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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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Routes: Hong Kong Airlines to LAX + Delta, Cathay Pacific, United, LATAM & more

Business class on a Hong Kong Airlines A350-900. (Image: Hong Kong Airlines)

In international route developments, there’s a new entrant in the U.S.-Hong Kong market; Delta will put a new aircraft on a China route and will beef up transpaciifc code-sharing; Cathay Pacific will add another U.S. gateway next year; United is eliminating first class on many routes and cuts back China service; a Lufthansa affiliate is adding a new business class; LATAM is coming to Las Vegas; San Jose gets more service to Mexico; Copa begins Denver service; an Italian airline plans new U.S. routes; Alaska ends its relationship with two European partners; and Norwegian revamps its U.S. schedules next summer, adding frequencies from the West Coast.

Hong Kong Airlines, a Hong Kong-based sister company of China’s Hainan Airlines, this week started service to the U.S. for the first time. The carrier is using a new Airbus A350-900 on the Los Angeles-Hong Kong route, configured with 33 lie-flat business class seats, 109 premium economy seats with 34-inch pitch, and 193 regular economy seats with 31-32 inch pitch. The new LAX-Hong Kong flights operate four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday), with a 10:45 a.m. departure from LAX. Hong Kong Airlines plans to add San Francisco service in late March, and New York flights later next year.

So far, all of Delta’s Airbus A350-900s have been scheduled for routes out of Detroit or Atlanta, but now the airline is planning to operate one of the new planes out of Los Angeles. According to Routesonline.com, Delta plans to start flying the new plane from LAX to Shanghai Pudong on July 2, alternating days with a 777-200LR until July 18, when the A350 will go onto a daily schedule. Delta’s A350s – which feature the airline’s new Delta One suites and new international premium economy section – are already used on flights from Detroit to Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon, and are slated to start Detroit-Beijing service January 17; Detroit-Amsterdam and Atlanta-Seoul March 24; and Detroit-Shanghai April 19.

Meanwhile, Delta will expand code-sharing with its transpacific partner Korean Air on January 10, putting the DL code onto Korean’s flights to Seoul Incheon from Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Cathay Pacific will fly a new A350-1000 to Washington Dulles. (Image: Airbus)

In other transpacific news, Cathay Pacific has unveiled plans to add another East Coast gateway in mid-September 2018, when it will start flying from Hong Kong to Washington Dulles. The carrier already serves Boston, New York JFK and Newark. Cathay reportedly plans to fly the route – which will be the longest in its system – four days a week with a brand-new Airbus A350-1000.

A couple of months ago, we reported on United’s plans to reconfigure its international long-haul 777-200s, putting in new lie-flat Polaris business class seats, taking out first class, and going from nine-across to 10-across seating in economy. A recent entry in Routesonline.com about United’s 2018 schedules shows where the reconfigured 777s will be deployed, based on the elimination of first class from seating availability. It shows the elimination of 777 first class in late April from San Francisco to London, and from Washington Dulles to Brussels, Frankfurt and Tokyo Narita; and at the end of August from Chicago O’Hare to Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo Narita, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Frankfurt and Munich. Meanwhile, United’s seasonal summer route from San Francisco to Xi’An, China, which had previously been scheduled for three 787 flights a week from May 6 through September 4, has been eliminated for 2018.

Las Vegas is due to get its first non-stop service to South America next summer. LATAM Airlines Brasil has filed plans to operate a 767 three times a week between Las Vegas and Sao Paulo from June 21 through August 31.

We recently reported that Lufthansa’s lower-cost leisure affiliate Eurowings plans to launch new transatlantic routes in 2018, including JFK-Dusseldorf starting April 28, Dusseldorf-Miami as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers beginning May 3. Now it appears that the airline will try to entice business travelers onto those flights by adding a new business class cabin. According to reports from Europe, the new Eurowings cabin, simply called Bizclass, will feature seats that recline fully and will include upgraded meals and other special amenities. Details of Eurowings’ new Bizclass are expected to be introduced in March at the big ITB Travel Fair in Berlin.

Mexico’s Volaris added two new routes out of San Jose. (Image: Volaris)

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris, which already had service out of San Jose to Guadalajara, has now added two more routes. Volaris has started twice-weekly flights from SJC to Morelia on Fridays and Sundays, as well as twice-weekly service from SJC to Zacatecas on Mondays and Thursdays. Next summer, Aeromexico is due to begin SJC-Mexico City flights.

Panama’s Copa Airlines, a member of United’s Star Alliance family, has added Denver as its 13th U.S. gateway. The carrier has kicked off new non-stop service four days a week from Denver to Panama City, with Denver departures on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 10:16 p.m. Copa offers onward connections in Panama to 55 Latin American destinations.

Italian carrier Meridiana plans to add two U.S. routes next summer. On June 1, it will begin daily service from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK, followed up on June 8 by four flights a week from Malpensa to Miami.  The airline will use a 247-passenger, two-class Airbus A330 on both routes.

On April 30, 2018, Alaska Airlines will end its Mileage Plan partnership with Air France-KLM – not really a surprise considering that the European duo has a joint venture partnership with Alaska’s arch-rival Delta. Alaska and Delta ended their own mileage partnership last spring. The Alaskan carrier notes that it still has partnership agreements to Europe in place with British Airways, Finnair, Icelandair and Condor.

The latest schedule updates from Norwegian show the low-cost carrier plans to boost service on several U.S. routes in late March, increasing its weekly Barcelona frequencies from three to four out of Los Angeles, from three to five out of Oakland, and from four to six out of Newark. The carrier will also boost LAX-Copenhagen service from three flights a week to four. At Boston, Norwegian plans to increase London Gatwick service from four flights a week to seven starting June 12, but it will discontinue its seasonal Boston-Oslo and Boston-Copenhagen flights.

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Is Norwegian Air growing too fast?

Norwegian Air will use 787-9s on four new U.S. routes next year. (Image: Norwegian)

Fast-growing, low-cost European carrier Norwegian just announced four more new U.S. routes coming in 2018, leading some to wonder if the ambitious airline is growing too fast for its own good.

The company’s latest plans include new service from Los Angeles to Milan Malpensa starting June 16; and from LAX to Madrid beginning July 15. It will operate four flights a week on both routes. From New York JFK, Norwegian will operate new service to Amsterdam starting May 7, with four weekly flights; and to Madrid July 18, with three flights a week. All the new routes will be served with 787-9s.

No-frills fare, high fee fares from LAX will start at $229 one-way, while New York fares will begin at $199 to Amsterdam and $229 to Madrid. Premium cabin fares start at $729 and $739 from LAX to Madrid and Milan respectively, and at $619/$649 to Amsterdam and Madrid from JFK.

These four routes are just a part of new Norwegian service already announced for 2018. Other new routes and starting dates include Oakland to Rome (February 6); Newark to Paris (February 28); Chicago to London (March 25); Austin to London (March 27); Denver to Paris (April 9); Oakland to Paris (April 10), and Boston to Paris (May 2);

Norwegian’s current and upcoming U.S. routes. (Image: Norwegian)

All that is on top of 25 U.S. routes that the carrier inaugurated in 2017. And look for more new service in the months ahead: Norwegian said it has just acquired another 28 weekly takeoff and landing slots at London Gatwick, available starting next summer. “Planning work is now underway to allocate the newly acquired slots, and will be announced at a later stage,” the company said.

This explosive growth is leading some investors in the company to worry that the airline might be overextending itself, considering its financial performance. A recent analysis in the Financial Times noted that Norwegian’s fleet is adding 32 aircraft in 2017, for a total of 145; and will keep growing to 193 planes by the end of 2019. The report said Norwegian had a second-quarter operating loss of $104 million, while its unit costs rose by 6 percent in the third quarter. The company’s share price has plunged 40 percent this year, the report said, while its European competitors’ stock has been rising sharply.

One analyst quoted in the article said Norwegian has new aircraft coming online so fast that it can’t absorb them all, so it has started leasing some to other companies and selling older ones. It also quoted a senior banker in Norway as saying that Norwegian is “in trouble. They are over-extended and it’s clear that they have to do something.”

Have you flown Norwegian…or benefitted from its impact on transatlantic fares this year? Please discuss. 

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Qantas to fly San Francisco-Melbourne nonstop

The Qantas kangaroo gets a modernized redesign on the tail of its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas this week introduces a brand-new 787-9 Dreamliner on its Los Angeles-Melbourne route, and now the Australian airline says it will bring the Dreamliner to San Francisco as well.

The airline doesn’t have a firm start-up date yet, but said it expects to begin new San Francisco-Melbourne flights with the 787-9 Dreamliner in “late 2018.” Seats should go on sale early in the New Year. There is currently no non-stop service in the SFO-MEL market.

Initially operating six days a week on the LAX-Melbourne route, the 14-hour 787-9 flights will complement Qantas’ existing daily A380 service, a spokesperson said– which means it will fly SFO Melbourne a few days a week, and LAX-Melbourne a few days a week.

Why split the route up like that? My best guess is that the LAX-Melbourne flights have not been selling as well as hoped, so Qantas will try and beef up revenues by adding SFO legs.

New 787-9 business suites are an update of the business cabins on Qantas’ A330s. (Image: Qantas)

Here’s our preview of the new Qantas aircraft, which will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

The San Francisco schedule is still undetermined. “Capacity between the U.S. and Melbourne will be rebalanced to match demand from the two California cities, meaning that the Dreamliner will fly from Los Angeles some days of the week and San Francisco other days,” the spokesperson said.

Qantas CEO Alison Webster said in Melbourne this week that the company is seeing “strong demand” for San Francisco-Melbourne service, “both from a tourism perspective and because of the business links between Silicon Valley and Melbourne. As well, a significant number of our Melbourne passengers flying to Los Angeles already connect on to San Francisco.”

Qantas unveiled its new Premium Economy seats, which will go on its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas’ only current San Francisco service is a 747-400 non-stop to Sydney, a route also flown by United.

The LAX-Melbourne route is being operated with the airline’s first newly delivered 787-9. The second will go into service in March, providing the first non-stop flights between Australia and Europe on a Melbourne-Perth-London routing. The airline expects to take delivery of eight 787-9s by the end of 2018, with four based in Melbourne and four in Brisbane.

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Routes: United high-density 777s, Delta, Qantas, Air China, Air Canada, Aeromexico

A United 777-200. (Image: Aero Icarus/Wikimedia Commons)

In international route developments, United will start using high-density 777s on some Europe routes; Delta aims to make things smoother for transborder flyers with a new partnership; Qantas kicks off its 787-9 service to LAX next week; Air China begins a new LAX route; Air Canada adds another Australian destination; and Aeromexico tacks on an Atlanta route.

Travel to Europe for some United Airlines passengers is going to get more crowded next year as the airline starts to deploy high-density 777-200s on a few routes out of its Newark hub. The aircraft in question are normally used on domestic routes. According to Airlineroutes.com, United will put the 777s into service between Newark and Barcelona April 23, Newark-Dublin March 10 and Newark-Madrid May 23. (Low-fare Norwegian started EWR-Barcelona flights last summer, and British Airways/Iberia sister company Level plans to begin cheap flights from Boston to Barcelona next spring.)

United has four configurations for its 777-200s, according to Seatguru.com. The three versions previously designated for international routes have 266 to 269 total seats, while the high-density aircraft have 364 (234 economy, 102 Economy Plus and 50 Polaris business class). They manage this difference thanks in part to 10-across seating in economy and Economy Plus instead of the nine-across in the other versions.

A WestJet 737 in special Walt Disney World livery. (Image: WestJet)

As if Delta didn’t have enough joint venture partnerships already (Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, Aeromexico, and a new one recently approved with Korean Air), it’s now planning yet another. The carrier said it has entered into a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Canada’s WestJet to form a new joint venture for transborder service. Joint ventures also imply antitrust immunity, meaning the two carriers would be able to cooperate on pricing and scheduling.

Delta says the JV with WestJet will mean “coordinated flight schedules for new nonstop flights to new destinations, expanded codesharing, and seamless and convenient connections on the airlines’ extensive networks in the U.S. and Canada,” along with “enhanced frequent flyer benefits including reciprocal benefits for top-tier members of both airlines.”

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next week. (Image: Qantas)

December 15 is the scheduled starting date for Qantas to put a brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner into service on its Melbourne-Los Angeles route. It’s the first route for the new Qantas aircraft, and it will replace an Airbus A380. Next March, Qantas will use a new 787-9 to begin the first non-stops between Australia and Europe, on a London-Perth routing. The Qantas 787-9s will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

Speaking of Australia, Air Canada just added its third route to that country, beginning service this week between Vancouver and Melbourne. The carrier uses a 787-9 for the 16-hour flight. Air Canada already flies from Vancouver to Sydney with a 777-200LR, and last summer it began Vancouver-Brisbane service with a 787.

Another new transpacific route that just started this week is Air China’s service between Los Angeles and Shenzhen, a tech-heavy city in China’s Guangdong Province. Air China will use a three-class 787-9 to fly the route three times a week (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), with a 10:50 p.m. departure from LAX. Air China also has three daily flights from LAX to Beijing.

Delta’s joint venture partner Aeromexico has started flying a new route from Delta’s Atlanta hub. The carrier kicked off daily service between ATL and Merida, using a 99-passenger Embraer 190 with business class and regular economy seating.

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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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Airport news: AA’s Miami flagship + LAX security + Kansas City revamp + SkyTeam Vancouver + Burger joints

The new SkyTeam lounge at Vancouver International (Image: Delta)

In recent airport news, Delta’s SkyTeam alliance opens a new lounge at Vancouver; American debuts another new Flagship Lounge; Kansas City voters approve a big airport construction project; Los Angeles’ Bradley Terminal gets automated TSA lanes; and Atlanta and Denver get popular new upgraded burger joints.

The SkyTeam global alliance –Delta, Air France-KLM and partners – has opened its first dedicated lounge in North America, at Vancouver International. The 5,600-square-foot facility is in the international terminal close to Gate 53 by the duty-free area. It offers a hot and cold buffet service with locally-sourced cuisine; a made-to-order noodle bar; showers; beverages including local wines and beers; and seating for 126 with a work area and a separate TV room. It’s the seventh SkyTeam lounge worldwide; others are at Dubai, London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Sydney, Istanbul and Beijing. It’s open to Elite Plus, first class and business class customers.

American Airlines has cut the ribbon on its latest Flagship Lounge, this one at Miami International. Located near Gate D30 in Concourse D, it’s open to first class and business class customers on long-haul international flights, as well as qualifying AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro and Platinum members; AAdvantage ConciergeKey members; and Oneworld Emeralds and Sapphires. The Miami lounge has showers, upgraded food offerings, plenty of outlets for charging personal devices, lounge-style seating and quiet areas. Other new Flagship Lounges opened earlier this year at New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare, and another is due before year’s end at Los Angeles International. (See leaked images)

Rendering of the new design for Kansas City International. (Image: Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate)

Kansas City International’s unusually designed three terminals will be replaced by a single large structure following a referendum this month in which voters approved the city’s plan to spend $1 billion on a major airport reconstruction project. The city’s plan calls for the existing 45-year-old, three-terminal structure to be replaced with an H-shaped building that has two passenger concourses and 35 aircraft gates. The new design will allow for an increased number of retail concessions, more bathrooms, and more efficient security screening, and will give the airport separate levels for arriving and departing passengers, along with close-in parking. No timetable was given for construction of the new terminal.

Los Angeles International already had those new TSA automated screening lanes in Terminals 7, 2 and 4, and now it has opened five of them in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, with nine more coming there in the months ahead. The new lanes allow up to five persons to load their personal items into security bins simultaneously, and the belts automatically pull the bins into the x-ray device and return them back to the starting point. Items that need additional inspection are shunted off to a separate belt to keep the flow going, and bins are 25 percent larger than before. By the time all the new lanes are operating in the TBIT next spring, LAX officials said, the number of passengers that can be screened in an hour will increase by almost 1,000, to 3,220.

But do those lanes really work? If you are wondering, don’t miss this post (and comments): Are automated security checkpoints better? 

A Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace is coming to Atlanta International. (Image: Bobby’s Burger Palace)

As airports keep upgrading their food and beverage options, more of them are turning to burger joints that are a cut or two above the traditional fast-food franchises. The latest examples are Atlanta International and Denver International.  At ATL, celebrity chef Bobby Flay has been tapped to bring a new Bobby’s Burger Palace to Concourse B, with its opening expected early in 2018. Flay already has 17 of the high-end burger restaurants around the U.S., but the ATL location will be his first in an airport. DEN, meanwhile, has turned to Denver-based Smashburger for two new locations. A 2,300-square-foot Smashburger just opened in the airport’s C Concourse, open daily until 10 p.m. It also serves breakfast, and will soon open a full bar with local craft beers. Next spring, a second and larger Smashburger will open in DEN’s B Concourse.

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Routes: United beefs up + Alaska adds PIT + American in DC + Spirit’s newest city

United is adding several regional routes in 2018 using Embraer aircraft like this . (Image: United)

In domestic route developments, United announced plans to serve a bevy of new regional markets next year; Alaska will add a big spoke from its Seattle hub; American will expand at Washington Reagan National in 2018; and Spirit grows at Columbus and New Orleans.

United plans to launch new service in 2018 from five major airports to several smaller ones. At its Chicago O’Hare hub, United will begin year-round twice-daily service starting April 9 to El Paso, Tex., and to Wilmington, N.C. (By the way, United said that starting next February, it will implement an “enhanced bank structure” at O’Hare that will mean “shorter connection times and better access to more destinations” for connecting passengers.)

Also beginning April 9 for United will be a daily Denver-Jacksonville flight, and twice-daily service from Los Angeles to both Redmond and Medford, Oregon; from Newark to Elmira, N.Y.; and from Washington Dulles to Wilmington, N.C.

New seasonal service from United, beginning June 7, includes daily flights from O’Hare to Fresno, California; and from LAX to Kalispell and Missoula, Montana (all located near major national parks). All the above flights will use regional jets operated by United Express partners.

Routesonline.com turned up some additional smaller new markets for United Express next year. It said United will launch service on January 30 from Denver to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, twice a day; on February 1 from Denver to North Platte, Nebraska, twice a day; and on February 6 from Denver to Pueblo, Colorado and Liberal, Kansas six times a week. United had previously announced new service from Denver to Moab, Utah starting May 1 and to Vernal, Utah beginning June 1.

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines is coming to Pittsburgh next year. (Image: Alaska Air)

Alaska Airlines will begin service in September 2018 to the 90th destination from its Seattle hub when it adds a daily 737 flight to Pittsburgh, with an 8:25 a.m. eastbound departure and a return flight leaving Pittsburgh at 5:20 p.m. Currently, there is no non-stop service in the Seattle-Pittsburgh market.

American Airlines plans to add service in various domestic markets next year, including three new routes from Washington Reagan National. New DCA service for American will include a daily CRJ900 flight to Tallahassee starting February 15, and six CRJ200 flights a week to Montgomery, Alabama, as of June 7, both operated by PSA Airlines; and a daily E175 flight from DCA to Little Rock, operated by Republic Airlines. American will also expand its weekend-only service to daily between DCA and Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Florida starting May 4; and between DCA and Myrtle Beach, S.C. as of April 3.

Elsewhere, American will begin twice-daily flights in April between New York LaGuardia and Portland, Maine, with 50-seat regional jets. And on February 15, American will begin mainline A320 service between its Charlotte hub and Tucson, Arizona, with a very-late-night (12:30 a.m.) eastbound departure time.

Spirit Airlines will add Columbus, Ohio to its system. (Image: Spirit Airlines)

Spirit Airlines announced plans to add Columbus, Ohio to its network on February 15, offering daily, year-round service to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas, as well as seasonal daily flights to Tampa and Ft. Myers that will end April 11 and resume November 8. On March 22, Spirit will add seasonal service three times a week from Columbus to New Orleans and Myrtle Beach, continuing through November 7. On March 15, Spirit will also begin daily flights from Richmond, Virginia to Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. Earlier this month, Spirit launched new daily service from New Orleans to Boston, Newark, Tampa and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

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Alaska Airlines flies away from Havana, Cuba in January

Alaska Airlines Havana, Cuba

Sun is setting on Alaska Airlines nonstop flights to Cuba (Photo at Havana’s Jose Marti International: Chris McGinnis)

Today Alaska Airlines announced that it will scuttle its daily nonstop flights between Los Angeles International Airport and Havana, Cuba on January 22, 2018. That’s slightly over a year since the carrier launched flights on January 5, 2017.

Alaska’s John Kirby told TravelSkills that demand for LAX-HAV had declined precipitously in recent months after a relatively strong spring and summer. “We think pent up demand for travel to Cuba has been satisfied,” he said. In spring and early summer Kirby said Alaska’s load factor was in the 70-80 percent range, but after that it declined to under 50 percent.

Then last week, the Trump administration reversed Obama’s more relaxed rules for travel to the island, making it more unwieldy and difficult for Americans to get there. That seems to have been the nail in the coffin for the service.

Don’t miss: TravelSkills Trip Report from the inaugural LAX-HAV flight on Alaska Air

Cuba welcome

Despite recent changes in regulations, cruise ships from US ports will still sail to Cuba (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

For those still interested in making the trip, LAX-HAV fares are currently running at about $323 round trip— not bad for a 4-5-hour, 2,300 mile flight in each direction. Kirby said that Mileage Plan program redemptions (starting at 35,000 miles round trip) for flights to Havana were insignificant over the last year.

The Boeing 737 used on the Havana flights will be re-deployed on a West Coast run (likely Seattle-Orange County) where the carrier is experiencing strong demand.

In a statement, Alaska Air said, “About 80 percent of Alaska’s flyers to Havana visited under a U.S. allowance for individual ‘people-to-people’ educational travel. Changes to U.S. policy last week eliminated that allowance. Given the changes in Cuba travel policies, the airline will redeploy these resources to other markets the airline serves where demand continues to be strong.”

It remains to be seen how or if the Trump administration will enforce the new rules. Some think that the move to tighten rules might only be window dressing to placate the mostly pro-Trump Cuban American community in South Florida. Stay tuned– “don’t ask, don’t tell” could be the new reality for American’s hoping to travel to Cuba.

As the slow winter months approach, I expect we’ll see even more reductions on nonstop flights between the US and Cuba.

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A new US-based low-cost carrier in the wings?

World Airways: Making a comeback as an ultra-low-cost carrier using Boeing 787 Dreamliners? (Image: World Airways)

Remember World Airways? It was around for more than 60 years, mostly operating as a charter and cargo carrier – with brief forays into scheduled passenger transportation — before it folded in 2014. And now it may be coming back as a U.S.-based low-cost international airline- possibly along the lines of  European ultra-low-cost discounters such as Norwegian Air, Wow Air or Level. 

An investment firm called 777 Partners said this week it has purchased the “intellectual property” of World Airways and plans to re-launch it as a Miami-based scheduled passenger airline flying 787 Dreamliners on routes to Asia and Latin America from hubs at Los Angeles and Miami.

It will operate on a low-cost carrier model, perhaps inspired by the rapid growth of European international low-cost airlines.

“Initial funding for certification and aircraft acquisitions is being provided by 777 Partners. Discussions are underway with Boeing for an initial order for up to ten 787 aircraft,” a spokesman said. World Airways said it plans to form partnerships with low-cost carriers in the U.S. and at its destinations to feed traffic to its long-haul flights.

And get this: World’s chief marketing officer is Freddie Laker – the son of Sir Freddie Laker, the British entrepreneur who pioneered low-cost transatlantic air travel in the 1970s and died in 2006. Laker is listed as a “serial entrepreneur” on LinkedIn.

Freddie Laker’s profile on Linked In (Image: LinkedIn)

The founding CEO of the “new” World Airways is Ed Wegel, a longtime airline executive who most recently ran the “new” Eastern Airlines until October 2016. The current incarnation of Eastern started up in 2015 as a charter carrier, mainly operating flights to Cuba, but its business was disrupted by the revival of scheduled service from the U.S. to the island nation.

