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Some airports facing longer Customs waiting times

Customs lines for International arrivals at San Francisco’s airport are among the nation’s longest. (Image: San Francisco International Airport)

A new analysis of Customs and Immigration waiting times for travelers arriving at U.S. airports had some bad news for Bay Area residents: San Francisco International ranks among the nation’s worst, and lines at Mineta San Jose International are getting longer instead of shorter.

The study by MileCards.com looked at Customs and Border Protection data from October 2016 to September 2017, studying the average wait times at U.S. airports handling at least 500,000 international passengers a year.

The bad news: San Francisco International posted the second-worst results in the nation, with an average waiting time of almost 22 minutes for arriving passengers to clear Customs and Immigration. Just under one-third of SFO arrivals had to wait more than 30 minutes, and the maximum average waiting time was more than 55 minutes. The worst arrival time at SFO in terms of Customs waits is between 4 and 5 a.m., the study found.

“At some airports the worst wait times are in the early morning hours, when no flights are scheduled to arrive. Instead, flights arriving late or early can leave passengers in limbo during times when customs lines aren’t planned to be staffed,” said Brian Karimzad, director of MileCards.com.

SFO’s poor performance was topped only by Orlando International, with an average waiting time of almost 24 minutes, and an average maximum wait of 52 minutes. Rounding out the top five longest waiting times were New York JFK (20.2 minutes), Miami (19.9 minutes) and Houston Bush Intercontinental (19.5 minutes).

The study found that the biggest increase was at Mineta San Jose, where Customs waiting times during the summer months jumped by 117 percent over the previous year. The average wait time at SJC topped 22 minutes, MileCards said, and one-third of arrivals had to wait more than half an hour. The airport expanded its international arrivals building earlier this year, but it has also been adding more international flights, and maybe Customs and Border Protection staffing hasn’t kept up..

By contrast, the nation’s shortest average waiting time was at Phoenix Sky Harbor, with an average duration of just 7.4 minutes to clear arrivals formalities, and an average maximum wait of 22.6 minutes. Charlotte ranked second, with an average of 8.9 minutes, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul (10 minutes), Atlanta (11.7 minutes) and Philadelphia (12 minutes). But Atlanta — the nation’s largest airport in passenger numbers—also showed a maximum average waiting time of more than 50 minutes – about twice as long as the three airports that ranked above it.

The report noted that California’s Orange County Airport had “the biggest reduction year over year, with wait times dropping 68 percent to an average of under 8 minutes.”

Here’s a summary of the best and worst waiting times:

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Southwest adds more Oakland routes in 2018

Image: Southwest

Southwest Airlines’ 2018 schedule will give East Bay business travelers new daily flights to five domestic destinations that currently have no regular non-stop service from Oakland International – including two transcon routes.

In its 2018 summer schedule announcement, the airline said it will introduce daily non-stops on July 8 from Oakland to San Antonio, and on July 15 from OAK to Orlando, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Indianapolis. (Saturday-only non-stops from OAK to Orlando begin April 8.)

Earlier this year, Southwest started offering non-stop seasonal service from Oakland to Newark Liberty International, but based on the success of those flights, the airline now plans to convert that into year-round service, with daily flights due to start April 8, 2018.  (The only other non-stop service from Oakland to the New York City area is on JetBlue, which goes to JFK Airport.)

The new service will give Southwest 33 non-stop destinations out of Oakland.

Southwest at Oakland

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

Southwest has been steadily ramping up its California operations in recent months, and it has a new promotion for Rapid Rewards members who live in the state. Called California Millions, it will give away millions of Rapid Rewards points to winners. It remains in effect through November 30. Here’s a link to participate.

The airline’s summer schedule for next year also includes new daily non-stops between San Antonio and Ft. Lauderdale starting July 8. On June 6, Southwest will end its daily service between Flint, Michigan and Chicago Midway.

On June 7, Southwest will resume daily seasonal service between Denver-Charleston, S.C., Chicago-San Juan and Omaha-Orlando. And on June 9, it will start new Saturday-only seasonal flights between Boise-Dallas, Denver-Panama City, Fla., and Tulsa-Orlando.

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Deal! Bay Area to Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Orlando just $251 for winter trips

Miami

South Florida is one of the most popular fall & winter travel destinations- and fares are CHEAP (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fares are tumbling to warm weather destinations this winter from California! If you could not take advantage of the rare fare sale to Hawaii this week, then you may want to consider a flight in the other direction– to Miami, Ft Lauderdale or Orlando. Or perhaps Floridians are looking for a nice escape to the West Coast?

