 2 in San Francisco? It’s currently bursting at the seams so I’m not sure if Alaska’s operations are going to fit in there. But since there’s now the behind-security passageway between Terminal 1 C (Delta) and Terminal 2, Alaska could squeeze in there? Combined, the two carriers would become SFO’s second largest carrier, with 15% of all flights. (United will remain firmly in #1 position.)

-What’s going to happen with JetBlue? Will it just walk away from the deal… or will it come back with a higher bid (just like what’s been happening with Starwood/Marriott/Anbang). Who knows? But if the deal is done, the WSJ says that we could hear about it as soon as Monday. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Alaska Air bought BOTH Virgin and JetBlue? It could happen! Or…maybe Delta could swoop in at the last minute with a sweeter offer? And speaking of Delta, what’s going to happen with Delta’s relationship with Virgin Atlantic and Richard Branson if Alaska Air butts in?

"Flights with Benefits" is the racy name for one of Virgin America's new A320 ETOPS jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

“Flights with Benefits” is the racy name for one of Virgin America’s new A320 ETOPS jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

-Frequent Flyer programs. Alaska Airlines has resisted following the pack of major airlines down the path of devaluation. As a matter of fact, it remains the largest airline with an intact mileage-based program versus the new-fangled spend-based programs of the majors. Virgin America’s spending-based Elevate program has never been a huge draw, so maybe integration with Alaska’s more popular and lucrative Mileage Plan would be a good idea.

–Hawaii flights could become more expensive. Alaska and Virgin have been competing heavily on fares to the islands ever since Virgin launched Hawaii nonstops last December. One less carrier in the market could mean higher fares.

Related: Trip Report- Virgin America to Honolulu

-How will the two carriers integrate their fleets? Alaska Airlines is all Boeing. Virgin is all Airbus. While other airlines have both types in their fleet, it service issues could become more unwieldy/complicated.

-What’s going to happen the the hip fun culture that Virgin America has created? Will it be washed away in a take over? Alaska Airlines runs a great operation, and has similarly built up a loyal following with very good service, new planes and good on-time performance. Which culture will come out on top?

Okay. That’s it from me now. Time for some apres-ski time in sunny Truckee. Please share your speculations and comments below! We’ll regroup on Monday!

–Chris McGinnis

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: JetBlue, Delta, United, Alaska, Spirit

Only a handful of these very special seats on JetBlue and Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)

These very special solo seats in Mint class on JetBlue now on SFO-BOS (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In new domestic route activity, JetBlue’s first Mint-equipped aircraft starts flying between San Francisco and Boston, and the airline plans more flights out of Long Beach; Alaska Airlines adds a pair of new markets from Orange County Airport; Delta will soon kick off a new transcontinental route; United is about to add an East Coast spoke from its Denver hub; and Spirit Airlines jumps into a busy West Coast city pair.

JetBlue on Thursday (March 24) put an Airbus A321 equipped with its premium Mint cabin into service on one of its three daily flights between San Francisco and Boston. Mint service provides flat-bed seats, a small number of private suites, tapas-style dining, 15-inch flat screen monitors with DIRECTV, and free Fly-Fi Wi-Fi. A Mint-equipped A321 will be deployed on a second SFO-BOS flight starting April 20 and will be on all three effective September 20. The latest update on JetBlue’s plans for Los Angeles-Boston Mint service calls for one daily Mint flight to begin October 30, with all three daily flights on that route offering the premium cabin by November 17. (Here’s our Trip Report from JetBlue’s Mint service when it debuted last winter.)

Meanwhile, JetBlue also announced that it obtained some additional slots at Long Beach, California, which will enable it to begin new Long Beach-Reno/Tahoe flights starting August 15, and to add one more daily roundtrip to both its Long Beach-San Francisco and Long Beach-Oakland schedules effective August 15 and 16 respectively.

DONT MISS! A full week’s worth of helpful TravelSkills posts!