World has a website at www.worldairways.com as well as a Twitter presence (@worldairways).

The company gave no timetable for starting service on its website, but did say it plans to unveil a “new brand look and feel” for the new World Airways within the next few weeks.

So what do you think are the chances of World Airways getting back off the ground? Please leave your comments below. 

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

United 787-9 Dreamliner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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American adds more premium economy seats- will United follow?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Qantas unwraps its Dreamliner, coming to LAX soon (photos)

Qantas’ Dreamliners feature an updated kangaroo logo. (Image: Qantas)

It’s a little late to the Dreamliner game, but Qantas has just unveiled the interiors of the new Boeing 787-9s that are coming to its international fleet soon – including to the U.S.

In fact, the very first route for Qantas’ newest wide-body will be Melbourne to Los Angeles, beginning in December. The second will be a very long haul from Perth to London – the first non-stop service linking Australia with Europe — starting next March. (Currently fares on the LAX-Melbourne route are just $787 round trip— quite a good deal!)

Will the Qantas Dreamliner find its way to San Francisco next year? Qantas hasn’t said; it is currently flying a 747-400 on the SFO-Sydney route, while United already uses a 787-9 in that market. Qantas said it will have eight Dreamliners in its long-haul fleet by the end of next year, allowing it to retire five of its 747s. (Qantas currently uses A380s on its Los Angeles flights from Melbourne and Sydney.) Read what Qantas CEO told TravelSkills about SFO-SYD flights in an interview here. 

Qantas plans to use the Dreamliner for its longest nonstop flight, Perth to London, starting next March.

The new Qantas 787-9. (Image: Qantas)

In any case, the Qantas 787-9s will offer “more space and a lower passenger count than most of its competitors,” the airline said. They will have large windows, improved cabin air quality, and “ride dampening technology to minimize the effects of turbulence,” Qantas said.

The Qantas 787-9s will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

That’s a total of 236 seats. A year ago, when Qantas first revealed its 787-9 seating plans, the publication Australian Business Traveler compared that to Qantas’ competitors, noting that Air New Zealand’s three-class 787-9s have 302 seats, while Air Canada’s have 298 and United’s have 252.

The 787-9s also come with Qantas’ new livery, which includes the fifth update of its traditional Flying Kangaroo logo.

Here’s a first look at the Qantas 787-9 interior:

The plane has 1-2-1 business class seating. (Image: Qantas)

 

Here’s business class from another angle. (Image: Qantas)

 

Premium economy is configured 2-3-2. (Image: Qantas)

Regular economy has 32-inch pitch and 3-3-3 seating. (Image: Qantas)

Have you flown Qantas to Australia before? What did you think? Please leave your comments below. 

Check out how Boeing turned over this beautiful ship to Qantas at a ceremony this week in Seattle:

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New Hotels: Hilton LAX, Nikko SF, Mondrian NYC, Marriott Denver, Ritz Chicago, Hilton DC

Hilton’s dual-branded H Hotel/Homewood Suites near LAX. (Image: Hilton)

In hotel news, Hilton cuts the ribbon on a dual-branded project near Los Angeles International Airport; Manhattan welcomes a pair of new properties; Marriott opens a Meridien/AC Hotel combo in downtown Denver, and Hilton gains a new presence there as well; an iconic hotel in the nation’s capital joins the Hilton family; and a Chicago classic reopens.

Less than a mile from LAX at 6151 West Century Boulevard in Los Angeles is a newly-opened, dual-branded Hilton affiliate. Its two parts are the 122-unit Homewood Suites by Hilton Los Angeles International Airport, and the 168-room H Hotel Los Angeles, Curio Collection by Hilton. The double hotel offers 24-hour shuttles to the terminals and car rentals from MCar Rental.  The Homewood Suites has studio and one-bedroom accommodations with full kitchens and separate living/sleeping areas. The H Hotel provides “high-end accommodations that currently do not exist at LAX,” Hilton said. Its rooms feature Nespresso machines and Google Chromecast on their TVs. Breakfast and dinner service is available to guests of both properties at Waypoint Kitchen in the H Hotel – “an American-style pub with modern California cuisine.” There’s also a coffee shop and a Subway Fresh in the lobby. Each hotel has its own fitness center, but they share a pool. The H Hotel has an open-air rooftop deck called H Overlook with views of the LAX runways, and guest-requested amenities and snacks are delivered to their rooms by a robotic butler. Rates begin at $160 for the Homewood Suites, and at $170 at the H Hotel.

Hotel Nikko San Francisco

All rooms in the Hotel Nikko San Francisco have been remodeled (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Did you know that the Hotel Nikko San Francisco closed down for three months for a top to bottom re-do earlier this year? It reopened this past spring and, based on our recent visit, feels like a brand new hotel. TravelSkills was there last week as the hotel celebrated its 30th anniversary in the spectacular white-marble-sheathed lobby– part of the $60 million renovation that included all public spaces and rooms (seen above.) Even if you are not staying there, it’s worth a walk through or a meal or drink next time you are in SF near Union Square. Rates start at as low as $180 per night but of course vary based on demand. Check out this video walk through. 

In New York City’s NoMad neighborhood, at Park Avenue South and 30th Street, a former 15-story office building constructed in 1915 has added five floors during its conversion into the 20-story Mondrian Park Avenue Hotel. The newly opened Mondrian has guestrooms with “plush bedding and spacious bathrooms, as well as neutral woven leather furnishings and floating desks,” the hotel said. Managed by Journal Hotels, the Mondrian has a signature restaurant called Cleo with Eastern and Southern Mediterranean-inspired cuisine; a rooftop lounge and outdoor terrace called Fifteen Stories; and an underground nightclub called Yours Truly “catering to the who’s who of New York City with a dedicated hidden entrance.” Rates start around $350.

Innovative guest accommodations at the Moxy Times Square. (Image: Marriott)

Across town at Seventh Avenue and 36th Street, meanwhile, the 110-year-old New Mills Hotel building has been overhauled and converted into Marriott’s new Moxy Times Square. (How far does a hotel have to be from Times Square before it’s not allowed to have Times Square in its name?)  It has 612 guestrooms ranging from 150 to 350 square feet, each with fast, free Wi-Fi; Bluetooth soundbars, and big HDTVs that can stream Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. The hotel has a seafood restaurant, an “egg-centric all-day breakfast spot,” a big rooftop bar/lounge that Marriott says is New York’s largest, a lobby bar, and a grab-and-go market, as well as a newsstand/convenience store called New Stand. Marriott Rewards member rates start as low as $148 (after the holidays).

Marriott’s Le Meridien/AC Hotel is close to Denver’s convention center. (Image: Marriott)

Dual-branded hotels are getting ever more popular. Besides the Hilton project at LAX mentioned above, Marriott has just opened its own double hotel in downtown Denver, a block from the Colorado Convention Center at 15th and California. The 20-story structure includes the upscale 272-room Le Meridien Denver Downtown and the 223-room AC Hotel by Marriott Denver Downtown. Le Meridien has 12,000 square feet of meeting space, lots of original artwork, and coffee and cocktail service in the lobby. The European-inspired AC Hotel “is designed to feel like a modern ski lodge, with peaked roofs, strong lines, geometric language, and bold interior gestures,” Marriott said. Guests of the hotels can get American comfort food at Corinne, open for three meals a day; imbibe at The Lobbyist, Le Meridien’s cocktail lounge; and check out the mountains from 54thirty, Denver’s “highest open-air, seasonal rooftop bar.” Rates start at $162 at the AC Hotel and $229 at Le Meridien.

Given Marriott’s big new double-hotel presence in downtown Denver with Le Meridien and the AC Hotel, it may no longer need the 613-room Denver Marriott City Center, two blocks away at 17th and California – and that’s good, because the owner of that hotel, Chesapeake Lodging Trust, plans to change its affiliation on December 1, when it will become the Hilton Denver City Center, according to the Denver Post.

A corner room at the Madison Hotel in Washington, (Image: Hilton)

Long a landmark in downtown Washington D.C. not far from the White House, the Madison Hotel has ended its affiliation with Loews Hotels and has been rebranded as The Madison Washington DC, a Hilton Hotel, making it part of Hilton’s Honors program. That makes it Hilton’s third major property in the nation’s capital along with the Capital Hilton and the Washington Hilton. The 356-room Madison has 27 suites, eight meeting rooms, a 24-hour business center, restaurant and bar and a fitness center. Rates start at $131.

Part of the renovated lobby at Chicago’s Ritz-Carlton. (Image: Ritz-Carlton)

After a $100 million renovation job that kept the property closed for a year and a half, The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago has finally reopened. The big renovation of the property started just after it became an official member of the Ritz-Carlton group; before that, it was a Four Seasons hotel – even though it carried the Ritz-Carlton name. The work included the creation of a 15th-floor Ritz-Carlton Club lounge, an expansion of the hotel’s spa, and the addition of an Italian steakhouse restaurant. The hotel, located along North Michigan Avenue – the “Magnificent Mile” – is known for its spacious guest accommodations, which start at 300 square feet. Advance purchase rates start at $275.

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

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

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

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

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

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

United:

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

Air New Zealand:

Screenshot from Air New Zealand’s sale page

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

Find the deals here:    UNITED  |   AIR NEW ZEALAND

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

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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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A look inside Delta partner China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern B777 first class

China Eastern’s first class cabin offers a center cabin that folds down into a nice double bed (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

China Eastern Airlines is one of the growing number of Asian carriers that you have probably heard of, but may not know much about. If you are like me, you likely confuse it with China Southern and wonder what the difference is.

Last week, the Shanghai-based carrier worked to change that with a behind-the-scenes media tour of Los Angeles International Airport, and an up-close-and-personal look at its big B777-300ER parked at the gate.

China Eastern B777 LAX

During a media tour we crawled inside and outside a China Eastern Boeing 777-300ER parked at LAX. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

First a few of the basics…

While it’s the second largest airline in China, China Eastern ranks among the 10 largest in the world in terms of revenue, fleet size (nearly 500 planes), and passengers flown.

From North America, it flies to its Shanghai (PVG) hub from Los Angeles (2x), San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Honolulu, Vancouver and Toronto. China Eastern’s two-letter code is MU.

Current round trip fares between Los Angeles or San Francisco and Shanghai for November flights are about $750 (an okay deal, but other carriers offer fares as low as $500), and $2,900 in business class (a very good deal). First class is steep at about $15,000 round trip.

China Eastern logo

The China Eastern logo resembles a swallow, considered to bring good luck, and also includes the letters C & E (Chris McGinnis)

On most US-China routes, China Eastern flies the Boeing 777-300ER, which is pretty much the standard when it comes to long-haul flying these days. (It also uses A330s on Honolulu, Vancouver flights as well as on SFO-Qingdao.) Its average fleet age is very young– less than seven years old. Its B777-300ERs are all less than two years old.

China Eastern is a member of the SkyTeam alliance and has a code share partnership with Delta Air Lines. This means you can buy a Delta ticket (and earn Delta SkyMiles) to Shanghai from from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or San Francisco, but you’ll fly on a China Eastern jet. (To make things even more confusing, China Southern is also a member of SkyTeam.)

To help distinguish the two airlines, keep this in mind: China Eastern is based in Shanghai– on the eastern side of China. China Southern is based, as you might have guessed, in the southern part of the country in Guangzhou, near Hong Kong.

China map

China Eastern is based in Shanghai; China Southern is in Guangzhou (Image: China Tours)

Each China Eastern 777-300ER has three classes: first, business and economy. There is no premium economy. There are 316 seats: Six in first class, 52 in business class and 258 in economy class. Check out the layout and ratings of its 777-300ER on Seatguru.

China Eastern 777-300ER (Image: SeatPlans)

ECONOMY: China Eastern is one of the growing number of airlines (including United) that uses the high-density 10-across (3-4-3) configuration in economy class. While that’s tight at the shoulders (each seat is 17 inches wide), the good news is that it offers slightly higher-than-average seat pitch at 32-33 inches.

China Eastern Economy class

Economy class on China Eastern B777-300ER is 10-abreast (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

BUSINESS: The biggest portion of the B777 is the business class section, with a whopping 52 seats set in a reverse herringbone configuration 1-2-1, offering aisle access from every seat. (Made by Zodiac, the seats are similar to those seen on B777s from American and Cathay Pacific.)

China Eastern Business class

There are 52 big beautiful business class seats on China Eastern’s B777-300ER (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

FIRST: First class cabin is very intimate with just six seats– all with sliding “doors” for privacy. In the middle is a single pair of seats that fold down into a double bed (or two singles with privacy screen). There are no overhead bins in the first class cabin, which gives is a big airy feel, but it does not feel as sumptuous as what I’ve seen up front on the likes of Singapore Air or Cathay Pacific.

China Eastern first class

No overhead bins in first class on China Eastern’s B777-300ER (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

All its U.S. flights have Wi-Fi– however, since this is a government-run Chinese carrier, using it is reportedly a somewhat unwieldy experience, with access to vital sites like Google blocked.

China Eastern first and business class passengers use the KAL/SkyTeam Lounge at LAX. It’s nice and roomy with a big deck overlooking the shopping mall, but surprisingly for its age, furniture is looking a little worn out. First class passengers get special private suites to relax in while waiting to board flights. At SFO, China Eastern shares space with SkyTeam partners in the Air France/KLM lounge, which gets mixed reviews.

Korean Air lounge LAX

At LAX, China Eastern business and first class passengers use the Korean Air lounge at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Business and first class passengers get free limo service to and from the airport in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Shanghai.

Midfield Satellite Concourse LAX

During our LAX tour, we saw plenty of progress on the new Midfield Satellite Concourse, which will connect to the Tom Bradley terminal via an underground tunnel. It should open in 2019 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

KAL lounge LAX First class

First class passengers have access to special private suites in the KAL Lounge at LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

KAL business class lounge

The KAL business class lounge at LAX is light, bright and airy with a deck overlooking the new TBIT shopping area (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

China Eastern first class

A nice bar set up at the front of the first class section on a China Eastern Boeing 777-300ER (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Business class China Eastern

52 business class seats in reverse herringbone on China Eastern’s B777-300 ER (Chris McGinnis)

 

Note the mood lighting in the business class section of the B 777-300ER (Chris McGinnis)

Economy Class China Eastern B777

I tried an aisle seat in economy class with 32 inches of pitch (Chris McGinnis)

china eastern B 777

Decent knee room in economy class, but no opportunity to upgrade to premium economy on China Eastern B777 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Nice big screens and power at all China Eastern economy class seats on B777-300ER- note the rear rows with only two seats abreast (Chris McGinnis)

Read more about China Eastern on its website

Have you ever flown China Eastern Airlines? How was it? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: More Hong Kong from SFO, Delta to London, Virgin 747 flights, Lufthansa + more

Delta One a330

Delta One (business class) on an A330 is a new option to London (Image: Delta)

In international route developments, Hong Kong Airlines details its plans for San Francisco service; Delta will increase London Heathrow capacity next year with bigger aircraft; Virgin Atlantic will put 747s onto two U.S. routes; Lufthansa moves into Airberlin markets; Norwegian adds an ultra-long haul low-fare route; Hawaiian switches code-share allegiance to Japan Airlines; and American and United alter their Cuba services.

Delta is making some changes to its London Heathrow service next year, giving it a lot more capacity from key hubs. The company said that effective March 24, it will change equipment on its LHR routes out of New York JFK, Atlanta and Detroit from the current 208-passenger 767-300s to 293-seat Airbus A330s. Delta One flat-bed seats in the A330s have that herringbone layout with aisle access for all. Delta will also slightly alter its JFK joint venture schedule with Virgin Atlantic; the current schedule of five Virgin and three Delta flights a day will change to six Virgin and two Delta departures.

While Delta recently publicized some new Europe routes it is adding in 2018, it did not publicize some that it is dropping. That includes seasonal summer service from New York JFK to Moscow Sheremetyevo and to Stockholm Arlanda, and from Philadelphia to Paris CDG.

Hong Kong Airlines, partly owned by China’s Hainan Airlines, will begin service between Hong Kong and Los Angeles in mid-December. A few weeks ago, we reported that the airline also has its eye on other U.S. gateways, and it has just revealed it plans for Hong Kong-San Francisco service. The carrier plans to start flying HKG-SFO on March 25 with four flights a week, increasing to daily frequencies by August 18, according to Routesonline.com. Both LAX and San Francisco flights will use A350-900s with 33 fully-reclining business class seats, 108 in “Economy Comfort” class, and 193 in regular economy. Will a new entrant be able to compete in a crowded SFO market against Cathay Pacific’s three daily flights to Hong Kong, plus service from United and Singapore? We’ll see…

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic also has some good news for fans of the fast-disappearing Boeing 747. On March 26, Virgin will put a 747-400 onto its daily Manchester-Atlanta service twice a week, increasing to three a week May 26. And on May 22, it will start using a 747-400 on four of its seven weekly JFK-Manchester flights. The other flights on both routes use A330s.

Lufthansa will fly A330 on two U.S. routes–but not to its hubs. (Image: Lufthansa)

Germany’s bankrupt Airberlin keeps limping along as it negotiates the sale of its assets to competitors, but that hasn’t stopped Lufthansa from targeting a couple of Airberlin routes. Lufthansa just announced a pair of new U.S. routes starting this fall – neither one to its hubs at Frankfurt or Munich. On November 7 Lufthansa will kick off New York JFK-Berlin service five days a week with an A330-300 (its first Berlin wide-body service in 16 years), followed on November 8 by Miami-Dusseldorf A330-300 flights three days a week. Next summer, both routes will be transferred to Lufthansa’s Eurowings subsidiary. (Meanwhile, the Oneworld alliance has suspended mileage earning and spending privileges on Airberlin flights for members of other Oneworld airline frequent flyer programs.)

What is the world’s longest route operated by a low-cost airline? As of this week, it’s London Gatwick-Singapore, just launched by Norwegian – its first route to Asia. The carrier is using a 787-9 to fly the 6,764-mile route (12 hours 45 minutes) four times a week, with one-way base fares starting as low as 150 pounds ($201) (plus lots of fees, of course). Norwegian flies to London Gatwick from several U.S. cities – most recently adding Denver-Gatwick and Seattle-Gatwick flights.

Norwegian officials celebrate new London-Singapore flights. (Image: Norwegian)

Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines have announced a new code-share partnership that starts March 25, subject to government approval. “The two carriers also intend to establish a joint venture designed to provide even more choices, convenience and enhancements to the traveling public to/from Japan and beyond to multiple Asian markets,” Hawaiian said. Specific code-shared flights and routes haven’t yet been announced, but Hawaiian said its passengers will have “full access to Japan’s domestic network,” including Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai and Aomori. The pact also includes reciprocal mileage earning and spending on code-shared flights, as well as mutual airport lounge access. Hawaiian is moving into JAL’s Terminal 2 at Tokyo Narita to facilitate easy connections. The deal also means the end of Hawaiian’s code-sharing partnership with ANA.

U.S. carriers continue to adjust their Cuba services as they get a better handle on consumer demand for flights to the island nation. American Airlines plans to terminate its daily Miami-Cienfuegos E175 flights on January 7, and United has applied for government approval to increase its service from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Havana from weekly Saturday-only flights to daily frequencies. It didn’t specify a start date for the increase.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Norwegian Air 787 Dreamliner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Trip Report: 3 exciting days in Los Angeles

Kimpton Everly

Looking north to the Hollywood sign from the 14th floor of the Kimpton Everly Hotel (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Booming Los Angeles has seen a bloom in new hotel construction in recent years. As readers may recall, I was there in June for the opening of the city’s tallest hotel– the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. (See our review)

Last week, I checked in to check out the brand new-from-the-ground-up, 216-room Kimpton Everly Hotel, located a few blocks uphill from the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Plus I was there for a handful of meetings and to see other new hotels and hotspots.

Kimpton Everly hotel

The brand new Kimpton Everly is located uphill from the famous Hollywood & Vine intersection (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What’s best about The Everly (aside from the fact that it’s a Kimpton, and only about six weeks old) is its location.

If like me, you have business meetings all over town, it’s perfectly positioned. Need to head up to the Valley for a healthy business lunch at Hugo’s in Studio City? Just jump on the 101 freeway– the entrance is a block away from the front door. Need to go downtown to the Convention Center or poke around DTLA? Just walk down to Hollywood and Vine and jump on the Metro Red Line.

Meeting with your agent for breakfast in West Hollywood (at Butcher, Baker, Cappuccino Maker) or lunch in Beverly Hills (at Jean-Georges)? Maybe you’ll get invited to have dinner with a member of the showy, private Soho House. Or a little late night fun at Giorgio’s at MMHMMM at the Standard hotel. Lyft or Uber is easy to call (about $12 with tip between Hollywood and WeHo)– just budget enough time to be stuck in the area’s famous traffic jams where a 15-minute ride can easily bloat into a 45-minute slog.

(I did all of the above packed into a busy three-day trip! See photos below.)

Kimpton Everly sits just north of Hollywood and Vine- Smack in the middle of everything (Image: Everly Hotel)

Rates at the Everly are decent for a four-star hotel in a good location– they start at around $259 per night and vary based on demand. (I accepted a media rate of $190 per night for my stay.)

What else did I like about this hotel? It’s full of tall windows, high ceilings and plenty of light. Which brings me to another big plus: the views! Wow! I stayed at the Everly for two nights. On the first night from the 9th floor I looked south over the cranes and construction of Hollywood and the W Hotel tower. On the second night from the 14th floor I looked north over Beachwood Canyon with the clearest view of the Hollywood sign I’ve ever had. Wow! So if you like views, be sure to ask for a room on a high floor.

Hollywood skyline

View from the 9th Floor looking south toward Hollywood Boulevard (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There’s an outdoor pool on the fifth floor looking out over Hollywood, which gets southern exposure, perfect for picking up some rays- so pack your sunglasses.

Kimpton Everly pool

Cool at the pool before morning fog burns off (Photo: Kimpton Everly)

The lobby is bright and lively, filled with mid century modern vibe, comfy furniture, a pool table and a big busy bar. It’s a nice place to spend a few hours in the late afternoon when the wine is on the house and tasty snacks are lined up on the bar.

Kimpton Everly

Well designed, fun lobby bar space (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

As usual for most Kimpton hotels, the Everly gets all the little things right. Wi-fi is fast, easy to sign on and free for Karma members. Members also get a $10 “Raid the Bar” credit for mini bar purchases. In the bathroom, there are full sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower get that are plainly marked. Lights are bright and beds are covered in Frette linen.

Something new I saw on this trip– a new type of thermostat that has a haptic touch… when you push it to raise or lower the temperature, it vibrates. And thankfully, it felt like it was not motion sensitive, and did not turn off in the middle of the night. The only thing I did not like about the room set up was the sliding barn door to the bathroom— these are fine when traveling alone, but do a poor job blocking sounds and smells when someone else is in there!

Kimpton mini-bar

Plenty of goodies in the mini-bar (Chris McGinnis)

 

Frette bed Kimpton Everly

Big comfy bed covered in Frette linen (Chris McGinnis)

 

Hotel bathroom Kimpton everly

Big bright bathroom with walk in shower- and a sliding barn door (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Kimpton shampoo

Full sized, plainly labeled potions and lotions (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

hepatic thermostat hotel

A new thermostat with haptic controls (Chris McGinnis)

I flew into Burbank and I had a rental car for this trip, which proved expensive (parking is $42 per night + tip) and a bit of a hassle as getting in and out of the entrance is a little counterintuitive.

Breakfast is a quick, easy and casual affair at the hotel’s perky Jane Q restaurant on the street level– great coffee (I just went for the drip variety, which is free for hotel guests) plus there’s plenty of pastries and egg dishes to choose from while taking in the view out onto the street.