American, Virgin America, JetBlue and United are all offering some remarkably low fares between the Bay Area and South Florida– as low as $251-$267 round trip! That’s an especially good deal considering you’ll be flying during the the Bay Area’s cold, wet months of January and February. These super low fares are also available in November and early December, but do not include peak holiday weeks. Sacramento is included in this sale, with one stop flights to FL. San Jose is in there, too, at $234 round trip to Orlando. 

Even better, most of these ultra-low fares are not those irritating “Basic Economy” fares– they fare regular economy fares with all the benefits that come with that. Frontier is also in this sale, with insanely low fares, too, with fares as low as $152 round trip, but with lots of extra fees. See fee menu

It’s very rare to see fares under $300 for transcon flights— and this one is a whopper at about 2,500 miles in each direction.

Click here to see an example of Google Flights search for a mid January trip between SFO and Miami and Ft Lauderdale.

Check out these great deals on fall winter flights to Fort Lauderdale or Miami from SFO (Image: Google Flights)

As always during the slower fall and winter months, it’s important to act fast on these un-publicized sales. If you see a fare that works for you, grab it because it likely will not last.

NOTE: These fares were available on Thursday Oct 26 and subject to change. We found them on Google Flights, but they are also available on airline websites.

What’s a “good” deal to you when it comes to Florida-California flights? What’s the least you’ve ever paid to fly between the two coasts? Please 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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Airport experience at all-time high. Why?

Orlando Airport’s new Club at MCO is open to all on a day pass basis. (Image: Airport Lounge Development)

A new survey of passenger satisfaction with North American airports found that flyers’ happiness with the airport experience is at “an all-time high” with airports like Orlando, Detroit and Las Vegas emerging as favorites. However, The J.D. Power survey points to big frustrations at facilities undergoing major construction projects.

I have to agree with those findings when I think about how much airports have improved in the last 10-20 years compared to the cold, institutional spaces I trundled through in the 80s and 90s.

On the company’s 1,000-point satisfaction scale, the overall airport rating jumped 18 points this year, to a record score of 749. The biggest increase – 25 points – came for the security screening process, as TSA has increased staffing and continues to deploy new automated screening lanes that move passengers through the process about 30 percent faster than before.

J.D. Power notes that passengers also report significantly higher satisfaction levels with check-in/baggage check – thanks largely to technological improvements like self-service bag checking – and in the food, beverage and retail concessions available at airports.

SFO

Not much left of SFO’s old control tower- a new open-to-the-public runway overlook is coming soon to the space (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

However, the survey found that the hassles created for travelers by construction projects at some major airports – like Newark, Los Angeles, New York LaGuardia and Chicago O’Hare — are an obstacle to passenger satisfaction. Those airports “are still fighting the headwinds of traveler disruption and access challenges that are handicapping their overall satisfaction scores,” the company said.

Despite its overall low score, improvements at United’s Terminal C have pushed Newark to near the top of my personal favorites— especially with the (usually) quick and easy rail connections to Penn Station. (However its A & B terminals are still pretty awful) LAX is getting better, but it’s going to be a while until Delta makes improvements on its new hand-me-down digs there at Terminals  2 and 3. Everyone still loves to hate LaGuardia, but you can’t beat its proximity to Midtown Manhattan.

Now in is 12th year, the J.D. Power survey for 2017 recorded the opinions of more than 34,000 travelers. They were asked to rate their airport experience in several areas, including terminal facilities, airport accessibility, security screening, baggage claim, check-in/baggage check, and dining/retail concessions.

The results separated airports into three categories based on size: mega, large and medium. Ranking first among “mega” airports in passenger satisfaction was Orlando International, followed by Detroit Metro and La Vegas McCarran.

2017 rankings for “mega” airports. (Source: J.D. Power and Associates)

California airports took top honors in the other two categories. The highest-rated large airport was John Wayne/Orange County, just edging out Tampa International and Dallas Love Field. Among medium-sized airports, Sacramento finished in first place, followed by Indianapolis and Anchorage.

Sacramento ranked first among medium-sized facilities. (Image: Sacramento International Airport)

San Francisco International finished in the middle of the pack – 9th out of 18 – in the mega category. Newark was dead last in that category, just below LAX and O’Hare. In the large airport category, San Diego finished eighth and Oakland came in at 15th, while LaGuardia – in the early phases of a massive reconstruction – finished last in 20th place. Among the 21 medium-sized facilities, San Jose was in 15th place, just below Hollywood Burbank Airport (formerly called Bob Hope Airport). Ranking last in the medium category was Connecticut’s Bradley International, just below Cleveland Hopkins.