Delta & Alaska Air battle for Seattle (Photo: Jim Glab)

Delta & Alaska Air battle for Seattle (Photo: Jim Glab)

Speaking of Boston, we’re getting close to the launch of a new Delta transcontinental route between Boston and its fast-growing operation at Seattle-Tacoma International. April 4 is the scheduled starting date; Delta will use a 737-800 for the single daily roundtrip.

United Airlines plans an April 5 start for new service from its Denver hub, adding one daily roundtrip to Richmond, Virginia. The airline will use a 76-seat Embraer 175 with first class, Economy Plus and regular economy seating on the route, which at 1,482 miles will be the longest flight available out of Richmond.

Alaska Airlines continues to expand at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Last week, it started flying from Orange County to Reno/Tahoe and to Santa Rosa, California, using 76-seat Q400 turboprops to operate one daily roundtrip in each market.

Spirit Airlines added a new point on its route map Thursday (March 24) with the beginning of service at Seattle-Tacoma. The airline’s first route there is to Los Angeles International, with two flights a day. In mid-April, Spirit will add a pair of daily Seattle-Las Vegas flights.

DONT MISS! A full week’s worth of helpful TravelSkills posts!

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Is Virgin America for sale?

Virgin America A321 Palm Springs

Virgin America touches down in Palm Springs on a cold winter day (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday morning that Virgin America Airlines could be for sale. But there was no hint of who the potential buyer or buyers might be.

Citing unidentified sources, Bloomberg said Virgin “is working with a financial adviser after receiving takeover interest,” although it added that “no decision has been made, and Virgin America may choose not to pursue a sale.” Sale of Virgin shares was temporarily stopped after they jumped as much as 12 percent in morning trading.

This morning, a Virgin America spokesperson told TravelSkills, “As a public company, we have a policy of not commenting on any market or media speculation concerning mergers or acquisitions involving Virgin America.”

Sir Richard Branson’s U.K.-based Virgin Group owns a 25 percent stake in Virgin America, as it has since the airline started. By law, the other 75 percent must be held by U.S. investors. In the fall of 2014, Virgin went public with an initial offering of stock that raised more than $300 million.

There was some speculation on CNBC that Delta might be interested in acquiring part or all of Virgin America, based on its existing 49 percent equity stake in Virgin Atlantic and its transpacific joint venture with Virgin Australia. Virgin America also has partnerships with the other Virgin carriers. Delta has been active in buying equity stakes in other airlines in recent years as well, including Brazil’s GOL, Aeromexico, and China Eastern.

There’s also the possibility that Virgin America could be acquired by non-airline investors.

A JetBlue A321 parked at SFO this week- here to celebrate launch on Mint service on SFO-BOS (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A JetBlue A321 parked at SFO this week- here to celebrate launch on Mint service on SFO-BOS (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

At TravelSkills we’ve often thought a merger of Virgin America and JetBlue would make sense. Their route maps don’t overlap too much– JetBlue is primarily an east coast carrier and Virgin is big out west, and now in Hawaii. JetBlue has a nice foothold in the huge New York City market. Virgin is adored in San Francisco and Los Angeles. JetBlue boasts the modern, convenient airport terminal (T5) at JFK. Virgin has the state of the art T2 at SFO. The two carriers could share the mod Virgin Loft at LAX since they both operate out of Terminal 3 there. Both carriers fly Airbus narrowbody jets.

Related: 6 things about JetBlue

Virgin America will mark its 10th birthday this summer. The airline struggled during its first several years, but finally started to turn a profit in 2013. Since then, its fortunes have improved dramatically as the price of oil declined; its net profit number jumped from $10 million in 2013 to $60 million in 2014 and to $340 million last year.

Do you think Virgin is going to sell or merge? Thoughts below, please!

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: Virgin, JetBlue, Southwest, American, Frontier

Virgin America's new route links the Bay Area with the Rocky Mountains. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America’s new route links the Bay Area with the Rocky Mountains- and lowers fares. (Image: Virgin America)

In domestic route news, Virgin America breaks into a big new business market; JetBlue targets Ft. Lauderdale for substantial growth; Southwest doubles capacity on a Bay Area transcontinental route; American adds some secondary markets; and Frontier plans three new routes.