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Coffee Kimpton everly

Breakfast at Jane Q at the Kimpton Everly (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

For my morning walk around the ‘hood I headed down Argyle Avenue four blocks to Hollywood Boulevard to see the famous stars embedded into the sidewalk. Down there the neighborhood feels a bit sketchy. I was fine walking around there in the morning, but would probably avoid being on foot at night.

Hollywood Boulevard

Down on Hollywood Boulevard it’s a little gritty (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

While there, I was lucky enough to have time to check out the spectacular new Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills (where rates start at about $600/night), located next door to the Beverly Hilton on the triangle where Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards intersect. While the lobby of the hotel is gorgeous, the real show is up on The Rooftop— take a ride up for lunch and soak up the spectacular views (of the city and the people watching).

Also new on the hot LA hotel scene is the recent opening of the 286-room Jeremy Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on the western edge of West Hollywood– it was first going to open as The James hotel, but that fell through and the showy property sat vacant for months. Now it’s the Jeremy, but not for long– word on the street is that the hotel will soon be the first West Coast outpost of Barry Sternlicht’s popular new One Hotels.

Plus, Kimpton is not done with LA yet… in a few months it will open the new 105-room La Peer Hotel between Santa Monica and Melrose in West Hollywood. Details here.

Everly Hotel

Entrance to the Everly hotel along Yucca Street (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

No photos are allowed inside the members-only Soho House so I had to grab this one from its website. It’s located on the top of an office building on Sunset Boulevard on the western edge of West Hollywood.

 

Jean-Georges

The latest outpost of the Jean-George Vongerichten empire at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills (Chris McGinnis)

 

Tuna tartare

Don’t miss the ahi tuna tartare at Jean-Georges– tastes great and looks beautiful! (Chris McGinnis)

 

Jean-Georges

Power lunch at Jean-Georges with Tom Kiely, President & CEO of the West Hollywood Convention and Visitors Bureau (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills

Up on the rooftop of the new Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills– perfect perch for people watching! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Beverly Hilton

The new Waldorf-Astoria Bev Hills is located on the triangle where Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards intersect- next to the Beverly Hilton (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Valet circle at the Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury car circus! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Butcher, Baker Cappuccino Maker

Don’t miss an outdoor breakfast at Butcher, Baker and Cappuccino Maker on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Burbank Airport

I’ve been flying into Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport instead of LAX lately. You? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fred’s restaurant at Barney’s Beverly Hills #travel #shopping #la #california #fashion #design

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Southwest Airlines

I flew Southwest Airlines SFO-Burbank on this trip. It canceled my 11 am flight, and rebooked me on the 3 pm flight (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What’s your favorite place to stay or play in LA?? Please leave your comments and suggestions below. 

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Popular: Cell phone searches + LA hotel scene + Polaris update + Air France + TWA hotel

Pool Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills

In Los Angeles checking out the new hotel scene this week. Rooftop of the spectacular new Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This week Chris was in LA to have a few meetings and check out what’s happening on the hotel scene. Last time I was in LA was for the opening of the dramatic new InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, housed in the top floors of the city’s newest, tallest skyscraper. This week, I stayed at the brand new Kimpton Everly hotel in Hollywood, and will have a full report about my stay shortly. I was lucky enough to have time to check out the spectacular new Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills, located next door to the Beverly Hilton on the triangle where Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards intersect. While the lobby of the hotel is gorgeous, the real show is up on The Rooftop— take a ride up for lunch and soak up the spectacular views. Also new on the hot LA hotel scene is the recent opening of the 286-room Jeremy Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on the western edge of West Hollywood– it was first going to open as The James hotel, but that fell through and the showy property sat vacant for months. Now it’s the Jeremy, but not for long– word on the street is that the hotel will soon be the first West Coast outpost of Barry Sternlicht’s popular new One Hotels. Stay tuned!

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

1 Show U.S. Customs the contents of your phone…or else!

2 Reader Report: Air France Premium Economy to Paris, Airbus A380

3 Polaris business class seats now on 15 United jets

4 Are Basic Economy fares a bust?

5 United adds 4 new nonstops to Europe

New United nonstops between SFO and Zurich, Switzerland (Chris McGinnis)

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

7 The busiest air routes you’ll probably never fly

8 Hotel news: Ritz in Atlanta, Marriott in Chicago, Hilton in NYC + Los Angeles, Austin

9 New transatlantic routes: Delta, American, BA, Lufthansa, United, WOW

10 Airport news: Denver, Boston, DFW, Newark, Pittsburgh

This week TravelSkills was invited to a preview of the new TWA Hotel at JFK– this banner describes what’s in store- CLICK for more info

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

Mexico City’s new airport gets bogged down in mud

Add TWA Lounge at WTC from email.

American completes business class retrofit on its 47 777-200ERs

AA, United impose ‘gate service fees’ on some Basic Economy passengers

Delta passenger gets $4,000 for giving up seat

Alaska Airlines stakes a claim in San Francisco with Giants livery

Alaska Air Giants

Starting early next year you’ll see an Alaska Air A321 painted in Giants livery (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Group raises safety concerns about shrinking airline seat sizes

Europe’s Ryanair will bid to acquire Alitalia (but not Airberlin)

Apple iPhone X’s Face ID seen boosting use of facial recognition for travelers

TSA approves testing of next-generation airport bag scanners

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Hotel news: Ritz in Atlanta, Marriott in Chicago, Hilton in NYC + Los Angeles, Austin

A luxurious suite overlooking Phipps Plaza at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta. (Image: Ritz-Carlton)

In recent hotel news, a classic Atlanta property gets rebranded; Marriott cuts the ribbon on a big convention hotel in Chicago, and Viceroy Hotels adds a property there; a trendy independent property makes its debut in LA’s West Hollywood district; Hilton adds a major location in Manhattan, near the United Nations; and Marriott/Starwood adds a dual-branded hotel in Austin.

Atlanta’s Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, across the street from Lenox Square in Atlanta, has been a fixture of the city’s upscale Buckhead district for 30 years. It was even the brand flagship when the company had its HQ in Atlanta. But it will be rebranded within a matter of weeks. The hotel’s owner, Host Hotels & Resorts, has reached an agreement with Ritz-Carlton parent Marriott to take the property out of the Ritz-Carlton group and convert it into a property “under independent operation” called The Whitley. But it will still be part of the huge multi-brand Marriott family: The deal calls for The Whitley to be a part of Marriott/Starwood’s Luxury Collection when it changes its name December 1. Existing reservations will be honored, as will Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Marriott Rewards redemption nights, the companies said. Have you stayed at the R-C Buckhead lately? How was it?

The new Marriott Marquis near Chicago’s McCormick Place. (Image: Marriott)

The largest hotel to open in Chicago so far this year is the brand-new Marriott Marquis, located next to (and connected to) the huge McCormick Place convention center. The 1,204-room, 40-story Marriott Marquis Chicago is the city’s sixth-largest hotel; in addition to its modern glass-walled tower, the hotel also includes the historic red-brick American Book Company building next door. True to its convention-oriented location, the hotel boasts 93,000 square feet of meeting space, including a pair of 25,000-square-foot ballrooms. The hotel’s Woven & Bound Restaurant is an American brasserie open for three meals a day. Guest amenities include an M Club Lounge with workspace, snacks and drinks, open to Marriott Rewards members (or non-member guests for a fee); a 24-hour fitness center; a big grab-and-go market; business center and FedEx office; and fiber optic high-speed Internet. Rates start around $299, but can vary considerably based on the level of convention activity.

A room at The Viceroy in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. (Image: Viceroy Hotels)

Farther north, in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, Viceroy Hotel Group has opened the 180-room Viceroy Chicago, a luxury property on the site of the former Cedar Hotel. It’s at the corner of Cedar and State streets, just south of Division Street. The 18-story Viceroy has a rooftop pool and year-round rooftop lounge, and an adjacent restaurant called Somerset run by chef Lee Wolen, a James Beard Award finalist. Guest rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, and the hotel will offer guests weekly classes in meditation and yoga starting in October. Opening rates start at $281 for bookings made by September 30.

The outdoor pool at The Jeremy in West Hollywood. (Image: The Jeremy)

At the corner of Sunset and La Cienega boulevards in Los Angeles is The Jeremy West Hollywood, a newly opened 286-room (including 50 suites) property. Its owners say the hotel has “an iconic cool presence that cultivates the best of WeHo’s notable culture.” The hotel’s all-day Etcho Café offers up “Cali-fresh cuisine” that is locally sourced and its JOAO Bar features “elements of old Hollywood.” The Jeremy also has a pool, fitness center, and a pair of large conference rooms. Rates start at $269.

A corner room at the Millennium Hilton at UN Plaza in New York. (Image: Hilton)

Members of Hilton’s Honors program have a new lodging option in New York City. A hotel at One United Nations Plaza on the east side of Midtown Manhattan (across from the UN Headquarters) has become a member of the Hilton family. The 439-room hotel opened as a Hyatt in 1976, then became the Millennium UN Plaza after it was acquired by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels in 2000. A few years ago, it was renamed the One UN New York, and now it is under Hilton Hotels management, and has been renamed the Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza. It’s the seventh Hilton Hotels property in New York. Rates start at $290.

The new Aloft/Element dual-branded hotel in Austin. (Image: Marriott/Starwood)

In downtown Austin, Texas, it’s one building but two new hotels. Marriott’s Starwood Hotels division has cut the ribbon on a dual-branded property that includes both an Aloft and an Element hotel, at Congress Avenue and Seventh Street, a few blocks south of the State Capitol. Both brands offer free Wi-Fi, and they share a 24-hour fitness center, business center, and 1,380 square feet of meeting space. The 32-story building includes a 278-room Aloft Austin Downtown along with a 144-room Element Austin Downtown. There’s also an on-site restaurant/coffeehouse/bakery called Caroline’s, and an “urban background playground” and bar called Upstairs at Caroline’s with live music. The Aloft offers high-ceilinged, loft-like accommodations with platform beds while the Element features studios and one-bedroom suites. Rates start at $349 at both hotels.

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

Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A350

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

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

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

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

Cathay Pacific A350

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Routes: United, Norwegian, Thomas Cook, Alitalia, BA, Level, Air France, Scoot

United will fly a 787 between Denver and London next summer. (Image: United)

In international route developments, Denver is getting new transatlantic service from United and Norwegian; Thomas Cook Airlines will add another a U.S. gateway; Alitalia plans to extend its Los Angeles service; British Airways changes aircraft on some U.S. routes; BA’s Level affiliate is adding more aircraft; Air France will fly to the Caribbean from the U.S. (and gets a new U.S. investor); and Singapore’s Scoot is coming to Hawaii.

United Airlines flew from its Denver hub to London Heathrow from 2008 to 2010 and then stopped. But now it plans to revive that route in 2018 on a seasonal basis. United will use a 787-8 for the daily flights, which will operate from March 24 through October 26, 2018. The eastbound service will depart Denver at 5:35 p.m. The 787-8 will offer 36 flat-bed seats in business class, 70 in Economy Plus and 113 in regular economy. British Airways currently has the only DEN-LHR non-stops.

A few weeks ago, United said that its summer seasonal Newark-Rome service is now going to operate year-round, a decision it made after Norwegian announced plans to start flying the same route beginning November 9. So maybe United’s Denver-London plans have something to do with Norwegian’s new Denver-London Gatwick service, which begins with two flights a week September 16, increasing to three a week in late October. (And we still wonder why United has not jumped at the chance to offer SFO-Italy nonstops…)

Norwegian will offer low-cost flights from Denver to Paris in 2018. (Image: Jim Glab)

And that’s not the only news for Denver: Norwegian also just announced it will start flying between Denver and Paris CDG next spring. The low-cost carrier said it will initiate service on the new route April 9, with fares starting at $229 one-way in economy and $815 in its premium cabin. The 787-9 service will initially operate two days a week (Mondays and Fridays) year-round. (Does this mean United will add DEN-CDG service too?)

The U.K.’s Thomas Cook Airlines, a leisure-oriented carrier that has been growing its U.S.-U.K. network, plans to add another U.S. route next year. On May 27, it will start flying twice a week between Seattle and Manchester, using an A330-200. The carrier will also extend its seasonal New York JFK-Manchester service to a year-round operation this winter, operating three A330 flights a week effective December 14.

Another service extension this winter will come from Alitalia. Instead of ending its Los Angeles-Rome seasonal service on October 29 when the winter schedule kicks in, it will continue to fly the route three times a week. (It won’t be fully year-round service, however; Alitalia will suspend the route from January 15 to March 6.)

British Airways is planning some equipment changes to the U.S. for its winter schedule starting October 29. On its Washington Dulles-London Heathrow route, BA will replace a 777-200ER with a 787-9. The 787-200ER and -300ER used on the Atlanta-LHR route will also be switched out for a 787-9. And 777-200ERs will go into service between LHR and Houston instead of the current 787-9 and 747-400 service. As we mentioned previously, BA will also add a third daily Los Angeles-London frequency with a 787-9.

Don’t miss: What in the world is Thomas Cook Airlines? 

Level will add more A330 routes next year — but where? (Image: IAG)

Look for more new routes in 2018 from Level, the new low-cost subsidiary of British Airways/Iberia parent International Airlines Group. Level started flying two-class A330-200s last month from Barcelona to Oakland and Los Angeles, and the carrier has just firmed up plans to add three more A330-200s to its fleet by next summer – although it hasn’t yet said where it will use them.

Ever been to Martinique or Guadeloupe? Those two Caribbean islands are technically and legally part of France, and that means Air France can fly to them from the U.S. The carrier has plans to begin twice-weekly service from Atlanta to Guadeloupe on November 21, using an A320.

Speaking of Air France – because Delta and Air France-KLM have had a close joint venture partnership for eight years now, you may have thought that Delta held an equity stake in the company. But it doesn’t. That’s now changing, however as Delta announced plans to acquire 10 percent of Air France-KLM, subject to a variety of shareholder and regulatory approvals. And it’s part of a three-way deal: Air France-KLM will acquire a 31 percent interest in Virgin Atlantic, which is 49 percent owned by Delta. Not a whole lot of good news for consumers with these deals, although the airlines will spin them that way…

Singapore Airlines’ Scoot subsidiary has Hawaii in its sights. (Image: Scoot)

Singapore Airlines used to have two low-cost subsidiaries – Tigerair, used on short-haul routes out of Singapore, and Scoot, for medium to long-haul routes. But it recently merged them into one operation, keeping the Scoot brand. Following the merger, Scoot plans to add more long-haul flights, including a new route from Honolulu to Singapore. Depending on how soon it can get regulatory approvals, the Honolulu flights could begin before the end of this year or early in 2018.

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6 sexy new hotels in LA, NYC, Seattle, Honolulu, Charlotte

A room at the new Dream Hollywood. (Image: Dream Hotels)

In new hotels news, Dream Hotels comes to Hollywood; a legendary hotelier opens a new hotel in Manhattan; greater Seattle welcomes a W and another Hyatt Regency; InterContinental adds 600 rooms in Honolulu; and a small boutique gem opens in Charlotte.

Dream Hotels, which has two locations in Manhattan and one in South Beach, has cut the ribbon on a new property in Los Angeles. The 178-room Dream Hollywood  is at the intersection of Cahuenga Boulevard and Selma Avenue in Hollywood. It features a big rooftop pool, a rooftop restaurant and lounge with views of the Hollywood Hills, and a 1,000-square-foot fitness center and ”wellness program” run by celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson. Other food and beverage outlets include a big Asian restaurant called Tao; Beauty & Essex, with a multi-ethnic menu; and a bar/pizzeria. For film industry moguls, the Dream Hollywood has an 1,800-square-foot Guest House suite with a private screening room. Rates start at $292.

Unusual sleeping layout at Ian Schrager’s PUBLIC Hotel in Manhattan. (Image: PUBLIC Hotel)

In New York City, boutique hotel pioneer Ian Schrager has opened a new downtown property called PUBLIC. Located on Chrystie Street, near the intersection of Houston Street and The Bowery, the hotel has 370 rooms and nightly rates that start at just $150 (if you select the prepaid, nonrefundable option). The hotel keeps its costs down with innovative tactics like eliminating the front desk – guests check in on iPads that send a bar code key to their phones. There are no bellhops and no room service, but there is a restaurant under the direction of celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. There’s also a rooftop bar with expansive city views, and a “cutting edge, progressive and avant-garde multi-media performance space.”

Don’t miss: Hilton, Marriott and IHG impose new cancellation penalties

Accommodations at the new Hyatt Regency in Renton, Washington. (IMage: Hyatt)

The Seattle metro area has two newly opened business hotels. Hyatt has cut the ribbon on its third Seattle-area Hyatt Regency, this one in Renton. It’s called the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport, a 12-story, 347-room property on the shore of that lake. Its main restaurant, Water’s Table, features “Northwest-inspired pan-Asian cuisine,” and the hotel offers a 24-hour fitness center, a Regency Club, a grab-and-go market, and 60,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Rates start at $225 for World of Hyatt members.

Don’t miss: Singapore Air contest winner Lacie R is on her way to Hong Kong! See pics

The new W Hotel in Bellevue, Washington. (Image: W Hotels)

Just north of Renton in Bellevue, Washington is Marriott/Starwood’s new W Bellevue, located in that city’s downtown at 10455 NE 5th Place, 12 miles from Sea-Tac. The new W has 245 rooms, a spa, a fitness center, a business center, and a library with board games and books. Contemporary Northwest cuisine is served up in The Lakehouse restaurant, while “craft cocktails” are available in a bar with the unusual name Civility & Unrest. The W has 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The property is linked by a skybridge to sister property The Westin Bellevue, and it is half a mile from the Meydenbauer Convention Center. Rates at the W start as low as $338 for SPG members but are generally in the $400+ range.

The 44-story Holiday Inn Express in Honolulu. (Image: InterContinentsl Hotels Group)

Got some InterContinental Hotels Group Rewards Club points to burn with Hawaii on your mind? That lodging group has just cut the ribbon on the largest Holiday Inn Express in the Americas, and it’s in Honolulu. The 596-rooom, 44-story Holiday Inn Express Waikiki Hotel at 2058 Kuhio Avenue is three blocks from the eponymous beach and four blocks from Hawaii Convention Center. Amenities include an outdoor pool, sun deck with cabanas, a 24-hour fitness center, video game room, nine-hole mini-golf course, and free cooked breakfast. Rates start at $135.

Posh digs at The Ivey’s Hotel in Charlotte. (Image: The Ivey’s Hotel)

If you do a lot of business in Charlotte and you’ve had your fill of chain hotels, there’s a small new luxury boutique hotel in the city’s Uptown district, just across the street form Bank of America headquarters and the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Called The Ivey’s Hotel, it has just 42 rooms. The hotel is at 127 North Tryon Street in a building that opened in the early 1900s as a department store. Guest rooms have luxury furnishings and linens, and come with free Wi-Fi, Sony 4K TVs, and Bose sound systems. No two rooms have the same design. Dining is available at 5Church Charlotte, with modern American cuisine, and cocktails flow at the wraparound bar in Sophia’s Lounge.  Rates start at $197.

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“Free” airport parking, cheap rentals back at SFO, LAX

Travelcar

TravelCar will rent your car to another traveler while you’re away. (Image: TravelCar)

Remember FlightCar? It was a San Francisco-based start-up that solicited air travelers to rent out their cars from the airport while they were out of town, giving them free parking and a share of the rental revenue. It had 12 airport locations (and several fans among TravelSkills readers) before it went out of business last year. Another company called RelayRides is out of the airport business, but still working in the car sharing/renting space as Turo.com

Now another company is offering a similar concept, and it’s already available for Los Angeles and San Francisco travelers with locations near both airports.

The new operator is called TravelCar, and it’s not really a start-up; it’s a five-year-old company based in France and has 30 locations there. It refers to itself as a ”peer to peer car sharing platform.”

Customers can use the TravelCar lots simply as an airport parking alternative, paying market rates (e.g. $13 a day at SFO), or they can agree to let the company rent out their vehicle while they’re away, at prices lower than major rental companies (around $30 a day), and take a share of the revenue. (That’s how you get “free” parking.)

The company provides insurance for owners’ cars while they are rented, and it sells insurance to renters with various levels of coverage for $9 to $22 a day.

On the rental side, let’s say you were flying into LAX in mid August and needed a car. TravelCar lists seven types of cars available that day, and a Toyota Prius  is going for just $37 per day plus tax for a total of $41.

Not bad considering a one day rental from Alamo prices out at a hefty $67 when you include all taxes and fees.

TravelCar prices at $41 including tax at LAX in mid August

 

Alamo comes in at $45 for one day including taxes and fees at LAX in mid August

Readers: Would you rent out your car to a stranger through a company like this in order to cut your airport parking costs? Would you rent someone else’s car to save? Please leave your comments below. 

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

Delta will use a 777-200LR for its new Atlanta-Shanghai flights. (Image: Delta)

In international route developments, Delta announces a major new transpacific flight and a Mexico route; Saudi Arabian Airlines is the last carrier to be relieved of the laptop ban; Cathay Pacific introduces a new way to upgrade; WOW enters a Midwest market; and United trims some Europe service.

Delta’s three existing U.S. gateways for non-stop flights to Shanghai (Los Angeles, Seattle and Detroit) will be joined by a fourth next year when the airline launches the only non-stop service to Shanghai from Atlanta. Set to begin in July 2018, the new route will allow passengers to connect to more than 50 destinations beyond Shanghai via Delta code-share partner China Eastern Airlines. Delta currently offers two other transpacific non-stop routes from Atlanta, to Seoul and Tokyo. The airline said it will fly the new Shanghai route with a 777-200LR that has 37 Delta One lie-flat seats, 36 seats in Delta Comfort+ and 218 in regular economy.

Aeromexico flights at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez Airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Although its new joint venture partner Aeromexico already has several flights a day between Los Angeles and Mexico City, Delta plans to begin its own once-a-day service in that market on December 1. Delta will use an A319 on the route, with a 9:30 a.m. departure from LAX, and plenty of connections available at MEX on Aeromexico.

Speaking of Mexico, Alaska Air’s expansion in the US-to-Mexico market is resulting in some pretty amazing deals. For example with its new MexiCaliRica sale, nonstop roundtrips between Los Angeles or San Francisco and Mexico City are running as cheap as $220 round trip for late August and fall flights. Seattle to Mexico City is just $320 round trip. LAX to Los Cabos is just $240 round trip. Fall is a perfect time to visit Mexico as it cools off and prices tumble. Fares are available on Alaska Air as well as other carriers such as Aeromexico, Delta, United and Volaris on these routes.

Related: US-bound passengers warned to arrive at Mexican airports 3 hours in advance

Middle Eastern carriers were offering loaner laptops to premium passengers. (Image: Qatar Airways)

The U.S. “laptop ban” is now over, as Saudi Arabian Airlines has become the last carrier to have the ban lifted. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said recently that airlines and airports that complied with new, tougher inspection standards could be relieved of the ban – although any airline/airport worldwide that didn’t also increase security practices to meet those new standards could have a laptop ban imposed. This could create some new inconveniences for travelers, however – e.g., CNN said this week that Mexican aviation authorities are now advising passengers on U.S.-bound flights to show up at the airport three hours in advance so their personal electronic devices can be subjected to more stringent inspections. The U.S. ban against carrying laptops and tablets into the passenger cabin was issued in March against carriers operating non-stop flights to the U.S. from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa.

Cathay Pacific has introduced a new Upgrade Bid program that lets passengers make cash offers for an upgrade to a business class or premium economy seat. Persons who book through the airline’s website will see an Upgrade Bid eligibility notification on their booking confirmation page, where they can make their best offer for a better seat – although they can change or rescind it up to 50 hours before departure. Successful bidders will be notified by email two or three days in advance. The only U.S. route where the program is currently offered is Chicago-Hong Kong; it is also available on several other routes out of Hong Kong including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Dubai, Rome and Seoul.