Airports are facing significant challenges in maintaining satisfaction levels, J.D. Power said, as passenger numbers at many of them are straining capacities. However, “technology is helping to directly address these issues,” the company noted. “For example, Sacramento International Airport has developed a smartphone app that tells travelers where they can find a parking spot, and virtually every airport in the country has invested heavily in improving phone-charging stations and internet access in their terminals.”

What are your most and least favorite airports… or airport terminals? Where have you seen the most dramatic improvements? Please 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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New transatlantic routes: Delta, American, BA, Lufthansa, United, WOW

How you gonna keep ’em down on the farm? Delta will fly Indianapolis-Paris in 2018. (Image: Jim Glab)

Continuing with our route news updates, this time we’ll focus on transatlantic.  Delta is adding a pair of non-hub routes to Europe and a new route to Africa; American will introduce some new routes to Europe next year but drop others; British Airways adds a U.S. gateway to Heathrow and some high-density 777 service to Gatwick; Lufthansa ends year-round San Jose flights; United makes an aircraft change on SFO-London; and Iceland’s WOW will fly to more U.S. cities;

Delta has set a May 24, 2018 start for new daily non-stop flights to Paris CDG from … Indianapolis? Yep. It’s not a hub, but Delta does operate 37 fights a day there and has a Sky Club as well. Another new non-hub route for Delta will be the only non-stop service between Orlando and Amsterdam, operating daily starting March 30 of next year. The airline will use 767-300ERs on both routes, with Delta One, Comfort+ and regular economy seating. Delta’s only other international route from Orlando is to Sao Paulo.

On March 24, 2018, Delta will kick off another transatlantic route, from New York JFK to Lagos, Nigeria. The carrier already flies to Lagos from Atlanta four times a week, and the JFK flights will operate three times a week (eastbound on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday). That route will get an Airbus A330-200 with lie-flat Delta One seats as well as Comfort+ and regular economy.

Look for some changes in American Airlines’ transatlantic summer schedules next year. The airline has announced it will add new daily seasonal service May 4-October 27 from Philadelphia to both Prague and Budapest, using 767-300s; and from Chicago O’Hare to Venice with a 787-8. (American already flies to Venice from Philadelphia.) According to schedule updates in Routesonline.com, American also plans to add daily service starting March 25 from Philadelphia to Zurich, a route it last served in September 2016. Seasonal service getting the ax from AA next year, effective March 25, includes Boston-Paris, JFK-Zurich and JFK-Manchester.

British Airways will use a Dreamliner on its new route to Nashville. (Image: British Airways)

Nashville hasn’t had non-stop flights to London since the 1980s, but it will get them again on May 4, 2018, when British Airways is due to begin five flights a week to Heathrow from the Music City with a 787-8 Dreamliner. Tennessee is reportedly offering BA incentives worth $1.5 million to fly the route. From Philadelphia, meanwhile, British Airways will boost its LHR schedule from seven flights a week to 10 starting in April with the addition of second departures on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays, also with a 787-8. And on May 8, BA will replace one of its two daily 747-400 flights between Chicago O’Hare and London with an Airbus A380 – the first regularly-scheduled A380 service at O’Hare.

British Airways has also been converting some of its 777-200ERs to a higher-density configuration to compete with low-cost competition like Norwegian from London Gatwick, and it will put the aircraft onto some U.S. routes next year. The three-class 777s will have 32 business class seats, 52 in premium economy and 252 in regular economy. They’ll fly once a week to Gatwick from Ft. Lauderdale starting September 13, daily from New York JFK beginning July 8, once or twice a week from Orlando as of May 11, and twice a week from Tampa starting June 7.  BA will also beef up its Las Vegas service on March 27, adding three weekly Las Vegas-London Gatwick 777 flights a week to its 11 weekly LAS-LHR flights.

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

The San Jose-Frankfurt non-stops introduced last year by Lufthansa will no longer operate year-round. The German carrier had been planning to keep flying the route five times a week, but now has decided to scrap the service for the winter. The SJC-FRA A340-300 flights will be suspended from October 29 through March 24.

Flying United from San Francisco to London? From October 28 through December 19, United plans to make an equipment change on the route. Instead of using 777-200ERs on both daily departures, it will switch one of them (UA900/901) to a 787-9.