On Tuesday, Virgin America started flying its newest U.S. route, offering three flights a day between San Francisco and Denver – a route dominated by United. Earlier this month, United prepared for battle by increasing frequencies on the SFO-DEN route to as many as a dozen flights a day. To promote the new route, Virgin is offering promotional discounts of up to 30 percent off Main Cabin fares between DEN-SFO for travel from April 12 to May 25, on bookings made through March 24.

JetBlue announced plans for significant growth at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, saying that it expects to increase operations there during the winter to 140 flights a day “in the coming years;” that’s an increase of 75 percent over its current schedules. The only specific expansion it mentioned in the announcement was a plan to begin Ft. Lauderdale-New Orleans service on September 29, with one daily roundtrip; and an increase in Ft. Lauderdale-Nassau, Bahamas service from three flights a day to five, starting August 1.

Southwest Airlines special livery

Southwest Airlines newest special livery “Tennessee One” Like it? (Image: Southwest Airlines)

Effective for the summer season from June 5 through August 6, Southwest Airlines plans to add a second daily roundtrip between Oakland and Baltimore-Washington International. The carrier said it will increase capacity on several other BWI routes during the same period, adding a sixth daily flight between BWI and Denver, a ninth between BWI-Manchester, N.H.; an eighth between BWI and Hartford Bradley; a seventh between BWI and Tampa; and a 10th between BWI and Orlando.

American Airlines will add a new spoke from its Phoenix hub on June 2, launching one daily roundtrip to Redmond, Oregon. The route will be operated by Skywest/American Eagle with a CRJ700. And on May 5, new Envoy/American Eagle E145 flights are due to begin between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Sioux City, Iowa’s Sioux Gateway Airport (for trivia buffs: the airport’s three-letter code is SUX).

Frontier Airlines has unveiled plans for three more new routes in the months ahead. On May 15, it will begin flying between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas three times a week; on June 22, it will kick off one daily roundtrip between Denver and Washington Dulles; and on June 28, it will start daily service linking Phoenix with Colorado Springs.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Big airfare deals from SFO: Denver, Boston, New York, Vegas

Eventually, you'll catch trains from Denver's modern Union Station to Denver International Airport 40 miles northeast of downtown (Photo: RTD)

Starting April 22 you’ll catch trains from Denver’s modern Union Station to Denver International Airport 23 miles northeast of downtown (Photo: RTD)

Denver has always been a very inexpensive city to fly to because of an ongoing fare war between United and Southwest. But since Denver based Frontier has gone “ultra low cost” and SF-based Virgin America has entered the market, we are seeing some outstanding deals from Bay Area airports.

For example, Virgin launched a systemwide fare sale today to several cities, but Denver fares are some of the best. For example, it is offering nonstop round trips SFO-DEN for just $118! Yes, that is roundtrip. It’s good for flights in April and May. While many flights are coming in at  $59 each way ($118 round trip), we are also seeing them at $79 ($138-$158 round trip). That’s still a screamin’ deal! Check it out here.

Some other good deals from today’s Virgin sale: SFO-Seattle is just $128 roundtrip for April and May flights. SFO-New York is below the rare $300 threshold at $298 roundtrip on a handful of flights. Hawaii is running below the $400 threshold at $398 roundtrip to both Honolulu and Maui for flights through early June.

See all of Virgin’s sale fares from SFO here. ALSO, be sure to check other airlines that compete on these routes for matching fares.

JetBlue has rock bottom rates to Boston and Las Vegas! (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue has rock bottom rates to Boston and Las Vegas! (Image: JetBlue)

Another great deal that TravelSkills reader EW found for us: JetBlue’s new Mint class (with lie flat seats!) between SFO and Boston is going for just $986 round trip. It’s rare to see seats at the front of the plane on transcon flights for less than $1,000 so jump on this! JetBlue introduces the posh new Mint service to SFO-Boston on March 24. See the TravelSkills Trip Report about JetBlue Mint class here.