Wow Air flies an A321 on its new Chicago O’Hare-Iceland route. (Image: Wow Air)

Iceland’s low-cost carrier WOW Air has started service from another U.S. gateway, operating four flights a week from Chicago O’Hare to Reykjavik, where passengers can connect to major European cities. Frequencies will increase to six a week during August. The carrier is using an A321 on the route

United is planning some changes to its Europe service later this year, all on routes operated with 757s from the carrier’s Newark hub. On October 5, United will discontinue its daily service from Newark to Birmingham, England, and its year-round flights from Newark to destinations in Scotland and Ireland will be changed to seasonal service. Newark-Glasgow flights will be suspended from October 28 to May 3, and Newark-Shannon service will be suspended from November 25 to March 8.

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Routes: Hong Kong, LOT, United, Aeromexico, British Airways, Air India + more

The laptop ban was lifted for Royal Jordanian. (Image: Royal Jordanian)

In the latest international routes news, two more Middle Eastern airlines were removed from the Department of Homeland Security’s “laptop ban” this week; an Asian carrier will start its first U.S. service to Los Angeles; LOT Polish will fly from the U.S. to Hungary; Aeromexico adds a U.S. route at San Jose; United goes year-round on a key European route; British Airways starts flying a Florida route; Denver will get new non-stops to Switzerland; and Air India adds a U.S. gateway.

More Middle Eastern airlines and airports have met the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s new passenger inspection standards to guard against explosives in electronic devices, so this week DHS dropped its laptop ban for them. The latest carriers to allow passengers to carry laptops and tablets into the cabin are Royal Jordanian and Kuwait Airways. Royal Jordanian has 16 flights a week from Amman to New York JFK, Detroit and Chicago, while Kuwait Airways flies from Kuwait to JFK.

Last week, the ban was dropped for Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Hong Kong Airlines will fly a new A350 to Los Angeles. (Image: Airbus)

Hong Kong Airlines, a 10-year-old carrier operating out of (where else?) Hong Kong and partly owned by China’s Hainan Airlines, is due to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900XWB late this year, and will use it to begin service to the U.S. According to Routesonline.com, the launch is set for December 15. The two-class A350 will fly the LAX-Hong Kong route once a day with a late morning departure from Los Angeles. Hong Kong Airlines currently has a fleet of A320s and A330s as well as code-share agreements with several carriers including Virgin Australia, Asiana, EVA, Hainan and China Eastern.

Budapest will get non-stop service from the U.S. next year. (Image: Jim Glab)

There has been no non-stop service between the U.S. and Budapest, Hungary for the past six years, but that is due to change next spring. Instead of a Hungarian or U.S. carrier, though, the flights will be operated by LOT Polish Airlines. LOT plans to use 787 Dreamliners to fly twice a week from Chicago O’Hare to Budapest starting May 5, and four times a week between New York JFK and Budapest beginning May 3.

At Mineta San Jose International, Aeromexico has kicked off new daily flights to Guadalajara using a 186-passenger 737-800. The southbound flight leaves SJC at 10:15 a.m. and the northbound service departs Guadalajara at 7:15 a.m. Aeromexico is the sixth foreign carrier to start flying to San Jose since 2015. Don’t miss our post about super low fares on this route! 

Instead of ending its seasonal Newark-Rome flights this fall as previously planned, United Airlines now says it will make EWR-FCO a year-round operation. From early November through March, United said, it will fly the route from three to seven times a week. But instead of using the 242-seat 767-400 operating in the peak season, it will switch in November to a 214-seat 767-300 with 30 flat-bed business class seats and 184 economy seats, including 49 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats.

United’s decision might have been influenced by low-cost specialist Norwegian, which plans to begin 787 flights between Newark and Rome four times a week on November 9, increasing to daily frequencies next February. (We’ve asked United why it has not added SFO-Rome nonstops, but have not heard back…)

Speaking of competition against Norwegian, British Airways last week kicked off new service between Ft. Lauderdale and London four days a week, using a 275-passenger 777-200ER with business, premium economy and regular economy seating. But this route doesn’t go to BA’s Heathrow hub – it goes to London Gatwick. Norwegian started flying FLL-Gatwick three years ago.

Edelweiss will add Denver-Zurich flights next summer. (Image: Edelweiss Air)

We recently reported on new service from San Diego to Zurich operated by Edelweiss Air, a leisure affiliate of Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines. Next year, Edelweiss will add service from another western U.S. city: Denver. In June 2018, Edelweiss will start flying twice a week between Denver and Zurich with a 315-passneger A330-300. The carrier will offer evening departures from DEN on Mondays and Fridays

Air India’s newest U.S. gateway is Washington Dulles. Last week, the carrier started non-stop service from IAD to Delhi three times a week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) using a 777-200LR with first, business and economy seating.  The flight takes about 15-1/2 hours. Air India also serves New York JFK, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco, and plans to add Los Angeles service later this year.

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Routes: More United Polaris from SFO + Etihad, ANA, Asiana, SAA, El Al

A typical window seat in United’s new Polaris business class. (Image: United)

In international route developments, United will deploy more 777-300ERs with new Polaris cabins on routes from San Francisco and Newark; Etihad catches a break from the U.S. laptop ban; ANA adds a third daily Los Angeles flight; Asiana will fly a new A350 to San Francisco; South African Airways puts its newest aircraft on all its Washington D.C. flights; El Al will fly its new Dreamliner in a key U.S. market; and Southwest drops a pair of Cuba routes.

So far, United’s full-blown new Polaris business class with flat-bed passenger compartments is only available on its new Boeing 777-300ERs – and it doesn’t have many of them yet. But more are on the way, and the airline is gradually extending the new Polaris cabin to more routes. Routesonline.com reports that United’s latest schedule update shows the 777-300ERs going onto three more routes in the next few months: On September 6, the 777-300ER will replace the 747-400 on United’s San Francisco-Beijing route; on October 6, the new plane will take over SFO-Frankfurt, also from a 747-400; and on October 28, a 777-300ER will replace a 777-200ER on the Newark-Tokyo Narita route.

Last month, United put the new plane onto its SFO-Tokyo Narita route, and SFO-Taipei service is set to begin August 1. It also flies them from SFO to Hong Kong and from Newark to Tel Aviv.

Some bad news on the Polaris front: The new Polaris Lounge at SFO, which was first expected to open in mid 2017 will now open in “late 2017 or early 2018” according to a spokesperson. Stay tuned. (See our previous post about the Polaris lounge here.)

Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been threatening to expand its so-called laptop ban to more airports, it looks like the ban is actually getting smaller. DHS last week laid out new, tougher inspection and security standards for foreign airlines and airports to meet if they don’t want the ban extended to them, and one of the first to meet the new standards is Abu Dhabi-based Etihad. As a result, DHS said it has lifted the laptop ban for Etihad, and passengers can once again carry their personal electronic devices on board. The ban remains in place for non-stop flights to the U.S. from nine other Middle Eastern and North African airports.

Starting October 29, ANA plans to increase its schedule from Los Angeles International to Tokyo, citing “strong demand” in the market and “constant growth in the number of passengers.” The airline said it will increase its LAX-Tokyo Narita schedule from one flight a day to two; ANA also operates one daily roundtrip between LAX and Tokyo Haneda. The new Narita flight will offer a late-evening departure and will use a three-class 777-300ER.

Asiana will put a new A350 onto its San Francisco route. (Image: Airbus)

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines is planning some changes for its San Francisco-Seoul Incheon route. For one thing, instead of using a 777-200ER as previously planned, it will switch to a brand new Airbus A350-900XWB effective August 14. Then when its winter schedule kicks in on October 29, its SFO departure time will switch from daytime to late-evening (11:30 p.m.), making more connections possible at Incheon. The return flight will arrive in SFO in the afternoon.

Earlier this year, South African Airways started flying an Airbus A330-300 with its new Premium Business Class product three times a week between Washington Dulles and Johannesburg via a stop in Dakar, Senegal. Now the airline has increased Dulles service with the new plane to daily frequencies by deploying the A330-300 on its four weekly IAD-Johannesburg flights that operate via Accra, Ghana. The new business class seats recline 180 degrees and all of them offer direct aisle access, power/USB ports and on-demand entertainment systems. The aircraft’s economy section has also been upgraded.

Business class in El Al’s new 787-9 Dreamliner. (Image: El Al)

Israel’s El Al is a little late to the Dreamliner game, but it has set the schedule for deployment of its first 787-9s starting later this year. For U.S. passengers, El Al will put the plane into service six times a week beginning October 29 on its Newark-Tel Aviv route (the same route where United recently started flying its new 777-300ER), gradually increasing frequencies to 11 a week by next March. El Al will also deploy the 787-9 on its Tel Aviv-London Heathrow route starting September 12, and Tel Aviv-Hong Kong beginning March 18 of next year. El Al’s 787-9s will have a three-class configuration including a new premium economy class. Here’s a visual preview of the interiors.

The bloom is off the rose for all the new Cuba routes that U.S. carriers introduced some months ago. The latest pullback is from Southwest, which said it will discontinue its daily Ft. Lauderdale-Varadero and Ft. Lauderdale-Santa Clara, Cuba, service on September, and instead will focus on its Havana service.  Southwest flies to Havana twice a day from Ft. Lauderdale and once a day from Tampa, and has applied for rights to a third daily FLL-Havana flight. The airline said it dropped the other two routes because its analysis “confirmed that there is not a clear path to sustainability serving these markets, particularly with the continuing prohibition in U.S. law on tourism to Cuba for American citizens.”

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Tallest hotel in the West opens: InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown

Breakfast overlooking LA from the 70th floor Club lounge of the new InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown (Chris McGinnis)

Hello from the 70th floor of the new Wilshire Grand Center in downtown Los Angeles, home to the new InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. TravelSkills buzzed into LA this week to watch Delta sign its new joint venture agreement with Korean Air and to watch InterContinental open its newest, tallest hotel– all in the same spot.

How are the two related? Well, Korean Air, which is part of the giant Korean conglomerate Hanjin, is the owner of the Wilshire Grand Center. So when it came time to do the deal with Delta, Korean Air chose its newest real estate gem for the occasion. It just so happened that the joint venture announcement and the hotel opening coincided, so it was quite a big deal with CEOs of both Delta and Korean Air in attendance.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian and Korean Air YH Cho sign joint venture deal at new LA hotel (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is in the the new Wilshire Grand Center, a gleaming glass tower that is now the tallest building west of the Mississippi at 1,100 feet. (It beats out the US Bank Tower, which stands at 1,018 feet.) InterContinental runs the hotel part (floors 31-73) of the building.

The $1.2 billion mixed-use complex also houses five floors of meeting space, office space, retail stores, and observation decks. The new tower at 900 West Wilshire Boulevard is on the site of the old Wilshire Grand Hotel, which closed in 2011 and was demolished in 2013.

Check in on the 70th floor lobby of the new InterConti LA- a concept familiar to those who’ve stayed at Asian skyscraper hotels (Chris McGinnis)

The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is big, with 889 guest rooms and suites. The guest rooms are located below the hotel’s public areas, which include a “sky lobby” for check-in on the 70th floor (a 50-second ride on the hotel’s high-speed, double-decker elevators).

The hotel has five restaurants and bars, including a French steakhouse, La Boiucherie, on the 71st floor (with pink velvet banquettes) and an open-air rooftop bar on floor 73 with whimsical designer touches like astroturf chairs.  On the 69th floor you’ll find a sushi restaurant called Sora and an upscale restaurant called Dekkadance with a variety of traditional and comfort foods.

Pink banquettes at La Boucherie in the InterConti LA (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Quirky furnishings at dramatic rooftop bar include shaggy astroturf chairs (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Don’t forget your sunglasses when you come to LA, or dine in the new Dekkadance restaurant with big sweeping views during day, twinkling lights at night (Chris McGinnis)

Other features of the hotel include 94,000 square feet of meeting space (including a 21,000 square foot ballroom), a business center, and valet parking. The hotel also has upgraded Club InterContinental rooms and suites with extra amenities and services, as well as a Club lounge on floor 70 (see photo at top) with free breakfast, all-day refreshments, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails.

My double room at the InterConti LA- first person to sleep here! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Standard rooms at the InterContinental start at 385 square feet, with beginning rates of $289 double. One-bedroom suites go for $495.

The hotel is in the city’s financial district, but is also close to popular sports and entertainment venues like the Staples Center and L.A. Live, as well as the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Lobby of new InterContinental LA Downtown #hotel #design #la #dtla #travel

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Disclosure: Chris McGinnis was a guest of Korean Air for this trip, which included airfare from SFO and hotel for 2 nights. 

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Routes: United Polaris at SFO + Lufthansa, Hainan, Edelweiss, WOW

A window seat in United’s new Polaris business class. (Image: United)

In international route developments, United puts more aircraft with its new Polaris business cabin into service from San Francisco; San Diego gets new Europe service from two carriers; Hainan Airlines plans a New York route; and WOW adds another U.S. gateway.

United Airlines has taken delivery of more 777-300ERs equipped with its new Polaris international business class seat, and it is putting them into service. The airline is focusing on transpacific flights out of San Francisco for the new planes. This week, it put a new Polaris-equipped 777-300ER into service between San Francisco and Tokyo Narita, and another is due to start flying later this month from SFO to Taipei. United already uses the 777-300ER on its San Francisco-Hong Kong and Newark-Tel Aviv routes.

Lufthansa will out an A380 onto its Los Angeles-Munich route. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Lufthansa has some big plans for California in 2018. For one thing, the airline said it will begin service next summer between San Diego and Frankfurt. It will operate five flights a week on the route, but it didn’t say what kind of aircraft it would use. Meanwhile, Lufthansa is planning to shift five of its 14 Airbus A380 super-jumbos from Frankfurt to Munich next year, and it will put one of them onto its Munich-Los Angeles route next summer, where it currently uses an A340. Lufthansa currently uses an A380 for one of its two daily LAX-Frankfurt flights.

Last week, another airline started flying from San Diego to Europe: Edelweiss is operating two flights a week (Mondays and Fridays) from SAN to Zurich. The seasonal service will continue through September 18, using a two-class, 314-passenger A340-300. What is Edelweiss? It’s a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines (and thus part of the Lufthansa family) that concentrates on the leisure market.

Speaking of Lufthansa, the German carrier is reportedly planning to try out a new pricing concept for long-haul trips through its European hubs. It’s called a “flexible routing” fare, and persons who buy it would get a discount in exchange for agreeing to let Lufthansa change their flight and routing from a connection through Frankfurt to one at another Lufthansa-family hub like Munich, Vienna or Zurich. The point is to give the airline more flexibility in steering traffic away from Frankfurt, where operating costs are higher, and still get the passenger from his desired point A to point B.

China’s Hainan Airlines has filed a schedule to start service this fall between New York JFK and Chongqing. The carrier is planning to offer two flights a week beginning October 20, using a two-class 787-8.

A Wow Air A321 (Image: Wow Air)

Iceland’s low-cost WOW Air continues its U.S. growth. This week, WOW started flying from Pittsburgh to Reykjavik , with one-way base fares starting as low as $99 (plus ancillary fees for everything from carrying on a bag to selecting a seat assignment in advance). Onward connections are available at Reykjavik to several European cities. WOW will fly the route five days a week, using a 220-passenger A321. Next month, WOW is due to add Chicago O’Hare to its route map.

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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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Routes: Delta, Aeromexico, Finnair, Qatar, Alitalia, Norwegian, United + more

Flight from HEL: Finnair rolled out VWs and surfboards at HEL to launch its new Helsinki-San Francisco flights today (Image: Finnair / Twitter)

In international route developments, Delta starts up Europe routes and teams with Aeromexico to add transborder markets; Finnair comes to San Francisco; Qatar delays the addition of a new U.S. gateway; Alitalia extends its Los Angeles schedule; Norwegian alters some U.S. schedules and boosts London frequencies; Southwest expands Mexico service this winter; United adds an Asian code-share; and Air Canada starts a new U.S. route.

Delta has started service on several seasonal routes to Europe. One new seasonal route this summer is Portland, Oregon to London Heathrow, now operating four days a week with a 767-300. Other new Delta seasonal routes to Europe include daily service from Boston to Dublin and from New York JFK to Glasgow (in addition to its JFK-Edinburgh service). Delta has also resumed seasonal daily flights from JFK to Berlin and to Lisbon. In other Europe news, Delta plans to scale back its Salt Lake City-London Heathrow route to seasonal status, discontinuing the flights from October 29 to March 23.

Meanwhile, Delta also announced plans to start selling its Comfort+ extra-legroom economy seating as a separate fare category on more international routes. The seats are now on sale for travel beginning September 20 on routes from North America to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile; and to China and Hong Kong.

The Delta-Aeromexico joint venture will add transborder routes and frequencies. (Image: Delta)

That new joint venture between Delta and Aeromexico has announced plans to start service on five new transborder routes sometime this fall, after they get government approval. The five routes, all to be operated by Aeromexico, include Atlanta-Merida, Atlanta-Queretaro, Los Angeles-Leon, Seattle-Mexico City and Portland-Mexico City.  The joint venture will also add a second daily flight between LAX and Los Cabos, and a third between New York JFK and Cancun, both operated by Delta; and a second daily flight from Atlanta to both Leon and Guadalajara, both operated by Aeromexico. With the two airlines now operating as one in terms of scheduling and pricing, these changes could mean higher fares for travelers to Mexico – but the extra flights could also mean fewer connecting hassles at Mexico City’s congested airport.

Finally, Delta is adding more service to Southeast Asia – not on its own, but through new code-shares with transatlantic joint venture partner Air France. According to Routesonline.com, Delta’s code has gone onto Air France’s Paris CDG-Bangkok service, and will do the same October 3 on Air France’s Paris-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam flight.

Finnair is using an A330 on its seasonal San Francisco route. (Image: Finnair)

San Francisco International’s newest transatlantic route is to Helsinki, Finland. Finnair this week introduced seasonal service from SFO to the Finnish capital, using an Airbus A330-300 to fly the route three times a week, departing SFO on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The Helsinki flights will continue through September.

We reported a while ago that Qatar Airways was planning to add another U.S. gateway in early January with the addition of service between Doha, Qatar and Las Vegas. But the carrier’s latest schedule filings now show that launch date has been pushed back to June 1, 2018. Qatar still expects to fly the route four days a week with a 777-200LR.

It looks like Alitalia will turn its seasonal Los Angeles-Rome service into a year-round operation — almost. Alitalia, a member of Delta’s Skyteam alliance, filed a new schedule showing its LAX-Rome service will not end October 29 as previously planned, but will continue after that three times a week – at least until January 15, when it goes on hiatus until March 6.

We’ve reported previously on the big plans by Norwegian Air International to begin new low-fare service in June from the northeastern U.S. to various points in Europe using its brand-new, longer-range 737MAX 8 aircraft. But Boeing has warned the carrier of delays in delivering the new planes, so Norwegian has been scrambling to adjust its fleet plans.  Instead of the new 737MAX 8s, the company now plans to substitute Norwegian Air Shuttle 737-800s for much of the summer on new service from Providence to Bergen, Norway; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Shannon, Cork and Dublin, Ireland, as well as service from Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. to Shannon, Dublin, Edinburgh and Bergen.

Norwegian will increase 787 frequencies on U.S.-London Gatwick routes this winter. (Image: Norwegian)

Meanwhile, Norwegian is also planning to increase frequencies on several U.S. routes to London Gatwick when its winter schedule kicks in on October 29. All the affected routes use 787-9s. Norwegian will boost Oakland-London service from three flights a week to four, while Los Angeles-LGW increases from five flights a week to daily service; Orlando-LGW goes from one a week to two; Ft. Lauderdale-LGW increases from three a week to four; and Boston-Gatwick from four a week to five.

Although Delta and Aeromexico are tightening their grip on the transborder market, other competitors are stepping up their game as well. Southwest Airlines’ winter schedule, effective November 5, shows an increase of its Houston Hobby-Mexico City schedule from three flights a day to four, while its weekly flights from Denver to Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos both go to daily frequencies. On November 11, Southwest will kick off new weekly flights to Cancun from both Nashville and St. Louis. Interjet, the low-cost Mexican carrier, plans to boost its service between New York JFK and Mexico City from 18 flights a week to 25 starting June 15. And United on December 17 will introduce seasonal weekly flights (on Saturdays) between its Denver hub and Cozumel.

Speaking of United, here are a couple of new developments to Asia: United has put its code onto Star Alliance partner ANA’s daily 787 service between Tokyo Narita and Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and United’s aircraft switch on its San Francisco-Seoul flight effective October 29 from a 747-400 to a 777-200ER has changed; the carrier now plans to use a 787-9 instead of a 777. And today we shared the news about what’s missing on United’s new Los Angeles-Singapore nonstops in another post. 

Air Canada has added a new destination from Denver. The carrier recently started Air Canada Express service twice a day from Denver to Vancouver, using a 75-passenger CRJ705.The schedule will drop back to once a day September 10.

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3 U.S. cities get cheap new nonstops to Rome

Norwegian Air 787 Dreamliner

A Norwegian Air 787 Dreamliner parked at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Norwegian Air today announced it will launch flights from Los Angeles, Newark and Oakland to ROME starting later this year and into 2018. This is the first time the Bay Area will see nonstops to Italy since Alitalia’s SFO-Rome service ended many years ago.

Rome-Fiumicino will be Norwegian’s seventh long-haul European destination from the U.S. following Barcelona, which will launch this June; Paris; London; and the three Scandinavian capitals of Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.

Norwegian says that one way fares from all three cities to Rome will start as low as $189-$229— but keep in mind that you will rarely find fares that low to return, and you’ll also be faced with a panoply of fees for checked bags, seat assignments, etc.

However, checking today, we found a fare for just $419.80 (including taxes) for a March 2018 round trip between Oakland and Rome. That’s a great deal that will not last.

Norwegian will fly its brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliners offering both an Economy and Premium cabin on the route. Norwegian’s  premium service is a good low-cost option for business travelers– especially those from the Bay Area who’d prefer to take a nonstop flight.

Flights from Oakland International Airport to Rome will launch on February 6, 2018, with a twice weekly service. Fares from Oakland start from $229 one-way, including taxes. Premium fares from Oakland start from $719 one-way including taxes.

Flights from Newark Liberty International Airport will launch on November 9, 2017, and operate four times a week until the early February 2018 when it increases to six times per week. Economy launch fares to Rome from Newark start as low as $189 one-way, including taxes. The lowest fares in Norwegian’s Premium Cabin to Rome from Newark start at $539 one-way including taxes.

Service from Los Angeles International Airport will launch on November 11, 2017, and operate twice weekly until February, when it becomes a thrice weekly service. Fares from Los Angeles start from $229 one-way, including taxes. Premium fares from Los Angeles start from $719 one-way including taxes.

Economy class seating on Norwegian

All fares are now available for sale on Norwegian’s website. Additionally, the website’s low fare calendar displays the lowest available fares to all of Norwegian’s destinations.

Have you flown Norwegian yet? How was it? Will you consider it for your next flight to Rome? 

Here’s a 360 degree YouTube video tour of Norwegian’s premium cabin:

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Routes: 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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Heads up: The Big Move at LAX starts

In just a few days, Delta and other airlines will be switching locations at LAX. (Image: Los Angeles World Airports)

We’ve advised you a couple of times that many airlines would be switching terminals at Los Angeles International this spring, and now those moving days are almost here: The big move starts this Friday night (May 12, 2017) and will continue the nights of May 14 and May 16.

The relocations are all a result of Delta’s big plans to shift its LAX operations from Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3, displacing a lot of other airlines.

Delta will move portions of its operations on each of the three nights – May 12, 14, 16. The carrier says that during the moving period, it will be operating flights from all four affected terminals, so it plans to maintain “constant communications” with customers regarding gate locations through its app, texts and emails. (See below for a map.)

Flying to/from or through LAX during the Big Move? Delta suggests the following:

  • Check terminal and gate information prior to arriving at LAX. Delta customers should use the Fly Delta app or delta.com and reconfirm gate information upon arrival at the airport.
  • Arrive early. Delta recommends arriving three hours prior to domestic departures and four hours prior to international departures.
  • When in doubt, ask for help. Delta and LAWA will have hundreds of employees and volunteers stationed throughout the impacted terminals to assist customers. They will wear bright green vests that say “Ask Me.”

The Delta Sky Club located in Terminal 5 will remain open through the end of scheduled operations on May 16. The Delta Sky Club location in Terminal 2 will open on May 13, and the location in Terminal 3 will open on May 17.

The Delta One “movie star” check-in facility located at Terminal 5 will remain open through the end of scheduled operations on May 16. After May 16, Delta will temporarily offer dedicated check-in space in Terminal 2 while a long-term Delta One experience is finalized.

Delta tells TravelSkills that it’s going to smooth frequent flyer feathers ruffled by the move with free massages, meditation pods, cucumber water, pressed juices, Kind bars and lavender scented mists. LAWA will also have dogs at the airport to provide stress relief and comfort to passengers through their Pets Unstressing Passengers program.

Source: Los Angeles World Airports

A few moves have already happened: China’s Hainan Airlines has moved from T2 to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT); Copa’s flights still leave from the TBIT, but check-in for flights moved from T6 to T3. And American in January dropped four gates in T6 and picked up four in T5.

Los Angeles World Airports has released a day-by-day schedule of the additional airline moves starting later this week, and here it is:

>Moving on May 12-13 (Friday-Saturday) are:

Allegiant, Frontier and Sun Country (from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5), Boutique Air and Virgin America (from Terminal 3 to Terminal 6), and Virgin Australia (moving from Terminal 3 to TBIT (passengers bused from T2 to TBIT for check in, with flights continuing to depart from TBIT). Additionally, Volaris will move its aircraft from Terminal 2 to TBIT. Check-in will continue at Terminal 2 and passengers will access their flights via post-security bus service to TBIT.

>Moving on May 14-15 (Sunday-Monday) are:

Avianca and Interjet (from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 for check-in, with passengers walking to TBIT to catch their flights) and Spirit (from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5).

>Moving on May 16-17 (Tuesday-Wednesday) are:

Air Canada (from Terminal 2 to Terminal 6), Hawaiian (from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5) and JetBlue (from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5).

The final change will be XL France, which will move from Terminal 2 to Terminal 6 when it resumes seasonal service June 4.

LAX Terminals 2 and 3 will be Delta’s new home at the airport. (Image: Delta)

Airport officials note that on some days during the moving period, Delta flights will be operating out of as many as four terminals (2, 3, 5 and 6). Other airlines should be completing their move in just one night, as shown in the above schedule.

Work on all construction projects in LAX’s central terminal area will be suspended during the moves, officials said, but they are advising travelers to arrive at the airport earlier than normal from May 12 through the end of the month as they get used to the new airline locations.

What do you think of all the changes happening at LAX these days? Are you curious, or avoiding it? Please leave your comments below. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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New hotels: Stunning London luxury, Hip option in LA, Design-forward in NYC + 3 more!

A studio suite at The Ned in London’s Financial District. (Image: The Ned)

In news of hotel openings, a hot new business hotel comes to London’s financial district; InterContinental Hotels Group brings an Indigo to downtown L.A.; a British boutique property debuts in midtown Manhattan; a Baltimore pier is remade into luxury lodging; Atlanta welcomes another airport hotel; and Dallas gets a dual-branded Marriott property near Love Field.

The talk of the lodging scene in London is a new hotel called The Ned, located in the heart of The City (i.e., the financial district) in the stately 1920s-era Midland Bank building. (The building was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, known as Ned to his friends. Hence the name.)  The building’s original design features have been preserved, with a 252-room hotel incorporated into them. A project of renowned hoteliers Andrew Zobler and Nick Jones, The Ned is slated to open April 27. No cookie-cutter rooms here: Rooms come in 13 categories, and the property boasts seven restaurants (including a 24-hour brasserie and a Jewish deli), six meeting rooms, a spa, men’s and women’s salons, and even a barber shop. The building’s former bank vault now contains a bar, and there’s also a rooftop grill. Pre-paid, non-refundable nightly rates for a small “crash pad” room start at $320, although the hotel offers a special discount rate of $230 for persons under 30.

Lobby of the new Hotel Indigo in downtown Los Angeles. (Image: InterContinental Hotels Group)

The mixed-use Metropolis development in downtown Los Angeles includes a newly opened, 350-room Hotel Indigo from InterContinental Hotels Group. The newly built, 18-story Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown, at 899 Francisco Street, is within walking distance of the L.A. Live entertainment district, Los Angeles Convention Center and the Staples Center. It has a lobby-level restaurant/bar called Metropole; a top-floor cocktail lounge; a large outdoor pool terrace and bar on the fourth floor; 24-hour fitness facility; and 11 meeting rooms. Rates start at $263.

A terrace suite at Manhattan’s new Whitby Hotel. (Image: The Whitby)

Newly opened in Midtown Manhattan is The Whitby Hotel, an 86-room boutique property with a strong British influence from designer Kit Kemp, who created several similar properties in London along with the Crosby Street Hotel in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. The Whitby, at 18 West 56th Street, is close to the Museum of Modern Art and a few blocks from Central Park. Guest rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and free Wi-Fi, and some come with private terraces. The hotel has a restaurant/bar open for three meals a day, and an adjacent orangerie with high ceilings and a skylight. The hotel serves a traditional British afternoon tea.  Rates start at $695.

Room with a waterfront view at Baltimore’s new Sagamaore Pendry. (Image: Pendry Hotels)

Baltimore’s century-old Recreation Pier building along the Fell’s Point waterfront, at 1715 Thames Street, has been totally renovated into a luxury boutique hotel called the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore. Along with 128 over-water guest rooms and suites, the new Pendry has a signature restaurant called the Chop House; the Cannon Room bar; a seasonal waterfront pool with a bar and grill; 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space; a water taxi service; 24-hour fitness center; and a spa. Advance purchase rates start at $375.

Lobby at the Renaissance Atlanta Airport Gateway Hotel, (Image: Renaissance Hotels)

In Atlanta, an early May opening is slated for the new Renaissance Atlanta Airport Gateway Hotel, accessible from ATL on the airport’s free SkyTrain. Part of the Gateway project (which already has a SpringHill Suites and a Marriott) near the Georgia International Convention Center, it’s on the west side of the airport, about three miles from the existing Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel on the north side.  The 204-room Renaissance Gateway has a restaurant called Hickory & Hazel Southern Table & Bar and a fitness center. Rates start at $136.

Bar the the new Aloft Hotel near Dallas Love Field. (Image: Marriott)

Just a mile from Dallas Love Field, at 2333 W. Mockingbird Lane, is a new dual-branded property from Marriott that includes a 133-room Aloft hotel and a 91-room Element property. The two share a common entry and meeting space, along with a fitness center and outdoor pool. They’re part of the new retail/residential development called West Love. The Element Dallas Love Field’s  guest units come with full kitchens and spa-style bathrooms, free breakfasts, and bicycles to ride on local trails. The Aloft Dallas Love Field offers a grab-and-go food market and drinks kiosk, and the property has musical entertainment at its W XYZ Bar. Rates start at $179 at the Aloft and $164 at the Element.

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Airport news: San Jose, LAX, Boston, San Francisco, DFW

A new baggage carousel in Mineta San Jose’s expanded international arrivals facility. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

In airport news, San Jose opens an expanded international arrivals space; Boston Logan’s Terminal E gets an overhaul and a pair of new premium lounges; Virgin America will lose its Loft at LAX; San Francisco International can record your license plate; and Dallas/Ft. Worth is greatly expanding a much-needed passenger amenity.

After a year of construction, Mineta San Jose International Airport this week cut the ribbon on an expanded International Arrivals Building. The project added 2,700 square feet and a second baggage carousel in the secure Customs area, along with a 3,100 square foot enclosed area for people waiting to meet inbound passengers. Airport officials said the larger space was needed because the number of carriers with international service at SJC has grown from three to nine in the past two years.

Virgin America will lose its Loft lounge at LAX next month. (Image: Virgin America)

That big multi-airline move at Los Angeles International coming next month will eliminate one of the airport’s favorite spaces for Virgin America customers: the airline’s popular Loft in Terminal 3. That’s because the move will take Virgin from T3 to Terminal 6, where it will co-locate with its new owner, Alaska Airlines. But the Travel Codex blog reports that persons who enjoy free access to the Virgin America Loft – i.e., first class and Gold Elite customers – will get the same privileges at the Alaska Airlines lounge in T6, and Virgin’s Elevate Silver members will get a reduced entry rate of $15.

At Boston Logan, work has been finished on an expansion of Terminal E. The project added three more gates to the facility, and gives it the capability of handling Airbus A380 jumbos. Along with the extra space, travelers will be seeing improvements in Terminal E concessions as well. A new Hudson News has opened, to be followed in June by a new duty free store. New restaurants coming this summer include a Legal Sea Bar seafood eatery and a branch of Stephanie’s, a popular dining spot on Boston’s Newbury Street. The project also brought some new space for premium international flyers, including a British Airways lounge for first and business class customers (including those of partner carriers Iberia, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific); and a new Lufthansa lounge for first and business class flyers and elite-level customers, including those of Star Alliance partners at BOS like SAS, TAP and Turkish Airlines.

Part of Luftnhansa’s new lounge at Boston Logan’s Terminal E. (Image: Lufthansa)

Do you drive to San Francisco International? If so, your license plate data could be captured and stored electronically for up to four years. according to Endgadget.com, the city’s Airport Commission OK’d the data collection plan to help in monitoring revenues from commercial operations like parking and taxis, but it’s not clear why it needs anyone else’s plate numbers, or why it needs to be kept for years. The airport apparently also has permission to release relevant data to law enforcement authorities, and the whole thing is stirring up some concerns among privacy and civil liberty groups.

Passengers at Dallas/Ft. Worth International will find it easier to plug in during the coming months. The airport plans to spend $1 million on the installation of another 2,750 power outlets at the gate areas in all five terminals. Electrical plugs are currently available at 10 to 15 percent of the gate area seats, but this project should expand that to 40-50 percent.

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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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Routes: Norwegian SEA/DEN-London $199; LOT, JAL, United, EVA + more

Norwegian will fly 787-9s to London from Seattle and Denver. (Image: Norwegian)

In international route news, Norwegian is adding two more U.S. gateways with low-cost service to London; LOT Polish starts new west coast service; Japan Airlines adds a new route out of New York; United will drop an intra-Asian route; Eva adds more flights to San Francisco; a European leisure carrier plans San Diego-Zurich service; and an Avianca affiliate adds a Miami route to Brazil.

Transatlantic low-cost carrier Norwegian just keeps adding more routes to the U.S.  In its latest foray, the airline said it will start flying to London Gatwick from both Seattle and Denver beginning in mid-September. It will use 787-9s on both routes. The schedule calls for Denver service to start September 16 with two flights a week, increasing to three on November 2. From Seattle, Norwegian will start flying on September 17 with four weekly non-stops to LGW.

Norwegian’s “launch fares” on both routes start at $199 one-way in economy, including taxes; and $839 one-way in its Premium Cabin. Flying economy can bring lots of add-ons for various services and amenities; the premium fare includes a luggage allowance, lounge access, priority boarding, sleeper seats, and all meals and drinks. Seats are on sale now at www.Norwegian.com/us.

Those two routes are just the latest in an onslaught of U.S. service for Norwegian in 2017. In June, it will start flying to Barcelona from Los Angeles, Newark and Oakland; and in June and July it will kick off a slew of 737MAX routes from three smaller northeastern airports (Newburgh, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; and Hartford, Conn.) to points in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Norway. Orlando-Paris and Ft. Lauderdale-Barcelona start later in the summer.

Business class on a LOT 787-8. (Image: LOT Polish)

LOT Polish this week began service from Los Angeles to Warsaw, using a 787-8 to fly the route four times a week. The 6,500-mile route is the longest in LOT’s network. The Polish carrier – a member of the Star Alliance — is due to start Newark-Warsaw flights at the end of April, and to begin Chicago-Krakow service in August.

Japan Airlines this month started flying from New York JFK to Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport. The daily flight to Haneda is in addition to JAL’s daily service from JFK to Tokyo Narita. The new Haneda flight uses a 244-seat 777-300ER, and JAL switched its JFK-Narita flight from a 787-8 to a 777-300ER as well. The larger 777 has a first class cabin that the Dreamliner doesn’t, along with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating.

At the end of October, United Airlines is planning to discontinue service on its route from Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon, which it serves once a day with a 737-800. The route will continue to be served by United’s Star Alliance partner Asiana.

Taiwan’s EVA Air has filed plans to boost frequencies on its route from Taipei to San Francisco. The carrier currently flies the route twice a day, and plans to increase that to 17 a week starting November 5. The extra flights will use a 777-300ER. EVA is a member of the Star Alliance.

Edelweiss will use an A340-300 for San Diego-Zurich seasonal service. (Image: Edelweiss

Ever hear of Edelweiss? Yes, it’s a small mountain flower and a song in ‘The Sound of Music’, but it’s also a leisure carrier affiliated with Swiss International (www.flyedelweiss.com). And it plans to start seasonal service June 9 between San Diego and Zurich. Edelweiss will use an A340-300 to fly the route twice a week, with SAN departures on Fridays and Mondays. The aircraft has a business class with lie-flat seats along with premium economy and regular economy seating.

Avianca’s Brazilian affiliate, Avianca Brasil, has started taking reservations for a new route between Miami and Sao Paulo Guarulhos, which it will start flying June 23. The service will operate once a day with an A330-200.

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Routes: New Alaska transcons + Delta, Southwest, AA, Frontier

Alaska Airlines keeps adding more transcontinental routes. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

In domestic route developments, Alaska can’t seem to get enough transcontinental routes; Delta extends a new seating option to smaller regional jets; Southwest takes on another intra-California market; American drops a key Caribbean route but adds a Michigan link; and Frontier expands to Puerto Rico.

Alaska Airlines is getting into several new transcontinental markets thanks to its acquisition of Virgin America, and it has been adding some of its own, like the San Jose-Newark, Portland-Orlando and San Diego-Baltimore/Washington flights it started last month. But that’s not enough for Alaska: It just announced plans to add new daily transcon flights  from Portland to New York JFK and from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. And it’s not quite a transcon, but Alaska also announced plans to start flying once a day from Portland to Detroit.

The Portland-Detroit service starts August 30, followed by one daily LAX-Philadelphia flight September 1 and one daily Portland-JFK roundtrip beginning November 6. All the eastbound flights on the new routes will be red-eyes. The two Portland routes will use 737s, while the LAX-Philadelphia route will use an Airbus from the A320 family (i.e., a Virgin America plane). LAX-Philadelphia was previously served by Virgin America from 2012 to 2014.

Delta Connection CRJ-200s are getting Comfort+ seats. (Image: SkyWest)

Major carriers have been transitioning their fleets away from smaller regional jets to the larger ones preferred by passengers. Delta still has some 50-seat CRJ-200s operated by Endeavor/SkyWest, and it just announced it has started selling its extra-legroom Comfort+ seating on those planes, effective for travel beginning May 1. With this enhancement, Delta said it “will now offer Delta Comfort+ on nearly all single-cabin delta Connection aircraft, in addition to its two-cabin aircraft.”

Delta’s announcement didn’t say how many Comfort+ seats the CRJ-200s would have, or how much extra pitch they would offer, or what would happen to seat pitch for the regular economy seats on those aircraft.

Southwest is starting service from Long Beach to Sacramento. (Image: Long Beach Airport)

Southwest Airlines, which started flying out of southern California’s Long Beach Airport last year with several flights a day to Oakland, has been eager to expand at Long Beach if only it could get more slots there. Well, it recently picked up a couple of slots given up by American, and said it will use them to begin twice-daily flights from Long Beach to Sacramento starting August 1.

American Airlines has been flying from New York JFK to San Juan, Puerto Rico for more than 45 years. But it has decided to give up that market on August 22, when it will eliminate its two daily flights on the route. AA still will fly to San Juan from several other hubs. Elsewhere, American Eagle has started up new service from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport, operating 12 flights a week.

While American is cutting capacity to San Juan, Frontier Airlines is adding it. Frontier is due to begin daily flights from Philadelphia and Orlando to San Juan on June 11, operating one daily A321 roundtrip on each route.

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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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Routes: Seattle and SFO; Delta, WOW, AA, Emirates, United, BA + more

Sir Richard Branson frolics at Seattle-Tacoma as Virgin Atlantic starts service there. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

In international route news, Virgin Atlantic starts a pair of west coast routes; Delta resumes a transatlantic route and adds a South American one; Iceland’s WOW brings its low-fare service to the Midwest; American puts a new cabin class on sale; Emirates scales back at LAX but British Airways grows there; United starts two seasonal routes to Rome; Finnair drops a U.S. gateway; and Copa doubles down at O’Hare.

Virgin Atlantic Airways this week kicked off its new service to Seattle, using a 787-9 for its daily flights to London Heathrow. Virgin’s operations in the U.S. are closely coordinated with joint venture partner Delta, and Virgin’s new Seattle service replaces Delta’s daily flight to London. Delta was using a 767, so Virgin’s 787-9 increases capacity on the route by 50 seats a day. Also this week, Virgin Atlantic introduced new seasonal service from San Francisco International to Manchester, using an A330-300. That route operates three days a week (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). It’s the only SFO-Manchester non-stop service, but it won’t be for long: On May 14, U.K. leisure carrier Thomas Cook Airlines will begin two flights a week with an A330-200. All this is in addition to British Airways four daily nonstops from the Bay Area to London!

Delta will fly to the beaches of Rio from JFK starting in December (Image: VisitBrazil.com)

Delta will expand its South America reach later this year with new daily service between New York JFK and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, slated to launch December 21. Using a 210-passenger 767-300 with Delta One flatbed seats, Delta will offer onward connections at Rio to 23 Brazilian destinations thanks to its Brazilian partner GOL. Meanwhile, Delta this week resumed service on the Atlanta-Brussels route, flying five times a week (increasing to daily during summer) with a 767-400. Delta had suspended the route a year ago after the Brussels terror attacks, although it maintained daily flights to Brussels from JFK.

On July 13, Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW will add another U.S. gateway, starting service four days a week to Reykjavik from Chicago O’Hare. The carrier said it is offering one-way base fares starting as low as $99 (plus extras) from ORD to Iceland, or $149 for connections to major European capitals. The flights will operate Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using an A321-300 with 30-inch seat pitch (or 34 inches for an additional fee).

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

American Airlines’ new international premium economy seats, currently available on a few routes out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, have been used for upgrades during their rollout. But now the airline is putting the new cabin category on sale for travel beginning May 4. AA’s premium economy class is on its new 787-9s from DFW to Paris, Madrid, Sao Paulo and Seoul. Seats are 19 inches wide with 38 inches of pitch (vs. 33-34 inches in Main Cabin Extra) in a 2-3-2 layout.

Is that U.S. laptop ban starting to hurt business for the big Middle Eastern carriers? Routesonline.com reports that Emirates is “temporarily adjusting” its schedule between Los Angeles and Dubai, cutting service from two flights a day to one from May 1 through June 30.

But Routesonline.com says that British Airways is planning an increased schedule from LAX to London Heathrow, bringing on a third daily flight effective October 29. The additional frequency will use a 787-9. On the same date, BA will boost its New Orleans-LHR schedule from four flights a week to five. Meanwhile, BA this week introduced its biggest bird – the 469-passenger A380-800 – into the aircraft mix on its Boston-London route, where the giant jet operates Mondays and Fridays.

United’s seasonal international schedule adjustments start to kick in next week. On April 4, the carrier will begin seasonal service from Newark to Rome and from Washington Dulles to Rome, both using 767s. The Newark flights continue through November 8, while the Dulles schedule is in place through October 27. Also on April 4, United will lay on extra frequencies from Newark to Paris, Dublin and London.

Trying to get from Miami to Helsinki this summer? Forget Finnair, which is suspending service on that route from May 1 through September 30, according to Routesonline.com. The Finnish carrier is also cutting back Chicago-Helsinki frequencies from five flights a week to three.

Panama’s Copa Airlines is doubling its service from Chicago O’Hare to Panama City effective June 1, when it will supplement its existing daily morning departure with a midafternoon flight out of ORD. Copa has onward service from its Panama City hub to 50 destinations in Latin America.

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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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New $149 California-Spain flights – and it’s not Norwegian

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

British Airways’ parent International Airlines Group (IAG) is making good on its promise to take on Norwegian Air by bringing a new low-fare service from California to Spain this summer. New nonstops on Level between Oakland, Los Angeles and Barcelona start June 2.

When the service was announced earlier this year, one-way fares started at $149. Currently the cheapest roundtrip fares for June OAK-BCN flights are $366.  For July and August flights, fares are in the $700 roundtrip range.

Tickets are on sale now at www.flylevel.com. As with other low fare carriers, you’ll pay fees for checked bags, assigned seats and food, but even with those, this is still a good deal.

The Level A330s (operated by Spain’s Iberia Airlines at first) will have 21 premium economy and 293 regular economy seats.

Economy seating on a Level A330. (Image: IAG)

Economy seats on the A330 are configured 2-4-2 with 30 inches of pitch. Each seat gets a 9-inch seatback video screen.

Premium economy seats have slightly wider armrests and 37 inches of pitch and larger 12-inch video screens. A premium economy fare (about $1,300 round trip) also includes a checked bag, a carry-on bag, in-flight meals, advance seat selection and in-flight movies. Inflight Wi-Fi starts at $9.65.

Premium economy seats on Level are slightly larger with 37 inches of pitch (Image: Level)

Here’s how Level describes its premium economy section

What’s more, flights on Level will be included in IAG’s Avios loyalty program, which is also a feature of its other subsidiaries (BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling). However, we don’t yet know how many Avios members will earn.

Norwegian announced last fall that it plans to begin new 787 service to Barcelona from Los Angeles starting June 5 and from Oakland beginning June 7. It was initially offering one-way fares starting at $199.

In addition to the U.S. service, Level will fly from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Argentina and to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. At Barcelona, passengers will be able to connect to intra-European flights on IAG’s Vueling subsidiary.

“Barcelona has been chosen as the first European city for the launch of IAG’s new operation but LEVEL will look to expand its flights from other European cities,” IAG said.

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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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Routes: Norwegian, WOW, Emirates, United, Air China + more

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

In international route developments, Norwegian adds more flights from the east coast to Europe; WOW Air increases frequencies to the west coast; Emirates kicks off controversial new U.S. route; United expands code-sharing with Asiana; Air China adds a Los Angeles route; Southwest begins a new international service from Denver; and Avianca increases its U.S. schedule.

Norwegian Air hasn’t even started its new 737 MAX low-fare service from the U.S. east coast yet and already it is adding more routes. In addition to those already scheduled to Ireland and Scotland (with fares starting at $65 one way), Norwegian also plans to add twice-weekly flights to Bergen, Norway, from both Providence., R.I. and from Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y.  The airline has also filed its winter schedules for Paris Charles de Gaulle, where it will switch from 787-8s to 787-9s starting October 29. Norwegian’s Paris schedule calls for six flights a week from New York JFK (down from daily in the summer), four a week from Los Angeles, two from Ft. Lauderdale and one from Orlando.

Also increasing its U.S. service is low-fare rival WOW Air, which offers connecting flights to Europe through its Reykjavik hub. WOW told Air Transport World that its service to Reykjavik from San Francisco and Los Angeles will be increased to daily frequencies with its summer 2017 schedule. The carrier has been running five flights a week from San Francisco and four from LAX. WOW is installing premium seating in its A330-300s, which it uses for the west coast routes.