In addition to this phenomenal fare, JetBlue is flying SFO-Las Vegas for just $88 round trip this spring. Find all JetBlue’s deals here.

NOTE: Fares searched March 15 and subject to change

Have you ever flown JetBlue? Would you? What did you think? Please leave your comments below.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: Bay Area to China, Fiji + Delta code-shares + JetBlue to Africa, South America

Air China will use an A330-200 between San Jose and Shanghai. (Image: Mehdi Nazarinia/Wikimedia Commons)

Air China will use an A330-200 between San Jose and Shanghai. (Image: Mehdi Nazarinia/Wikimedia Commons)

In international airline route news, San Jose will get a second China route, and San Francisco will get more capacity to China and to the South Pacific; Delta adds a number of new code-share routes to Europe; JetBlue begins new South America service and a code-share expansion gives the carrier a new Africa route; and a Mexican low-cost carrier adds a couple of transborder services.

 Although it is still awaiting approval for the route from the U.S. Government, Air China has started to take reservations on flights between San Jose and Shanghai Pudong, for travel starting June 16, according to Airlineroute.net. The carrier plans to fly the route three days a week with a two-class, 237-seat Airbus A330-200. It will be San Jose’s second China route, following Hainan Airlines’ launch of San Jose-Beijing service last year. It’s a busy time for international services at San Jose – the airport will welcome new British Airways flights to London Heathrow in May and new Lufthansa service to Frankfurt on July 1.

 Despite the new San Jose route, Air China is not neglecting San Francisco International; it reportedly plans to increase its SFO-Beijing schedule from seven flights a week to 11 starting August 2. It will use a 777-300ER for the new flights. In other news at SFO, 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.

 The people in Delta’s code-sharing office are busy these days. Joint venture partner Air France recently announced plans to begin new service in June from New York JFK to Paris – not to Charles de Gaulle, but to Orly Airport. Delta plans to put its code not only onto those transatlantic Orly flights, but also onto Air France flights beyond Orly to Biarritz, Bordeaux, Lorient, Marseille, Pau, Perpignon, Toulon and Toulouse. Delta’s code is also going onto flights operated by Transavia, a KLM subsidiary. Delta passengers can connect at Amsterdam onto Delta-coded Transavia flights to Seville and Alicante, Spain; Thessaloniki, Greece; and Marrakech, Morocco. Meanwhile, Delta this week put its code onto CSA Czech Airlines flights out of Prague to Bratislava, Copenhagen, Skopje and Zagreb.

In an expansion of its partnership with South African Airways, JetBlue has put its B6 code onto SAA’s four weekly flights between Washington Dulles and Accra, Ghana. Both carriers operate out of Concourse B at Dulles, and JetBlue’s TrueBlue members can earn points throughout SAA’s network. In other news, JetBlue has started flying a new international route to South America, offering daily service from Ft. Lauderdale to Quito, Ecuador with an Airbus A320.

 Interjet, a low-cost Mexican carrier, has started flying twice a day between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Mexico City. And on May 19 the carrier plans to add daily Los Angeles-Cancun flights.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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U.S., Cuba clear the way for scheduled airline flights

Havana Airport

Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport (Photo: Rojinegro81 / Wikimedia)

It should just be a matter of months before you can book a commercial, scheduled flight Cuba, thanks to a new air services agreement signed on Tuesday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was in Havana for the signing, after which the Transportation Department told U.S. carriers they can now apply for route authority to the island for both passenger and cargo flights, something they haven’t been able to offer for more than 50 years.

The pact will allow airlines from each country to operate up to 20 flights a day to Havana, as well as a maximum of 10 daily flights to each of Cuba’s other nine international airports, or a total of 110 flights a day to the island.

DOT said that as applications come in, it will begin a proceeding to select the routes that will be awarded to each airline– so it’s going to take some time.