Emirates is using a 777-300ER on its new Dubai-Athens-Newark route. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates this week launched its promised new service from Newark to Athens, continuing to Dubai, and was greeted at Newark Airport with a protest staged by 200 United Airlines employees. United, Delta and American are adamantly opposed to U.S. route expansion by the Middle East Big Three airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar – and are conducting an intensive lobbying effort with the Trump Administration to block new service for those carriers. The U.S. airlines allege that their Mideast rivals are subsidized by their governments, thus challenging Trump’s pledge to put American companies first in the face of foreign competition.

United Airlines will expand its code-sharing agreement with Star Alliance partner Asiana Airlines on March 17, when United’s code will go onto Asiana’s daily Chicago O’Hare-Seoul Incheon flights.  At the same time, Asiana will put its code onto 16 domestic United routes out of ORD.

Air China will use a 787 on new LAX-Shenzen service. (Image: Air China)

Got business in Shenzen, China? Air China has filed a schedule for new service to Shenzen from Los Angeles International, due to begin July 6. Air China – a Star Alliance member — will fly the route three days a week, using a 787-9 Dreamliner.  Speaking of Shenzen, China’s Xiamen Airlines has trimmed back its Seattle-Shenzen-Xiamen 787-8 service from three flights a week to two, a seasonal reduction continuing through May 22.

Two minor players in the foundering US-Cuba market, Silver Airways and Frontier,  have announced they are pulling out completely later this spring. Other carriers have cut back on flights as the market finds its legs…and waits to see what the Trump administration has in store.

Southwest Airlines has started its newest international route: The carrier has started flying from Denver International to Belize City, Belize. It’s currently operating as Saturday-only service, but Southwest will boost it to Saturday and Sunday flights for the summer, June 4 to August 14.

Avianca’s Los Angeles-Bogota route, which has been operating four times a week, will increase to daily frequency starting March 26. The carrier uses a two-class 787 on the route. Meanwhile, the Colombian carrier also plans a new U.S. route. It will begin Bogota-Boston service on June 2, operating four flights a week with an A319.

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Airport news: Atlanta, LAX, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando

SuperShuttle’s vans no longer serve Atlanta’s airport. (Image: SuperShuttle)

In U.S., airport developments, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson loses a ground transportation option; Los Angeles officials break ground on LAX’s extension of the Bradley International Terminal; CLEAR opens at Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Orlando unveils some details of its big South Terminal plans.

Two and a half years after it started operating at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, SuperShuttle has discontinued its shared-ride van service there. The company reportedly could not maintain a sustainable level of business on its service to the airport from downtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead, especially in the face of new competition from Uber and Lyft. Both ride-sharing companies charge less for airport rides than traditional cab companies, and Uber has an even cheaper shared-ride option called UberPool. SuperShuttle had asked for permission to expand its service area beyond central Atlanta to the rest of the metro area, but that request was denied, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. SuperShuttle’s sister company ExecuCar continues to offer black car service in the area as before.

The new satellite concourse is just west of the Bradley Terminal. (Image: Los Angeles World Airports)

Los Angeles city officials went to LAX last week for the formal groundbreaking on phase one of the airport’s Midfield Satellite Concourse, which will supplement the existing Bradley International Terminal. The $1.6 billion, five-story structure will feature a 750,000 square foot passenger concourse. It will be linked to the Bradley Terminal by a 1,000-foot tunnel, and to other terminals by buses. Two of the new concourse’s 12 gates will be able to handle Airbus A380s and 747-8s, and the rest are designed to accommodate other modern wide-bodies including 777s and 787s and Airbus A330s and A350s. “The new gates are also expected to reduce the airport’s current reliance on remote gates on the west side of the airfield, which lack passenger services, concessions and other amenities,” the airport said. The concourse will devote 44,000 square feet to food and shopping concessions, and 60,000 to airline lounges. It should start welcoming passengers in late 2019. A few months ago, the airport issued a fly-through video showcasing the new concourse.

The latest airport to welcome CLEAR trusted traveler lanes is Minneapolis-St. Paul. The company opened its lanes – which allow members direct access to security screening – at both the north and south checkpoints in MSP’s Terminal 1. Delta Air Lines, which holds an equity stake in CLEAR, has promised to make the lanes available at all its major hubs. MSP becomes the 22nd U.S. airport to offer CLEAR’s service. Participants use biometric scans at CLEAR kiosks to bypass the regular security lines. CLEAR does not provide access to TSA’s PreCheck lines unless the participant is also a PreCheck member. Membership in CLEAR costs $179 a year, although members of Delta’s SkyMiles can get preferred rates of $79 to $99 a year.

Don’t miss: Delta’s deep discounts for CLEAR memberships

Orlando’s planned South Terminal would eventually add 120 gates to the airport. (Image: Orlando International)

Architects working on the plans for a big new South Terminal at Orlando International Airport revealed that the three-story structure would use the top level for passenger arrivals and baggage claim. The baggage system is expected to use radio frequency technology to speed up the process. Government officials have yet to give final approval to the project, but the facility is considered necessary because the existing airport is operating at passenger levels above its capacity – up 10 percent last year to 41.5 million. The proposed South Terminal would be a multi-year project that would eventually bring 120 more gates to the airport. The major design feature of the new terminal would be a central “boulevard” that runs the length of the building, linking the ticketing and concessions area in the front of the terminal with a post-security gate area that has more concessions and lounges. Phase one is expected to open in 2020, but the entire project will take 25 years to complete.

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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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Routes: Swiss to SFO + Lufthansa, Aeromexico, Hainan, Delta/KLM, Air Canada

Economy class on SWISS’s new 777-300ER. (Image: SWISS)

In international route developments, Swiss will increase San Francisco service and lay on more 777-300ERs to the U.S. this summer; Lufthansa sets the date for its first new A350 service to the U.S.; Aeromexico brings a new route to San Jose; Hainan Airlines adds a pair of routes from Los Angeles; Delta code-shares on more KLM flights; Air Canada adds a new Vancouver route and reshuffles Ottawa service.

Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International’s newly issued summer schedule calls for an increase in San Francisco-Zurich frequencies from the current three 777-300ER flights  a week to daily service beginning April 22. All the flights will use the carrier’s new 777-300ERs. Swiss already uses the new aircraft on its Los Angeles-Zurich route, and said that between June and October of this year, it will also deploy the new aircraft on six of its 12 weekly flights between Zurich and Chicago O’Hare. Take a tour of “the new SWISS flagship” here. 

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its second A350 from Airbus and it’s headed to Boston. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa has taken delivery of its second brand-new Airbus A350-900, and it has set March 14 as the date when that aircraft will start flying between Munich and Boston. (The first one recently started flying from Munich to Delhi, India, and the third will go onto the Munich-Mumbai route starting in late April.) Innovations on the Lufthansa A350 include an in-flight entertainment system that lets passengers create their own programming playlists from an app before leaving home, and LED technology that makes it possible to provide two dozen different lighting schemes in the cabin.

The latest international carrier to announce new service to San Jose is Aeromexico. The Mexican airline set a July 1 start for new service between SJC and its Guadalajara hub, operating six 737 flights a week (not on Tuesdays). The flight will depart San Jose at 10:15 a.m.

Hainan Airlines is adding two 787 routes from Los Angeles. (Image: Simon Auger/Flickr)

China’s Hainan Airlines has started taking reservations for new service from Los Angeles to two destinations in western China. On March 15, it will begin service between LAX and Chengdu, followed on March 21 by new flights from LAX to Chonqing. Both routes will operate twice a week, and both will use 787-8s.

Delta continues to expand its roster of code-share flights with joint venture partner KLM. Beginning March 26, according to Routesonline.com, Delta’s code will go onto KLM’s flights between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Amsterdam. Also getting Delta codes will be KLM flights beyond Amsterdam to Milan Malpensa; Graz, Austria; Gdansk, Poland; Freetown, Sierra Leone and Monrovia, Liberia; Split, Croatia; and the Italian destinations of Catania, Sicily, and Cagliari, Sardinia.

Air Canada’s Jazz unit has started new daily non-stops between Vancouver and Dallas/Ft. Worth, using two-class CRJ-705s. On the east coast, meanwhile, Air Canada said it has ended its three daily flights between Ottawa and New York LaGuardia, but will add three flights a day between Ottawa and Newark beginning March 26. (Meanwhile, Delta is poised to pick up the slack from LGA, starting twice-daily service to Ottawa as of April 2.) In other news, Air Canada will use a 787-9 on one (AC737/738) of its six daily San Francisco-Toronto flights for the summer season, beginning June 1.

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Burbank loses Hope but gains flights

Burbank's airport is 16 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Image: Bob Hope Airport)

Bob Hope Airport is getting a name change. (Image: Hollywood Burbank Airport)

Burbank’s airport may be small, but with a name change, a new terminal and an increasing roster of flights, it could be a viable alternative to Los Angeles International for a growing number of passengers.

Located northwest of downtown Burbank, the city’s Bob Hope Airport is about the same distance from Beverly Hills as LAX is. It’s even closer to Hollywood, and hence its new name, which was approved last spring and will soon appear on airport signage: Hollywood Burbank Airport.

Hollywood Burbank logo

Actually, it was called Hollywood Burbank Airport before 1978, and then was renamed Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport. In 2003, it was renamed for Bob Hope. But since that actor’s name didn’t say anything about where the airport is located, officials decided a geographic reference was needed once again. And Hollywood Burbank probably has more cachet than Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena.

The little airport is gaining traction among business travelers as Los Angeles International becomes more congested and more bogged down with massive construction projects. It’s also closer to the west side hotels that many road warriors prefer.

Hollywood Burbank Airport is 16 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Image: Google Maps)

Hollywood Burbank Airport is 16 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Image: Google Maps)

Passenger traffic during November 2016 was up more than 11 percent over the same month a year earlier, and the airport was poised to show a 12-month total for the year of more than 4 million. Southwest dominates the airline roster at BUR, carrying about half the total passenger count.

The airport is also served by Alaska, American, JetBlue, Delta and United. Route options in the California Corridor are the strongest at BUR, with Southwest flying to San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento. United also flies BUR-SFO, and Alaska Airlines is due to launch three daily roundtrips between BUR and San Jose in mid-March. Small-jet operator JetSuite X also started operating at Burbank last year, with service to San Jose and to Concord, CA in the East Bay area. United has recently up-gauged some of its DEN-BUR and SFO-BUR flights from regional jets to mainline, according to Live & Let’s Fly.

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Burbank has attracted nonstop flights from as far away as New York-JFK (JetBlue), and Austin, TX. Alaska flies in from Seattle and Portland. Delta used to offer a convenient nonstop from Atlanta.

Southwest will add new service from Burbank to Salt Lake City next month, a route already served by Delta. Service is also available to Seattle on Alaska and American; to Portland on Southwest, Delta, American and Alaska; to Phoenix on American and Southwest; and to Denver on Southwest and United. JetBlue offers a red-eye from BUR to New York JFK, the airport’s only transcontinental non-stop.

The airport is planning for future growth with a new terminal. Last fall, voters approved construction of a 14-gate terminal that is farther from the runways than the existing facility, which will be torn down after the new one opens. Design and construction of the $400 million terminal is expected to take place from 2018 to 2022.

Readers: Do you consider Burbank a viable alternative to LAX? What do you consider Burbank’s advantages and/or drawbacks?

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Routes: AA, AirAsia X, Southwest, Airberlin, South African Airways + more

American plans to use a 777-200 on its LAX-Beijing route if it ever gets slots from the service. (Image: AA)

American plans to use a 777-200 on its LAX-Beijing route if it ever gets slots from the service. (Image: AA)

In international route developments, American tries to save LAX-Beijing service; Air AsiaX sets its first U.S. route; Southwest starts Oakland-Mexico flights; Airberlin gets aircraft for more U.S. flights and ends a code-share partnership; South African Airways brings a new aircraft with an improved business class to its Washington Dulles route; United expands its Newark-London schedule; and Volaris comes to Miami.

We reported a few weeks ago that American Airlines’ plan to begin daily Los Angeles-Beijing service had hit a big snag because China wouldn’t give it any slots at Beijing’s Capital International Airport. American has been facing a March 16 deadline set by the U.S. Transportation Department to start flying the route, but now it has asked DOT for a one-year extension. AA said in its filing that it has been in regular contact with Chinese aviation officials about the slot situation, and that it is going to send a senior executive to China to discuss the matter. American told DOT it “fully expects” that its efforts will eventually be successful.

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia X has settled on Honolulu as its first U.S. destination following the recent FAA decision to let it fly to this country. The carrier plans to fly four times a week from Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu via a two-hour stopover in Osaka, Japan, starting June 28. The airline has set introductory base fares as low as $112 each way to KL (including taxes and fees), or $673 for its flat-bed premium seats, with a purchase deadline of February 26.

Southwest at Oakland

Southwest Airlines jets at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)

Southwest Airlines this week kicked off its first international service out of Oakland International Airport, operating daily flights from OAK to both Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos. The airport is expanding its International Arrivals Building this year in anticipation of a significant increase in international traffic, officials said. The work should be finished in the third quarter.

Airberlin has acquired three more Airbus A330-200s that it said will allow it to continue building up its service between the U.S. and its German hubs at Berlin and Dusseldorf.  The airline announced a few months ago that it plans to begin new non-stops in May between Los Angeles-Berlin four times a week and San Francisco-Berlin three times a week. It already operates from both U.S. airports to Dusseldorf during the summer. It also said it would expand Miami and New York frequencies to Berlin and add Orlando-Dusseldorf service. And now Routesonline.com is reporting that Airberlin will extend some seasonal routes to year-round service starting this fall, including San Francisco-Berlin and SFO-Dusseldorf, both operating four times a week, as well as Orlando-Dusseldorf (five times a week) and Boston-Dusseldorf (four a week). In other news, American Airlines plans to end its code-sharing agreement with Airberlin effective March 26. Both are members of the Oneworld alliance.

The new business class on South African Airways' A330-300. (Image: SAA)

The new business class on South African Airways’ A330-300. (Image: SAA)

South African Airways has started flying a new Airbus A330-300 on its three weekly flights between Washington Dulles and Johannesburg via Dakar, Senegal, and in June it will add the new aircraft to its four weekly IAD-JNB flights that operate via Accra, Ghana. The SAA A330-300 includes an upgraded 46-seat business class product with flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 layout, an improved on-demand entertainment system and power and USB ports at each seat. The aircraft has a 203-seat economy class with a 2-4-2 configuration.

United Airlines plans to add a sixth daily roundtrip to its Newark-London Heathrow route for the summer season, effective April 5 to October 28. The extra flight, departing EWR at 9:30 p.m. and arriving in London at 9:40 a.m., will use a two-class 767-300.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris this month added Miami International to its route map, kicking off daily A320 service to Mexico City and four flights a week to Guadalajara.

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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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Routes: American’s Beijing problem + Virgin Atlantic, United, Air India, Bliss Jet

American Airlines' new Los Angeles-Beijing route authority is in trouble.(Derwiki - Pixabay)

American Airlines’ new Los Angeles-Beijing route authority is in trouble.(Photo: Derwiki – Pixabay)

In international route developments, American’s recently-awarded route authority from Los Angeles to Beijing has hit a big snag, and American’s code goes onto a LAX-Paris flight; Qantas and American will try again for antitrust immunity; Virgin Atlantic schedules the deployment of A330s equipped with a new Upper Class; United changes planes on one of its San Francisco-London flights; Air India adds a new U.S. route; and a new company plans luxury small-jet service between New York and London.

Last fall, American won rights to fly from LAX to Beijing, with a start date expected in the first quarter of this year. But now American’s plans are up in the air, with the airline complaining to the Transportation Department that Chinese officials won’t provide takeoff and landing slots at Beijing’s Capital International Airport. It’s not that Chinese authorities tried to stick American with slots in the middle of the night, the carrier said — they wouldn’t give it any slots at all for the LAX flights. American argues that this is in violation of the bilateral agreement between the two countries. Currently, the only airline flying the LAX-Beijing route is Air China, which has three flights a day. American flies to Beijing from DFW and Chicago.

Given all the tough talk from the new Trump Administration toward China, this situation could pose a tough test for newly appointed Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Speaking of the Trump Administration, Qantas and American Airlines seem to think the new regime in Washington might be inclined to reverse the Obama DOT’s recent rejection of the carriers’ joint venture partnership, so they plan to make a new filing for antitrust immunity. But in the meantime, Qantas said it has stopped code-sharing on AA’s Sydney-Los Angeles flights, and that it is adjusting its frequent flyer policy with American “to bring it in line with other Oneworld carriers” starting May 1.

In other news, American has expanded its code-sharing partnership with Air Tahiti Nui, and has put its AA code onto that carrier’s Los Angeles-Paris CDG flights.

This old Upper Class cabin on Virgin Atlantic's A330s is being replaced. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

This old Upper Class cabin on Virgin Atlantic’s A330s is being replaced. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

Virgin Atlantic is refitting the Upper Class cabins of its 10 Airbus A330s following complaints that the seating layout of the herringbone “Dream Suites” was too cramped. Specifics of the redesign haven’t yet been announced, but Routesonline.com reports that the carrier has started to schedule the rollout of the overhauled A330s. The schedule sets March 27 for the debut of the aircraft on Virgin’s Manchester-San Francisco and Manchester-Boston routes, followed by London Heathrow-Newark, LHR-New York JFK, LHR-Washington Dulles, Manchester-Atlanta and Manchester-JFK on September 1; LHR-Atlanta and another LHR-JFK flight October 30; and LHR-Miami October 31.

While United will continue to operate one of its last 747s on the San Francisco-London Heathrow route through the summer, it has filed plans to change the aircraft on its second flight (the evening departure from SFO, UA930/949) from a 777-200ER to a 787-9 from May 24 through September 5, according to Routesonline.com.

Air India plans a July start for its newest U.S. route, linking Delhi and Washington Dulles. The carrier plans to use a 777 to fly the new route three times a week. Air India already flies to New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco.

Bliss Jet plans to operate LGA-Lonodon flights with luxurious Gulfstream business jets. (Image: Bliss Jet)

Bliss Jet plans to operate LGA-London flights with luxurious Gulfstream business jets. (Image: Bliss Jet)

Bliss Jet, a new company that last year said it would begin offering individually-ticketed private jet flights between the New York area and the U.K., failed to deliver on that plan. But now the carrier is trying again – this time with a new route. Bliss Jet’s original plan called for weekly roundtrip service between New York’s Westchester County Airport and London’s small Biggin Hill Airport. Now the company is planning to start offering private jet charter flights sometime this spring between LaGuardia and London Stansted, using private terminals at both airports. Bliss Jet will sell individual seats on Gulfsteam G450s and G550s with a maximum of 10 seats per flight. Service will operate eastbound on Sundays and westbound on Thursdays. The cost will be a mere $11,995 – each way.

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WOW Air adds “premium” seats for West Coast flights

WOW flies A330s from the West Coast. (Image: WOW Air)

WOW flies A330s from the West Coast. (Image: WOW Air)

Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW Air will be adding a new business-travel-friendly option for West Coast travelers this summer: premium seating.

The new section (called “Big Seats”) is going into WOW’s A330s on its routes to Reykjavik from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami, probably starting on some aircraft by June 1, according to Conde Nast.

A WOW Air spokesperson told TravelSkills: “The Big seat (pitch is 37″+) is an entirely different seat, bigger with a foot rest and will at first only be in our A330 planes.” WOW Air also said that the seat would be Avianor model 5810, which we cannot find online. However, Zodiac Aerospace makes a seat with a model number 5810, which it says is a premium economy seat (pictured below). Perhaps it will mimic the larger premium economy seats now flying on Norwegian Air’s B787s? We’ll just have to wait until we get more details from Wow Air.

Image of Zodiac Aerospace seat model 5810 (Image: Zodiac)

Image of Zodiac Aerospace seat model 5810 (Image: Zodiac)

The section will offer 37-inch pitch (vs. 31 in regular economy), and fares for the premium seats will include carry-on bags, checked bags, in-flight food service and priority boarding – as opposed to its regular economy pricing, which includes nothing but the ride and a single under-the-seat personal item. Other amenities and services all incur extra fees. The airline has not yet indicated what level of premium passengers will pay for the premium seating, which will be sold as “WOW Biz.”

However, the carrier is also said to be planning a new fare category called WOW Plus, which will buy a regular economy seat, a carry-on for the overhead bin, a single checked bag, and cancellation protection.

As the airline continues its U.S. expansion, offering very-low-cost base fares from the U.S. to Iceland and to points in Europe via a Reykjavik connection, it appears to be broadening its marketing to appeal to business travelers as well as backpackers.

Have you flown WOW Air yet? Would you? Please leave your comments below. 

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At LAX: New United terminal, Qantas hangar, American & Delta swap

QANTAS LAX

A new home for Qantas’ lumbering jets at LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United is said to be looking for more space – perhaps a new terminal – at Los Angeles International; also at LAX, American and Delta shift some gates and Qantas finally opens a big new hangar out by the beach.

United Airlines President Scott Kirby told pilots recently that the airline plans to increase its presence at Los Angeles International in the years ahead, in an effort to catch up with market share gains made there by American and Delta says Bloomberg News. (United’s share at LAX is estimated at 15 percent, vs. 16 for Delta and 20 for American.) But to do that, he said United will need more terminal space – either in existing terminals or in a new terminal. He referred to a possible Terminal 9, Bloomberg said.

An old plan for LAX shows a Terminal 9 linked to Concourse 8 by a bridge, and a commuter terminal. (Image: GPA Architects)

An old plan for LAX shows a Terminal 9 linked to Concourse 8 by a bridge, and a commuter terminal. (Image: GPA Architects)

That was apparently a reference to a long-dormant plan at LAX to build a terminal across Sepulveda Boulevard from the existing Concourse 8, with a passenger bridge over the roadway connecting the two terminals. If so, it would add even more construction hassles to the already huge agenda for expansion at the airport. United currently uses Terminal 7’s Concourses 7 and 8, and it has been carrying out a big renovation project there, including the recent opening of a new United Club.

Last week Qantas opened its new state-of-the-art hangar– the first to be built at LAX in the last 20 years. It is capable of fitting an A380 completely inside either nose- or tail-in. It is also capable of accommodating other aircraft types including the B747 and 787 Dreamliner (entering service later this year). It also includes the carrier’s corporate office space and ground support equipment facilities. It’s located WAY out on the western edge of airport grounds by the beach– you’ll get a good gander of it on the rare occasion flights land from the west. In the video above, watch how Qantas carefully parks a big A380 in its new digs. Qantas’ old hangar was recently demolished to make way for a big extension of the Tom Bradley International Terminal- more about that here. 
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In other LAX news, the airport announced that effective January 31, American Airlines is shifting four boarding gates and its American Eagle shuttle bus gate from Terminal 6 to Terminal 5. The new AA T5 gates are 50A, 50B, 53A, 53B and 52 (the shuttle bus gate). As for the gates American is leaving in T6, Delta will take them over temporarily, the airport said. “This is the first step in the months-long process that will eventually relocate all of Delta’s operations from its current Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3, as soon as this May,” a spokesman said.

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Deal alert: West Coast to Europe for $69

WOW flies A330s from the West Coast. (Image: WOW Air)

WOW flies A330s from the West Coast. (Image: WOW Air)

Iceland’s low-cost WOW Air has kicked off a super sale for travel from the West Coast to Europe for just $69.99 one-way.

That’s not the fare to WOW’s Reykjavik hub – that’s the fare for a trip to the Continent via a Reykjavik connection. These are base fares; steep and numerous fees apply for various amenities such as carry on baggage, advance seat selection and, um, water. See fee menu here.

The airline didn’t say how long the sale fares would be available – just that they are on sale now “for a limited time.” The $69 fare is available from San Francisco and Los Angeles via Iceland to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bristol (U.K.) and Edinburgh, WOW said, for travel from January 15 through April 5. WOW flies Airbus A330s from the West Coast.