Cruise lines are getting in the act, too. Carnival’s new Fathom “cultural exchange voyages” will depart Miami for a weeklong cruise around the island stopping in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago starting this May.

 

However, business travelers eager to explore commercial opportunities in Cuba and tourists who want to hit the beaches there should be aware that technically, not everyone can go there — at least, not until Congress reverses the trade embargo (unlikely any time soon) allowing the Treasury Department to ease up on current rules. DOT noted that the new air services pact will “facilitate visits for travelers that fall under one of the 12 categories authorized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets control.”

Cuba

Image: US Dept of Transportation

According to Treasury’s website, those 12 categories include: family visits; official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; journalistic activity; professional research and professional meetings; educational activities; religious activities; public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions; support for the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes; exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials; and certain authorized export transactions.

But if a traveler just checks off one of those categories on a booking request, there’s no telling what kind of enforcement might apply, if any.

Some U.S. airlines have already been flying to Cuba for months, but only with charter flights sold by travel companies. After today’s announcement, nearly all US carriers have applauded the move and said that they plan to apply for authority to crank up scheduled commercial flight to Cuba from their hubs.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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Routes: Virgin’s new Hawaii sale; JetBlue’s Mint to Boston; Alaska to Atlanta

Hanging out at the bar and soaking up what's going on outside. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America will bring Hawaii service to Los Angeles this year. (Virgin’s LAX lounge photo: Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route news, Virgin America plans a new Hawaii route; JetBlue sets schedules for the launch of Boston Mint service, and adds new cross-country markets; Alaska will resume an Atlanta route; and a niche carrier sets its sights on Portland.

Following up on its recent inauguration of service from San Francisco to Honolulu and Maui, Virgin America announced this week that it will serve the same two destinations from Los Angeles. The company said it has scheduled a May 5 start for daily flights from LAX to Honolulu, and a June 14 launch for daily service linking LAX with Kahului, Maui. Virgin noted that the new LAX schedule will allow even more connecting possibilities to Hawaii from the other cities it serves. Virgin is offering sale fares between Hawaii and LAX for as little as $338 round trip — today (Tuesday) only — and is offering Elevate members an award flight price starting at 8,278 points. UPDATE: As of Wednesday morning Feb 3, these “one day” sale fares ($338 rt) are still available when searching for SFO to Hawaii on VirginAmerica.com

NICE: These sale fares are good for travel all the way from now through summer– and they apply to flights from San Francisco, too! 

Are you signed up for the TravelSkills.com blog? Why not? Do it right now and don’t miss out. 

JetBlue will add more Mint flights on transcon routes this fall. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue will add more Mint flights on transcon routes from Boston. (Image: JetBlue)

Following up on plans it announced months ago, JetBlue has set the starting dates for the expansion of its premium Mint service to routes out of Boston.  According to Airlineroute.net, JetBlue will introduce a Mint-equipped A321 on one of its three daily San Francisco-Boston flights effective March 24, followed by a second daily Mint service beginning April 20 and the third starting September 20. JetBlue’s Boston-Los Angeles route will get the same treatment, but so far only one of the three daily flights on that route has the new Mint service scheduled, with a starting date of October 20.

Meanwhile, JetBlue also has its eye on some new cross-country markets. The carrier said it will begin new daily service between Boston-Salt Lake City on May 12, and between Ft. Lauderdale-San Diego as of June 16. Also in the works is new daily service linking Los Angeles with Buffalo, N.Y. starting June 16. On all three routes, the eastbound departure will be a red-eye.

Alaska Airlines is adding an international mileage and code-share partner. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines is bringing back nonstops between Atlanta and Portland, OR (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines dropped service between Atlanta and Portland, Ore. a few years ago, but now it is planning to revive that route on a seasonal basis. The airline said it will operate a daily 737 roundtrip on the route this year from June 4 through August 27. Delta already serves that market. Alaska also announced plans to operate weekly Saturday service this summer between Spokane and Anchorage, from June 11 through August 27.