Caveat: The $69 fare is apparently available only for eastbound travel; the price for return flights ranges from $129 to $199. Still, a roundtrip for a $199 base fare is a pretty good deal.

And keep in mind that WOW Air’s fees can be shocking in some cases, such as a $3 fee for water, which irked this passenger into writing TravelSkills to complain about it.

Wow

For example, when going through the booking process on WOW’s website, the cheapest fare we could find between San Francisco and Edinburgh, including a $100 fee for a large carry on bag (such as a rollaboard) is $370. That’s roughly $70 for the outbound flight, $200 for the return (including taxes) and a $100 bag fee. That’s still very very cheap!

Don’t miss! Last chance for 100,000 point bonus from Chase!

Here's a screenshot of fares from WOW's website today (Tuesday).

Here’s a screenshot of fares from WOW’s website today (Tuesday).

The new sale also includes $99 fares from Boston to Reykjavik, or $129 from Boston to Paris, London Gatwick, Amsterdam, Berlin and Stockholm; and $99 from Miami to Reykjavik, or $149 from Miami to Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, London and Paris.

The airline’s U.S. website with full details on the sale is at https://wowair.us/. NOTE: Due to the popularity of this sale, the WOW Air site is extremely slow and in some cases timing out, so keep trying…. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Routes: 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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New aircraft coming on key global routes: LAX, Boston, SFO, Chicago, Houston

Qantas' first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next year. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next year. (Image: Qantas)

Several airlines have scheduled the introduction of brand-new planes on key international routes to the U.S., including Qantas, Lufthansa, Swiss International and Singapore.

Qantas announced that its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will enter service on December 15, 2017, flying the Melbourne-Los Angeles route. The new 236-passenger, three-class Dreamliner will fly the route six days a week, replacing a 364-seat 747, and will supplement Qantas’ daily A380 flight on the route. That will give Qantas 13 flights a week on the route, up from nine today. Even though the 787 is smaller than the 747 it will replace, the larger plane is only flying twice a week, so that’s a net capacity increase on the route of 1,400 seats a week. The Dreamliner will have business class, economy class, and a new premium economy section that the airline will introduce early next year.

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first A350 from Airbus. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first A350 from Airbus. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first brand-new Airbus A350-900 which will begin regular commercial service February 10 between Munich and New Delhi. But the carrier announced last week that its second new A350 will start flying in March 2017 on the Boston-Munich route. Lufthansa said its first 10 A350s will all be based at its Munich hub. The aircraft will have 48 business class seats, 21 in premium economy and 224 in regular economy. The airline will introduce a new in-flight service for A350 business class flyers: a self-service area offering snacks and cold drinks. The new aircraft will also have larger video screens and “the latest FlyNet technology and improved web surfing,” Lufthansa said. The plane will offer a variety of lighting schemes and improved cabin pressure so travelers will arrive “feeling more rested,” the airline said.

Economy class on SWISS's new 777-300ER. (Image: SWISS)

Economy class on Swiss’s new 777-300ER. (Image: Swiss International)

Swiss International, a Lufthansa subsidiary, has been rolling out new 340-seat Boeing 777-300ERs as the flagships of its long-haul network. It has six already, with three more coming online in 2017. This year, it started flying them to Los Angeles in June and Miami in October. And they’ll soon be coming to San Francisco and Chicago. According to the Swiss website, The 777-300ER will begin flying between Zurich and San Francisco three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) starting February 16. And the airline will reportedly boost that 777 schedule to seven flights a week starting April 17. Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that Swiss will put the new 777-300ER into service between Chicago O’Hare-Zurich beginning June 1, flying that route six times a week. The new 777s carry 340 passengers, with eight seats in first class, 62 in business and 270 in economy (in a 3-4-3 configuration). Check out a photo tour of the Swiss 777-300ERs that we ran last year.

Singapore Airlines A350 premium economy

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy is a good option for those who can’t bear the thought of 17 hours in economy (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Airlines continues add new Airbus A350s to its long-haul feet, and the next deployment of the aircraft will be on its Houston-Manchester (UK)-Singapore route starting January 17, according to Routesonline.com. The Singapore A350s have 42 business class seats, 24 in premium economy, and 187 in regular economy (in a 3-3-3 configuration).  Two months ago, Singapore put one of the new A350s into service on its Singapore-San Francisco route. Chris was on board for one of the first flights, and you can read his comprehensive report here about seating and in-flight service aboard the Singapore A350.

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SFO, LAX could get new low-fare flights to Spain

International Airlines Group plans to fight back against transatlantic low-cost competition. (Image: IAG)

International Airlines Group plans to fight back against transatlantic low-cost competition. (Image: IAG)

British Airways’ parent company plans to launch new low-cost transatlantic service from Barcelona to the U.S. in 2017.

International Airlines Group — which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and the low-cost Spanish airline Vueling – is considering adding a new subsidiary in 2017 that will offer cheap fares to and from the U.S. West Coast in response to low-fare competition from Norwegian, according to The Times of London.

The newspaper said IAG’s new operation is expected to use Airbus A330s to fly from Barcelona’s El Prat Airport to San Francisco and Los Angeles beginning in June 2017. The new venture is also targeting transatlantic flights from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Havana, Cuba, the report said.

Tickets are not expected to go on sale until February or March 2017, and no fare information is currently available according to CAPA. 

Vueling, IAG’s low-cost Spanish subsidiary that serves short-haul markets, will provide passenger feed into Barcelona for the transatlantic flights. There were no details yet on specific schedules or fares for the West Coast service. IAG suggested that it might operate the new service under one of its existing brands if it does not create a new subsidiary.

Related: New Oakland to Barcelona nonstops announced

Europe’s legacy airlines have recently been stirred to action on the low-cost front as Norwegian adds more long-haul routes at extremely low base fares. Norwegian in recent months has started or announced new and increased low-fare service from major U.S. airports to London Gatwick, Paris and Barcelona, especially from the West Coast. Lufthansa is concentrating on growing its low-cost Eurowings subsidiary, adding aircraft from Airberlin and Brussels Airlines for that purpose.

Air France KLM recently revealed plans to develop a low-cost long-haul operation tentatively called Boost, based at Paris Charles de Gaulle, although few details are available.  And in addition to IAG’s new Barcelona-based operation, British Airways is adding service to Oakland and Ft. Lauderdale in 2017 from London Gatwick instead of its Heathrow hub, in response to Norwegian’s increasing Gatwick service.  BA is said to be planning eventually to use higher-capacity 777s with 332 seats instead of 280 for its long-haul Gatwick operations, in order to make them cost-competitive with Norwegian.

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Routes: Alaska/Virgin at SFO + American, Delta, Frontier, OneJet

Virgin America will add SFO-Orlando flights next year. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America will add SFO-Orlando flights next year. (Image: Virgin America)

In domestic route news, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America provide details of their new San Francisco flights; American Airlines adds routes at Washington Reagan National and Phoenix, but drops one from Los Angeles; Delta adds a pair of Florida routes;  OneJet expands at Pittsburgh; and Frontier will resume seasonal Cleveland-West Coast service.

Alaska Airlines has announced details of the new San Francisco services it mentioned earlier this week. On June 14, Alaska’s Virgin America unit will begin daily A320 flights from SFO to Orlando – but you’ll have to wake up early, because they depart SFO at 6:30 a.m.

On June 15, Alaska will expand its California Corridor presence by launching three daily SFO-Orange County roundtrips, increasing to four on July 18. (You might recall that Virgin America jumped into the SFO-SNA market in 2009, only to jump back out less than a year later in the face of stiff competition from Southwest.). Also on July 18, Alaska adds a pair of daily San Francisco-Minneapolis-St. Paul roundtrips. The Orange County and MSP flights will use 76-seat SkyWest E175s with first class, premium class and main cabin seating.

Delta is beefing up its east coast presence with new service from Boston to Florida. On February 18, Delta will begin twice-daily service from Boston to Tampa, and on February 17 it starts weekend-only (Saturday and Sunday) flights from Boston to Ft. Myers. (JetBlue also flies both routes.) Both routes will use Airbus A319s.

Republic Airways flies E175s like this one for American Eagle and Delta Connection. (Image: American Airlines)

An American Eagle/Republic E175 will fly from Washington D.C. to Northwest Arkansas.  (Image: American Airlines)

American Airlines plans to expand at Washington Reagan National in the spring. On April 4, it will kick off new daily American Eagle/Republic Airlines service from DCA to Northwest Arkansas Airport in Fayetteville (near Walmart headquarters) with an Embraer 175. And on the same date it will begin twice-daily American Eagle/PSA Airlines service from DCA to Grand Rapids, Mich., with CRJ 200s; and daily Eagle/Republic roundtrips from DCA to Pensacola, Fla., with an E175.

Meanwhile, American this month began new American Eagle/SkyWest daily CRJ 700 service between its Phoenix hub and Santa Fe, N.M. American used to fly to Santa Fe from Los Angeles, but discontinued that service in 2015. It also serves Santa Fe from Dallas/Ft. Worth. And speaking of Los Angeles, American has decided to discontinue its three-year-old non-stop service between LAX and Pittsburgh as of February 14.

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

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

One airline that’s growing at Pittsburgh is OneJet, which operates small business jets in regional markets under public charter rules. OneJet plans to begin daily PIT-Richmond service March 1, followed by daily PIT-Albany flights March 22. It already flies from Pittsburgh to Hartford, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Louisville and Cincinnati.

Frontier Airlines, which introduced seasonal flights last year from Cleveland to four West Coast cities, is bringing them back in 2017. In April, Frontier will add service from Cleveland to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, with flights operating three or four days a week and fares starting as low as $79 one way.

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Is Portland America’s best airport?

Portland PDX

Many reasons to love Portland PDX Airport! But what about ATL, SFO, or… LGA? (Image: Port of Portland)

The nation’s favorite large airport, according to the poll of 39,000 North American travelers? It’s Portland International (PDX), for the second year in a row, scoring 786 on a 1,000-point scale.

In its 11th annual survey of traveler satisfaction with U.S. airports, J.D. Power and Associates found that customers are a little happier overall with the airport experience than they were last year – but the company suggests that may not last, as some facilities are embarking on huge construction projects that will impede passenger access.

Tampa came in second (775) and Las Vegas McCarran ranked third (759). The lowest satisfaction score among the 31 large airports in the study went to New York LaGuardia (649), just below Newark Liberty International (669). Also ranking in the bottom five were Philadelphia, Chicago O’Hare and Boston Logan.

The average score for the group was 724, and San Francisco International barely topped that at 725, while Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson rated 733. Los Angeles International was sixth from the bottom at 702.

Among medium-sized airports, the top three, in descending order, were Indianapolis, Buffalo and Ft. Myers/Southwest Florida. Cleveland Hopkins was dead last with a 704 score, just below Maui’s Kahului and Connecticut’s Bradley International, both at 724; and Oakland International, at 726. Ranking slightly above the median score of 760 were San Jose at 761 and Orange County/John Wayne at 765.

J.D. Power noted that the overall increase in the average satisfaction score — 731 this year vs. 725 in 2015 —came despite increased passenger traffic of 5 to 6 percent nationwide.

Construction of a new, grander LaGuardia Airport is causing headaches for travelers. (Image: New York Governor's Office)

Construction of a new, grander LaGuardia Airport is causing headaches for travelers. (Image: New York Governor’s Office)

But the polling firm warns that passenger satisfaction could be damaged by big construction projects in the works at some major airports. “This heavy construction will make it more difficult for travelers to access the airport and, once there, it will likely make it even more difficult to navigate the crowded terminals,” the company said.

We’ve already seen evidence of problems like this at New York LaGuardia, which has started a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction. Other major infrastructure projects in the works include Los Angeles International and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson. (In fact, J.D. Power noted that passenger satisfaction at ATL dropped nine points in the past year.)

Here are the complete listings:

jdairport1

jdairport2

 

In many cases, it’s more about the airport terminal than the airport overall. For example, the new TBIT International terminal at LAX is awesome, but the rest of the airport leaves a lot to be desired. And anyone who has flown Southwest via SFO’s slouchy (now under renovation) Terminal 1 should know that it’s a far cry from the world class Terminal 2 or United’s nice T3E boarding area. Same goes for JFK- some terminals (like Delta’s new T4) are nice, others not so much.

Readers, do you agree with J.D. Power’s poll results? Which airport do you consider the best or worst, and why? 

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Routes: Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic, Hainan, United, AA, Delta, Volaris

Air Canada will use regional jets like the Embraer 190 on new U.S. routes. (Image: Air Canada)

Air Canada will use regional jets like the Embraer 190 on new U.S. routes. (Image: Air Canada)

In international route news, Air Canada will add some new transborder routes next year; Virgin Atlantic will drop a key U.S.-London service; China’s Hainan Airlines applies for rights to two U.S. cities; United suspends two Europe routes this winter and one next summer; American goes all-787 on a London route; Volaris adds two U.S.-Mexico routes and Delta drops one.

Air Canada said it plans to add or expand half a dozen U.S. routes next spring, using regional jets on all of them. On May 1, the airline will begin new daily service from Toronto to San Antonio and Memphis, and its Vancouver to Phoenix service will be expanded from seasonal to year-round. On the same date, Air Canada will start seasonal Toronto-Savannah, Ga., flights for the summer, operating six times a week through October 15. On May 18, Air Canada will begin twice-daily flights between Vancouver and Denver, and on May 26 it will add daily flights between Montreal and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Virgin Atlantic’s summer Chicago-London Heathrow flights, which last year operated from mid-May through mid-October, will not resume in 2017, according to Routesonline.com. Virgin said suspension of the Chicago flights will allow it to add a third daily Los Angeles-London flight, as previously announced.

Don’t miss! Transcon fares plunge to around $200 round trip

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

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

What’s the big attraction of Chengdu, in central China’s Sichuan province? For one thing, it has a population exceeding 10 million. China’s Hainan Airlines has asked the U.S. Transportation Department for rights to fly to Chengdu twice a week from Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2017, and three times a week from New York in the second quarter, using 787s on both routes. It already has the approval of China’s government. Chengdu is already served by United from San Francisco, by China Eastern from LAX via Nanjing and Sichuan Airlines from LACX via Hangzhou.

United Airlines plans a temporary suspension of two routes to Germany this winter, according to Routesonline.com. United will drop its four weekly Newark-Hamburg 767 flights from January 9 through May 4, and its five weekly Houston-Munich 767 roundtrips from January 10 through April 3. And next summer, United has reportedly decided not to offer previously planned seasonal daily 757 flights between Newark and Oslo, which had been scheduled to operate from May 5 to September 5.

The main cabin on an America Airlines 787. (Image: American)

The main cabin on an America Airlines 787. (Image: American)

American Airlines, which currently uses 767s and 777s on its Chicago O’Hare-London Heathrow route, reportedly plans to change over to all 787-8 Dreamliners for those flights beginning March 5. The airline’s three daily ORD-LHR flights will be supplemented with a fourth daily 787 roundtrip for the summer starting April 4. AA also will replace its daily 767-300ER flight from O’Hare to Dublin with a 787-8 from July 5 through October 4.

Delta’s daily Los Angeles-Guadalajara 737-800 flight is due to be discontinued February 1. But Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris continues to expand transborder service. This month, it started daily A320 roundtrips from Monterrey to Denver, and in March it is due to launch twice-weekly service from Guadalajara to Milwaukee.

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Airport news: LAX Terminal 1.5 | Raleigh-Durham | Chicago | Minneapolis | Montreal

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

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

In airport news this week, Los Angeles moves forward with a couple of new construction projects; Delta overhauls its Sky Club at Raleigh-Durham; Chicago introduces a new tool for passengers to determine taxi waiting times; Minneapolis-St. Paul adds some new gates and restaurants; and Air Canada cuts the ribbon on a Maple Leaf lounge at Montreal.

Pending final approval from the city council, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has given a tentative OK to environmental and design plans for what it is calling the Terminal 1.5 project – construction of a six-level, 417,500 square foot building connecting Terminals 1 (Southwest) and Terminal 2 (International).   It won’t have any boarding gates, but will provide a new baggage claim area on the lower level, a ticketing lobby on the upper level, security screening on the concourse level and office space on the top two levels. Pre-security walkways on the first two levels will connect Terminals 1 and 2. The facility is expected to open in the summer of 2019. Meanwhile, airport officials are releasing a request for qualifications for design and construction of LAX’s planned Consolidated Rent-A-Car Center, which will be near Interstate 405 in Manchester Square. It will be linked to terminals by an automated people-mover system.

On December 6, Delta officials will cut the ribbon on the airline’s renovated Sky Club at Raleigh-Durham Airport, located on the second level of Terminal 2 across from Gate C3. The club has new contemporary furnishings; power outlets and charging stations near every seat; faster Wi-Fi; an expanded business center; a bar with free beverages including local craft beers, premium wines and cocktails as well as Starbucks coffee and self-serve espresso machines.

LoLo Kitchen has opened in MSP's Terminal 1. (Image: SSP America)

LoLo American Kitchen has opened in MSP’s Terminal 1. (Image: SSP America)

Noting that passenger counts at its Terminal 2 (Humphrey Terminal) have increased by 5.4 percent this year, Minneapolis-St. Paul International said it has opened four new aircraft gates at that terminal, which is used by Southwest, Sun Country, Icelandair and Condor. Besides the new gates (H11-H14), the project also included a new nursing mothers’ room and an indoor pet/service animal relief area. In Terminal 1, meanwhile, two new food and beverage options have opened. Concourse E is home to LoLo American Kitchen and Craft Bar, with seasonal local cuisine and craft beers; and Concourse D is the site of Republic, a “gastropub” offering local beers and small plate cuisine – along with live music performances during peak travel periods.

The Chicago Department of Aviation announced a new texting tool that passengers can use to get live updates on taxi waiting line times at the city’s two airports. Users simply text the word “taxi” to 312-883-8404 for O’Hare Airport waiting times, or 312-883-7969 for Midway Airport. The city also offers “e-hailing” for taxis through apps available at www.Chicabs.org, and the Aviation Department provides taxi wait times, traffic updates, weather and special travel alerts through its website at www.flychicago.com.

The food service area in Air Canada's Montreal Maple Leaf Lounge. (Image: Air Canada)

The food service area in Air Canada’s Montreal Maple Leaf Lounge. (Image: Air Canada)

Following a year-long overhaul, Air Canada’s International Maple Leaf Lounge at Montreal Trudeau has reopened. Located between Gates 52 and 53, the 11,000-square foot facility has room for 259 passengers. It has floor to ceiling windows, a full service bar with free drinks, a live food station, specialty coffees, free Wi-Fi, showers, a work area and more. It’s open to eligible Air Canada and Star Alliance customers.

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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: Easier to fly Korean + Norwegian, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Fiji, more

The Delta-KAL codeshare lets you buy a ticket from Delta, but fly KAL (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

More flights, more availability for award flights on Korean Air (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Korean Air plans to boost West Coast frequencies next year, Norwegian’s Las Vegas routes will be cut back to a seasonal basis;  Aer Lingus adds a new U.S. gateway; Air Canada adds a pair of summer Europe routes from Vancouver; Fiji Airways will boost San Francisco service; two German airlines add new U.S. routes next summer; and ANA will start direct service to Mexico City.

Korean Air’s 2017 schedule plans include more flights to the West Coast, according to Routesonline.com. On March 26, Korean’s San Francisco-Seoul Incheon schedule is tentatively set to increase from seven flights a week to 12, then grow to 13 in June and 14 in September. The carrier will utilize a mix of B747-8 and B777s on the route. KAL likely added more capacity since Singapore Air moved its daily SFO-Seoul nonstop to LA to make way for its nonstop SFO-SIN service. From June through August, the airline will increase Los Angeles-Seoul Incheon frequencies from 14 to 19 flights a week. And Korean’s Seattle schedule shows daily flights during May, September and October, up from five a week for the same months this year. (FYI, Korean Air is a partner in Chase Ultimate Rewards- many readers love to unload their points to fly KAL in first or business class because space is frequently available. Get a new card, earn the bonus, and redeem away!)

Don’t miss: Trip Report – First class on Korean Air Boeing 747-8 from SFO

Here’s how TravelSkills reader JS flew KAL in first class by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Korean Air SkyPass. He told us: “As you probably know it’s incredibly easy to find first class space on Korean since so few people in the U.S. either have those miles or know about the transfer process from Chase.  In addition, even though Delta and Korean are both members of SkyTeam, Delta members cannot redeem their miles for first class on other SkyTeam carriers.”

Norwegian Air Shuttle has been growing at Las Vegas, but it has now decided that its four routes to Europe will operate seasonally instead of year-round. Why? Because it discovered this year that sometimes Las Vegas is just too hot in the summer for its planes to take off, so they’ve had to sit on the ground until temperatures dropped. The cutoff temperature for the airline’s 291-seat Dreamliners is 104 degrees, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, so for 2017 the airline will suspend its service to London, Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen from late March until November. The publication said the airline is studying the possibility of rescheduling summer departure times to early morning or late in the day for 2018.

 

Aer Lingus is adding a Miami route next year. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Aer Lingus is adding a Miami route next year. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Ireland’s Aer Lingus will add Miami as its newest U.S. gateway next year. The airline set a September 1 start for the new service, operating three times a week between Miami and Dublin with a 266-seat A330-200. Aer Lingus also said it will boost its Los Angeles schedule from the current four flights a week to daily departures from May 26 through the end of August; increase Chicago O’Hare service from 12 flights a week to twice-daily departures beginning May 26; and add a fourth weekly flight from Orlando effective March 14.

Air Canada will give travelers new options to Europe from Vancouver next summer. The carrier said it will start daily flights from Vancouver to Frankfurt on June 1, using a 787-8 with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating; and three flights a week from Vancouver to London Gatwick with an Air Canada Rouge 767-300ER with premium and regular economy seating.

Fiji Airways is boosting capacity to San Francisco in 2017 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways is boosting capacity to San Francisco in 2017. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways must be doing well with its San Francisco-Nadi, Fiji route, because it plans to increase capacity next summer. Instead of operating two flights a week for eight weeks, it will keep them going from June 1 through late October, and will add a third weekly frequency from June 19 to August 8 – and it will upgrade the aircraft it uses from an A330-200 to a -300.

New travel options to Germany next year include service from Seattle to Cologne and from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt. The Seattle route be flown by Lufthansa Group subsidiary Eurowings, with three A330-200 flights a week operating seasonally from July 11 through October. And the Pittsburgh-Frankfurt route will be flown by Condor Airlines, with two 767 flights a week from June 23 through September.

Chris McGinnis inspecting ANA's maintenance hangar at Haneda Airport on the day before the 787 was grounded. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Chris McGinnis inspecting a Boeing 787 at Tokyo Haneda (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Want to get from Mexico to Japan without flying through the U.S. or Canada? Japan’s All Nippon Airways announced plans to begin the first non-stop service between the countries, with daily flights from Tokyo Narita to Mexico City beginning February 15. It will be ANA’s longest non-stop flight, and will use a 787-8 Dreamliner with business class and economy seating.

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Dude! How to go surfing in California & Iceland in one day

See video below (Image: WOW Air)

See video below- and find out how much it costs to check a surf board on WOW Air (Image: WOW Air)

After launching flights between California and Iceland earlier this year, WOW air recently teamed up with pro surfer Anastasia Ashley to find out if it’s possible to surf in both Los Angeles and Iceland within 24 hours. The journey began in Malibu where Anastasia set out on a race against the clock to be the first person to surf in both California and Iceland within 24 hours.

Asked about the challenge, Anastasia replied “I’m an avid world traveler, so literally going around the world in one day on a surf adventure, was a challenge that was meant for me!”

WOW air’s camera crew followed Anastasia every step of the way to document the experience and share with the world.

The full video can be viewed here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNUdbI9rh1A

After landing in Iceland, Anastasia faced an adventurous drive through Southern Iceland with dramatic scenery. When arriving at the Icelandic surf spot at Vík í Myrdal, nothing could have prepared her for the extreme weathers conditions and breathtaking Icelandic scenery surrounding her. WOW air’s surfer guide and safety specialist, Bjarki Thorlaksson owner of Adventure Vikings, was there to guide on all safety aspects of the journey. Anastasia didn’t let the extreme contrast between sunny California and arctic Iceland stop her and faced the unforgiving nature head on.

The challenge was completed with 17 minutes to spare, in only 23 hours and 43 minutes. “Being able to surf in LA and Iceland within the 24 hours sounds like a dream day to me. I even got time to hit the Blue Lagoon after!” said Anastasia when looking back on this adventure.

WOW Air is using this cool video to promote it’s $99 fares between SFO and LAX and Iceland. Great fares, but just be sure you know about all or Wow Air’s extra fees before you buy! For example, Anastasia would have paid an extra $200 round trip to check that pink surfboard! 

See wowair.com for details.

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CLEAR lanes coming to ATL, LAX, NYC

The CLEAR trusted traveler program is expanding to four more airports. (Image: CLEAR)

The CLEAR trusted traveler program is expanding to four more airports. (Image: CLEAR)

CLEAR, the members-only organization that lets you bypass those long security lines and go right into screening, will soon be available in four more major airports.

In an email to members,  company said that it plans to open new CLEAR lanes at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Los Angeles International, New York LaGuardia and New York JFK. It did not say exactly when it would appear in those airports – just that “We will be sharing launch dates in the coming weeks.” What’s also not clear (couldn’t help myself!) is whether CLEAR will only operate at Delta terminals at LAX and NYC or if it will be in multiple terminals as at SFO.

CLEAR already has airport lanes at Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston Bush Intercontinental, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and both Washington D.C. airports. You can look up exact CLEAR locations here.

CLEAR's new logo

CLEAR’s new logo

Earlier this year, Delta acquired an equity stake in CLEAR, and since then the company has been expected to open new facilities at the carrier’s primary airports – and the four new ones certainly fill that bill.

Standard membership in CLEAR costs $179 a year, but Delta’s involvement in the company has brought discounts for SkyMiles members based on their elite status. Membership is free for Diamond Medallions, and just $79 a year for Platinum, Gold and Silver Medallions. Non-elite SkyMiles members are eligible for a $99 CLEAR annual membership.

CLEAR gives members biometric-based IDs that let them access priority lanes for security screening. That gets them quickly into the regular screening process — or even into PreCheck for eligible flights, if they are a member of that TSA trusted traveler program. With regular PreCheck lines getting longer at some airports as TSA continues to push for greatly expanded traveler participation in that program, CLEAR might be a better way to go if it’s available at your preferred airports. (It’s definitely save me a few hundred dollars in flight change fees when I’ve been late to the airport, or been surprised by super-long lines.)

Have you used CLEAR or do you plan to now that it’s hitting critical mass in terms of key airports? Please leave your comments below. 

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A new way to China on American Airlines

Beijing China

American Airlines has won tentative approval to fly from Los Angeles to Beijing (Photo of lunch in Beijing: Chris McGinnis)

There a new nonstop option to China on the horizon for American Airlines flyers.

The U.S. Transportation Department has tentatively approved American Airlines’ request for a new route from Los Angeles to Beijing.

Once it wins final approval, American is expected to start flying the route in 2017. American currently flies to Beijing from its Dallas/Ft. Worth and O’Hare hubs.

The new China authority is for daily non-stops from LAX to Beijing, a route not currently served by any U.S. carrier. Both American and Delta had applied for the route, but DOT tentatively decided that giving it to American would even things out among the Big Three serving Beijing from west coast, since Delta already flies there from Seattle and United does the same from San Francisco.

DOT said it couldn’t assign the LAX-Beijing route to both American and Delta because the U.S.-China aviation agreement limits the number of flights between the two countries, and the allotment for U.S. carriers has nearly been used up. The agency said it will continue to hear objections and counter-arguments to assigning the route to American until November 29, after which it will issue a final decision.

The only carrier currently offering LAX-Beijing non-stops is Air China.

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Sneak peek at new Alaska-Virgin plane?

Is this the look of things to come for the combined Alaska Airlines and Virgin America?

The Instagram photo of a shiny red, purple gradient and blue Boeing 737-900 with the words “More to Love” along the fuselage has circulated among aviation geeks over the last few days. The image, which appears to be in an aircraft hangar, also clearly shows the Alaska Airlines Eskimo face on a navy blue tail.

The Puget Sound Business Journal came across the photo and surmised: “The photograph appears to be an aircraft painted to promote the airline combination to travelers and employees of the airlines, rather than be a new livery for all Alaska and Virgin airplanes.”

We’ve reached out to Alaska Airlines for a comment about the image, but have not heard back.

New aircraft liveries always draw plenty of commentary, most of it negative. But I’ll take a stand on this one: I like it and would not mind seeing it as the permanent new livery of the combined carrier. What about you? Please leave your comments below.

In the meantime, the whole Alaska Airlines-Virgin America deal still seems to be stuck in limbo at the Justice Department. The latest rumors about the deal emerged yesterday on The Street, with an insider stating that the combined carrier would have to give up gates at SFO and LAX and terminate code sharing agreements with Delta and American to close the deal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WOW Air

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

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

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

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Deal Alert: Transcon fares plummet in December

Smaller airlines are concerned that they can't gain access to New York's airports. (Image: Jim Glab)

Low fares but high hotel prices in NYC this December (Image: Jim Glab)

Looking for a nice, easy trip during one of the slowest travel periods of the year? Maybe you are taking a mileage run? Then take a look at these fares for transcontinental trips (East, West coasts & Florida) during the first two weeks of December. 

Starting on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (Nov 29) and running up until the Christmas holiday peak, fares are just $267 round trip on all carriers flying between San Francisco and New York City.

Fares are slightly higher at around $285 round trip between Los Angeles LAX and New York City, too. Any time I see a California-New York nonstops drop below $300 I know I’ve got a great deal on my hands.

And it’s not just California– lowest fares are running at about $282 between Seattle and New York, too on Delta, Alaska and JetBlue.

Google flights for trips Dec 5-Dec 12

Google Flights for SFO-JFK trips Dec 5-Dec 12

Caveat: Early December may be a cheap time to fly to NYC, but it’s not a cheap time to stay in a hotel there… those first few weeks of December when the first flurries fall and 5th Avenue gets all decked out in holiday splendor are super expensive at hotels. On early December weekends it’s tough to find a decent hotel for less than $500 per night. But everyone has a friend with a sofa-bed in NYC to stay with, right? 🙂

And for New Yorkers headed west, December is a fabulous and festive time to be in Wine Country. And in LA and SoCal, you can still go to the beach.

Delta SkyClub

Fly California to Atlanta to see Delta’s new Sky Club on Concourse B for less than $300 round trip (Photo: Chris Rank, Rank Studios)

SFO-Atlanta is super cheap in December, too. I’m looking at just $248 round trip on United’s ATL-SFO nonstops. Delta’s are higher, but still a bargain at about $313. If you are willing to chance it with Frontier on ATL-SFO, you can go for $197 roundtrip, but you’ll pay dearly for extras like checked bags.

And hold on… are you ready for it? You can fly nonstop between LAX and Atlanta during December for just $192 roundtrip on American! Delta is slightly higher at around $260 round trip.

screen-shot-2016-11-02-at-4-07-59-pm

Super low fares on ATL-LAX in December! Source: Google Flights

From LAX there’s even more! Check Google flights on LAX-Ft Lauderdale or LAX-Orlando and you’ll find roundtrip fares in the $200 (or less!) range. Vamos! 

NOTE: These fares are available on Google Flights Wednesday, Nov 2 and subject to change.

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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.

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Routes: SFO, LAX, DFW, New Orleans, Orange County, Miami, JFK, Houston

An Etihad Boeing 777-3FX (Photo: Etihad)

Etihad will shrink its San Francisco schedule and increase DFW service. (Photo: Etihad)

In international route news, Etihad will trim its San Francisco schedule and grow at Dallas, but WOW Air will increase service at SFO and Los Angeles; British Airways adds a new U.S. gateway; Southwest drops a Mexico route out of southern California; and Mexico’s Volaris adds more U.S. service.

Two years ago, Etihad Airways added San Francisco to its route map with daily flights to its Abu Dhabi base using a Jet Airways B777 and prompting “Jetihad” snickers. Etihad finally deployed its own metal on the route earlier this year, but now Routesonline.com reports that Etihad plans to cut its schedule by more than half. Effective next February 1, Etihad is due to reduce SFO service from seven flights a week to just three – and that is expected to continue into next summer. Then on February 2, Etihad will boost its Dallas/Ft. Worth-Abu Dhabi schedule from the current three flights a week to daily service, noting that traffic on that two-year-old route has “exceeded expectations.”

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

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

While Etihad cuts back west coast service, ultra-low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW Air will grow. Last June, the company started operating five flights a week from San Francisco to Reykjavik, and four a week from Los Angeles. But on March 26, WOW will increase its schedule to daily flights from both west coast cities – with one-way fares starting as low as $99 (plus heavy-duty fees, of course). WOW operates single-class A330-300s, although it does offer some extra-legroom seats for an extra charge.

On March 26, British Airways will begin flying a transatlantic route that currently has no non-stop service: New Orleans to London Heathrow. BA will fly the route on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a three-class 787-8 and a 9:10 p.m. eastbound departure.  The carrier said roundtrip fares will start at $734 in economy and $2,145 in Club World business class (based on current exchange rates).

British Airways will use a Dreamliner on its new route to New Orleans. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways will use a Dreamliner on its new route to New Orleans. (Image: British Airways)

Southwest Airlines flyers in southern California’s Orange County will have to find another way to get to Mexico City after January 4. That’s the date when Southwest is due to discontinue its daily 737 flights between John Wayne Airport and the Mexican capital.

Mexico’s low-cost Volaris just keeps expanding its transborder network. According to Routesonline.com, the carrier has plans to bring on four new U.S. routes this winter. On February 1, Volaris will begin daily service between Miami and Mexico City, along with four flights a week linking Miami with Guadalajara. Then on March 1, it will add daily flights from Mexico City to New York JFK and four a week between Mexico City and Houston. Just this month it added nonstops between SFO and Mexico City.

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Routes: Airberlin to SFO, LAX; Emirates, Lufthansa, Etihad, Southwest

Airberlin will add Berlin service from San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Image: Airberlin)

Airberlin will add Berlin service from San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Image: Airberlin)

In international route news, Airberlin plans a big increase in U.S. service for 2017, including new flights from Berlin to San Francisco and Los Angeles; Emirates adds another U.S. gateway starting in December; Lufthansa will add more capacity out of Denver; Etihad will more than double frequencies out of Dallas/Ft. Worth; and Southwest sets the starting date for its new Havana service.

Airberlin, which started new routes this year from Dusseldorf to San Francisco and Boston, will increase frequencies in those markets for 2017 and will also add more new U.S. routes including San Francisco-Berlin, Los Angeles-Berlin and Orlando-Dusseldorf. The company said its current U.S. operation will have up to 50 percent more flights when its 2017 summer schedule kicks in during May.

Among the changes: San Francisco-Dusseldorf service will increase from the current five weekly flights to daily service, and so will the current four flights a week between Boston and Dusseldorf. New service to Berlin’s Tegel Airport will include four weekly flights from SFO and three a week from Los Angeles. The new Florida route will bring five flights a week between Orlando and Dusseldorf; the carrier already flies to Miami and Ft. Myers. Airberlin said it is getting three more A330-200s to handle its increased U.S. schedules.

Emirates will use a 777 on its new Ft. Lauderdale route. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates will use a 777 on its new Ft. Lauderdale route. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates has announced a December 15 start for service to its 11th U.S. destination. The carrier will begin daily flights from Ft. Lauderdale to its Dubai base using a three-class 777-200LR. Emirates already flies to Orlando, a route it launched last year. The new Ft. Lauderdale service will benefit from Emirates’ code-share partnership with JetBlue, which has a hub at that Florida airport.

Lufthansa sees room for growth on its Denver-Munich route, which began earlier this year, so the carrier said it will boost frequencies on March 26 from the current five flights a week to daily departures, using a 255-seat A330-300. “Preliminary data show that for the first summer of service, the number of people traveling between Denver and Munich has increased by nearly 50 percent,” a Denver Airport spokesperson said, adding that the top connecting markets for Denver-Munich passengers include Budapest, Prague, Krakow and Kiev. Lufthansa also flies from Denver to Frankfurt.

Etihad will boost frequencies out of Dallas/Ft. Worth (Photo: Etihad)

Etihad will boost frequencies out of Dallas/Ft. Worth (Photo: Etihad)

Finding more traffic than it initially expected on its almost two-year-old route between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways plans to boost service from the current three flights a week to seven effective February 2. The carrier will continue to use a 777-200LR on the route. Etihad offers connections to 100 destinations from its Abu Dhabi hub, and also offers American travelers pre-screening by U.S. Customs and Border protection at that airport.

Southwest is the latest U.S. carrier to announce a starting date for its new rights to serve Havana, Cuba. The company said that on December 12, subject to Cuban government approval, it will begin flying to Havana from both Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa. (Southwest also set a November 13 inaugural date for flights from Ft. Lauderdale to the Cuban beach resort of Varadero.) The carrier is offering introductory Havana fares starting at $59 each way for purchase through November 20. Southwest set up a web page at www.Southwest.com/Cuba with details of the requirements for travel to Cuba and its flight schedules.

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New California routes: Southwest, AA, Delta, JetSuiteX, Mokulele + more

Southwest will add two more California routes in March. (Image: jim Glab)

Southwest will add two more California routes in March. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, much of the action is in California, including a pair of new Southwest routes, new American flights from northern California and LAX, a new Delta market from Los Angeles, and new intrastate service from JetSuite and a small Hawaiian carrier; meanwhile, Alaska upgrades its equipment on two California routes.

Southwest Airlines, which has focused much if its recent growth on California, plans to add another pair of routes there. The carrier said that beginning March 9, it will start new service to Salt Lake City from both Sacramento and Burbank. Southwest is offering introductory fares starting at $59 one-way for booking through October 20.

American will begin Phoenix flights from Santa Rosa's Charles M. Schultz Airport. (Image: Charles M. Schultz Airport)

American will begin Phoenix flights from Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schultz Airport. (Image: Charles M. Schultz Airport)

On February 16, American Eagle/SkyWest will kick off new daily non-stops between Sonoma County’s Charles M. Schulz Airport in Santa Rosa and AA’s Phoenix hub. The carrier will use a CRJ-700 on the route. Elsewhere in California, American plans to initiate summer seasonal service next year from Los Angeles International to Grand Junction, Colorado. The flights will operate from June 3 through August 19, also with an American Eagle/SkyWest CRJ-700.

Outside of California, American will begin new regional jet service on February 16 from Phoenix to Bullhead City, Arizona; and AA this month began American Eagle/Envoy Air flights twice a day from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Akron/Canton.

As we mentioned the other day in a post about the expansion of lie-flat premium seats on transcontinental routes, Delta plans to launch new service on April 24 between LAX and Washington D.C.’s close-in Reagan National Airport, using a 757-200 equipped with fully-flat seats in the front cabin. At the same time, Delta will drop one of its two daily Salt Lake City-DCA flights, replacing it with a Salt Lake-Washington Dulles service.

This Phenom 100 jet from JetSuite seats six (JetSuite)

A Phenom 100 jet from JetSuite (JetSuite)

JetSuiteX, which offers small-plane public charters within California, will begin new service October 17 between San Jose and McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, north of San Diego. The company will use a four-seat Phenom 100 to fly the route four times a week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On the same day, JetSuiteX will boost frequencies between San Jose and Burbank to two flights a day– and currently flights from both Concord and San Jose to Burbank are on sale for just $59 each way (for November trips) and that includes checked bags and wi-fi.

Following United’s recent decision to stop flying between San Francisco and Santa Maria, California, that town just got new service from an unlikely source: Hawaii-based Mokulele Airlines. The carrier is flying four times a day between Santa Maria and Terminal 6 at Los Angeles International Airport using nine-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops.

In nearby Santa Barbara, meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has started to use new 76-passenger Embraer 175s on its routes to Seattle and Portland, replacing 70-passenger CRJ-700s. The new planes have first class, Preferred Plus and regular coach seating, and are equipped with Wi-Fi service.

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Gorgeous new hotels: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Maui, Buffalo

The impressive lobby of the new Four Seasons New York Downtown (Image: Four Seasons)

The impressive lobby of the new Four Seasons New York Downtown (Image: Four Seasons)

In domestic hotel developments, Four Seasons adds a second Manhattan location; the hotel closest to Los Angeles International Airport gets a makeover and rebranding; Hilton adds a DoubleTree in South Beach; Marriott Rewards members get a new option in Maui; and Starwood opens a Westin in the heart of New York State’s second-largest city.

At TravelSkills, we love NEW hotels– don’t miss our archive of the best of this beautiful new bunch here

Four Seasons Hotels, which has had a flagship property in midtown Manhattan for many years, has now opened a downtown location in the Big Apple. Located at 27 Barclay Street, at the corner of Church Street, The Four Seasons New York Downtown is close to the new World Trade Center and a block from City Hall Park. The property has 189 rooms and suites ranging from 400 to 2,400 square feet, and is home to the first Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Manhattan, called CUT. The hotel has a spa, an indoor lap pool and a 6,000 square foot fitness center. The building housing the hotel also has 157 Four Seasons private residences from one to five bedrooms, with access to hotel facilities. Rates begin at $629.

A refurbished suite at the Hyatt Regency at LAX (Image: Hyatt)

A refurbished suite at the Hyatt Regency at LAX (Image: Hyatt)

The Concourse Hotel, a block from Los Angeles International Airport at 6225 West Century Blvd., was already a Hyatt affiliate, but now the 580-room property is getting a $75 million overhaul and has been rebranded as the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport. The work should be finished in a few months, equipping all guest rooms with the Hyatt Grand Bed, wall-mounted 55-inch TVs with HDMI streaming, free high-speed Wi-Fi, and rain shower heads in the bathrooms. The redesigned lobby will feature a pair of new eateries: Open Market, with grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, soup, noodles, pastries and Illy coffee; and an all-day dining option called Unity LA. Free shuttles for guests depart to LAX every 10 minutes. Rates start around $186 for Gold Passport members.

Hilton's new DoubleTree in Miami's South Beach (Image: DoubleTree)

Hilton’s new DoubleTree in Miami’s South Beach (Image: DoubleTree)

What was once the 1954 Ankara Motel in Miami’s popular South Beach has been rebuilt and is now the newly opened Gates Hotel South Beach-A DoubleTree by Hilton. Located at 2360 Collins Avenue, the 235-room property is a walk away from Ocean Drive and the area’s dining and nightlife options. The hotel has a lobby bar that exits to an outdoor pool with solar-powered device charging stations. There’s a restaurant called The Continental; free Wi-Fi throughout the property; 24-hour business center and fitness center; guest bicycles; and free transportation to the beach. Rates start at $122.

The pool at Marriott's new Residence inn in Maui (Image: Marriott)

The pool at Marriott’s new Residence Inn in Maui (Image: Marriott)

Marriott Rewards members looking to redeem points for a Hawaii vacation have a new option: the newly-built, newly-opened Residence Inn by Marriott Maui Wailea. The all-suite property has studio, one-, and two-bedroom units with fully equipped kitchens and balconies. Recreational facilities include an outdoor pool and hot tub, putting green and basketball court. Guests get free hot breakfasts, grocery delivery service, and access to a fitness center, Wi-Fi, 24-hour grab-and-go market, and a business center. The hotel is located close to a shopping center, beaches, golf courses and a tennis club. Rates begin at $269.

Buffalo's new Westin is in the heart of downtown. (Image: Westin)

Buffalo’s new Westin is in the heart of downtown. (Image: Westin)

Got business in Buffalo? As part of an ongoing revival of the city’s downtown, Starwood Hotels has opened the newly-built Westin Buffalo at 250 Delaware Avenue, in the midst of the business and entertainment districts. All 116 rooms and suites have the signature Westin Heavenly Bed and Shower. The Westin offers 7,300 square feet of meeting space and a pair of dining venues: a signature restaurant called Patina 250 and the casual bistro-style Jake’s Café. Guests can take advantage of the WestinWORKOUT fitness center, and can borrow workout gear from New Balance or bicycles from the local Reddy Bikeshare program. Rates start at $166.

At TravelSkills, we love NEW hotels– don’t miss our archive of the best of this beautiful new bunch here

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Routes: LOT at LAX, AA seats, KLM popup, 2 new US cities for Icelandair

LOT Polish will use a 787 for new Los Angeles service in 2017. (Image: LOT Polish)

LOT Polish will use a 787 for new Los Angeles service in 2017. (Image: LOT Polish)

In international route news, LOT Polish Airlines will begin new service to Los Angeles and Newark; American Airlines officially launches its new international premium economy class in a few weeks; British Airways drops a Philadelphia flight but American adds one; KLM will fly to Minneapolis-St. Paul and offers San Franciscans a 787 sneak peek; and Icelandair plans to open up two more U.S. gateways.

LOT Polish Airlines will kick off the first non-stop service between the West Coast and Poland on April 3, 2017 when it begins service between Los Angeles International and Warsaw. LOT will fly the LAX route four times a week using a 787-8 Dreamliner. Also in April, the Polish carrier will resume service from Warsaw to Newark Liberty International, a hub for its Star Alliance partner United.  The Newark flights will begin April 28, initially operating three times a week with a leased 767-300ER, but switching to a 787 in August. With the addition of Newark flights, LOT will trim its 2017 summer schedule out of New York JFK from 12 flights a week to nine.

American's new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

American’s new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

When American Airlines puts its new 787-9s into international service next month, they’ll come equipped with the carrier’s new premium economy cabin – a first for U.S. airlines on international routes.  The first flights to offer the premium cabin will be from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Sao Paulo on November 3 and from DFW to Madrid on November 4. The premium economy service is in addition to (and priced higher than) the airline’s extra-legroom seating in the regular economy cabin. Premium economy seats have a 38-inch pitch, greater width than regular economy, adjustable headrests and footrests, larger video screens, noise-reducing headphones, free drinks and more.

British Airways’ longstanding Philadelphia schedule of two daily flights to London Heathrow will change in March 2017 when it drops one of them – the 10 p.m. departure. But joint venture partner American Airlines will pick up the slack, boosting its own PHL-LHR schedule from one flight a day to two.

Delta’s transatlantic joint venture partner KLM plans to kick off service on March 27 from Delta’s Minneapolis-St. Paul hub to Amsterdam using an Airbus A330 for three flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday). It hasn’t flown the MSP-Amsterdam route for 15 years, according to Airlineroute.com. Delta serves the route with two to three flights a day. Elsewhere, KLM is about to resume Miami service, as previously announced. October 30 is the launch date for the carrier’s three weekly flights from MIA to Amsterdam, which will continue through March 23 with a two-class A330.

KLM 787

Business class seats on KLM’s 787 Dreamliner (Photo: KLM)

In San Francisco, meanwhile, KLM is inviting travelers to visit a Pop-Up location that the carrier will open at Union Square (445A Sutter Street) October 14 to 22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Pop-Up’s purpose is to promote KLM’s 787 Dreamliner, which it put onto its SFO route a few months ago. Visitors can experience the airline’s World Business Class and a virtual reality simulation of the 787, and will get a chance to win free tickets to Amsterdam.

Icelandair will expand its U.S. network in 2017 with the addition of two new gateways. The carrier will begin seasonal summer service to Reykjavik from Philadelphia four days a week beginning May 30, along with year-round flights from Tampa twice a week starting September 6. Also for the 2017 summer season, Icelandair will boost Denver-Reykjavik service from seven to nine weekly flights from June 1 through mid-September; and will increase its Portland schedule from three a week to four on May 20, adding a fifth weekly flight June 14 through August 31.

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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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