Don’t miss: The “unofficial” airport of the big game giveaway

Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines plans to begin new year-round service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Portland, Ore. on June 9, according to Airlineroute.net. The 737 service will initially operate five times a week, and will be reduced to four a week after August 31.

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New JetBlue seats: Less space, more tech

JetBlue's A320s (pictured) and some A321s will get new seating and tech improvements. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue’s A320s (pictured) and some A321s will get new seating and tech improvements. (Image: JetBlue)

Passengers on JetBlue’s Airbus A320s and some of its A321s can expect to see more seats in the future, along with a more connected tech experience.

The airline said this week that it plans to increase the seat count in 15 of its “all-core” A321s (not including those transcontinental A321s equipped with Mint service, which will remain unchanged) from the current 190 to 200, while JetBlue’s 130 A320s will go from the current 150 seats to 162.

According to JetBlue, the increases in seat count will be made possible by the installation of a new galley/lavatory module developed by Airbus called the Space-Flex v2. Those installations “will free additional space” in the cabins, “requiring a reconfiguration of seating,” JetBlue said.

The airline did not say how the reconfiguration might impact seat pitch — currently 34 inches on A320s and 33 on A321s, except for seven extra-legroom rows with more — but it did say that its cabins will still boast “the most legroom in coach” compared to other U.S. airlines.

The aircraft will get new Pinnacle seats from BE Aerospace with moveable headrests, AC outlets and USB ports at every seat, as well as new LED cabin lighting systems.

JetBlue

Economy class on a Mint configured A321 – all JetBlue seats will soon have 10 inch monitors like these (Chris McGinnis)

Work on the A321s will start in the second half of this year, while the A320 overhaul will take place from 2017 to 2019.

JetBlue said the A320s will also get a technology overhaul that links their seatback TVs to the in-flight Wi-Fi service, and new seatback screens that will be 10-inch, high-definition models, almost twice as large as the current screens.

Related: Trip Report- JetBlue Mint SFO-JFK

This will enable streaming TV entertainment through a system built on Google’s Android platform. JetBlue said the new system will mean “unlimited possibilities for custom app and widget development, live content streaming, audio-and-video-on-demand, and personal device pairing to offer more entertainment options than ever.” Besides the streaming content, JetBlue’s DirecTV service will increase from 36 to 100 channels, and its in-flight film library will be able to deliver 300 movies.

Passengers will have gate-to-gate access to JetBlue’s Fly-Fi high-speed wireless Internet service, offering speeds of 12 to 20 Mbps to each linked device, the airline noted.

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What are the “best” frequent flyer programs?

JetBlue's loyalty program was rated best in a new study. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue’s loyalty program was rated best overall in a new study. (Image: JetBlue)

CardHub, a website that helps consumers find the best credit cards, concluded from its latest research into the loyalty programs of the 10 largest U.S. carriers that JetBlue has the best program for frequent flyers, although Alaska offers the best redemption value for miles earned.

One of the most frequent questions we get at TravelSkills is, “What’s the best frequent flyer program?” Our answer is almost always the same, which is, “It depends. There’s not a perfect program out there, but there’s probably a perfect program for you.”

Rating mileage programs is especially tricky these days since some of the largest carriers have switched, or are in the process of switching, from mileage-based to spending-based systems, but CardHub said it took that into account in its methodology, along with lots of other factors (23 in all). And it separated the results into the best programs for frequent, average and light travelers.

In its overall results, CardHub said that JetBlue came out on top for frequent flyers, while Delta was the best program for average and light flyers. Looking only at the redemption value of miles, it rated Alaska number one for heavy travelers, Hawaiian for average travelers and Frontier for infrequent flyers.

The summary includes some interesting tidbits for passengers looking into program benefits and drawbacks — e.g., only Delta and JetBlue don’t let miles expire due to account inactivity; only United, Alaska and Frontier have blackout dates for mileage-purchased tickets; and all but Southwest impose a fat mileage redeposit fee for backing out of a booked award ticket.  

You can see the report and its findings here. And the key charts are below…

cardhubff1

cardhubff2

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