Iceland’s ultra-low-cost WOW Air plans to add service from more U.S. cities next spring, offering four Airbus A321 flights a week to Reykjavik (with connections to lots of European cities) from Detroit starting April 26, from Cleveland May 4, from Cincinnati May 10 and from St. Louis May 17. The carrier will also begin Dallas/Ft. Worth service May 24 with three flights a week. One-way fares on the new routes will start as low as $99 (with plenty of extra fees for various amenities and services).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

San Diego is building a new customs and immigration facility. (Image: San Diego Airport)

In recent airport developments, San Diego will get a new federal inspections facility; faster security screening comes to Newark; don’t be afraid when you see this new device at Atlanta; Orlando gets another passenger lounge; there’s a new way to kill time at Portland; and Southwest has big growth plans at Phoenix.

Facing a big increase in international arrivals, San Diego County’s Regional Airport Authority Board has approved plans to build a new Federal Inspection Services facility in Terminal 2 West. Officials hope to complete the $229 million project by June of next year. The airport’s current total of 300,000 annual international arrivals is expected to grow by 33 percent over the next seven years. “The new facility will not only help operationally accommodate increased demand, but improve the processing experience for passengers with reduced wait times and a more welcoming environment,” said airport board chairman April Boling.

At Newark Liberty International, United has officially cut the ribbon on a big new security checkpoint with those automated lanes that have been spreading to more airports. To speed passengers to the gates at its Terminal C hub, United consolidated previous checkpoints into one big redesigned facility with 17 automated screening lanes (including dedicated Premier Access and TSA PreCheck lanes). Some automated lanes have also been installed for United’s passengers at Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles, but Newark is its first hub to offer nothing but the new lane designs, which move passengers through about 30 percent faster than traditional screening.

Next time you fly into Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, don’t get excited if you see a drone hovering around the airport’s skies. It’s not a security risk. As the airport proceeds with various phases of its ongoing $6 billion construction project, contractors concluded that drone flights above ATL provide the best technology for surveying and inspecting the pavement on the airport’s runways.

Orlando International Airport has opened a second shared-use passenger lounge created by Airport Lounge Development Inc. The new Club MCO lounge in Airside 1 (Gates 1-29) can accommodate up to 60 persons. It has a Relaxing Zone with comfortable eating and power outlets; a Resting Zone where you can put your feet up; a Productivity Zone for taking care of business; and a Kids Zone for youngsters. It also has showers and a food and beverage service. The company’s first lounge at MCO is in Airside 4. Lounge access costs $40 for a day pass, including food, drinks and Wi-Fi. Entry is free for members of Priority Pass, LoungeKey and Lounge Club, and some airlines arrange free access for their premium passengers.

Southwest plans to add a new concourse at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (Image: Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport)

Southwest Airlines President Tom Nealon said at a recent Phoenix appearance that his airline has big growth plans for Sky Harbor Airport. According to USA Today, Nealon said Southwest wants to add eight more gates at PHX in addition to the 24 it currently uses in Terminal 4. He said the company has committed to occupy all of a new eight-gate concourse to be located near Southwest’s existing D gates at PHX. The new concourse is expected to open in 2021. Southwest is the number two airline at Phoenix, behind American.

What’s a microcinema? It’s a very small movie theater, and one recently opened at Portland International Airport. Operating as a branch of Portland’s renowned Hollywood Theatre, the airport cinema on Concourse C only seats 17, but it’s got a $200,000 projection and sound system, and is insulated from aircraft noise. It’s been showing an hour-long selection of short G-rated films by local auteurs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Routes: Alaska, American, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines will add a new trancon route. (Image: Alaska Air)

In domestic route developments, Alaska Airlines will add a new transcontinental route as well as service to another California city; American plans to trim capacity for its Northeast Corridor shuttle service; JetBlue sets a starting date for more transcontinental service with Mint-equipped aircraft; Frontier adds a pair of routes from Las Vegas; and Allegiant enters new markets from Newark and Oakland.

Alaska Airlines has scheduled a March 16 start for new daily non-stop 737 service linking Portland, Oregon with Orlando – the only non-stops between those two cities. Meanwhile, Alaska also said it will add new service effective April 13 between its Seattle hub and San Luis Obispo, California. That route will be flown for Alaska once a day by SkyWest using a 76-passenger E175 with first class, Preferred Pus and main cabin seating.

American Airlines plans to adjust capacity this fall on the Northeast Corridor shuttle service that it inherited from US Airways. Starting November 4, the carrier will reduce the number of daily shuttle flights between New York LaGuardia and Boston from 16 to 15, and will trim the schedule between LGA and Washington Reagan National from 16 to 13 daily roundtrips. In addition, American will begin to use Embraer 175s operated by Republic Airlines on five daily LGA-Boston flights and on eight LGA-Washington flights; the rest will continue to user larger E190s.

JetBlue will add more Mint flights on transcon routes this fall. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue is slowly expanding its premium cabin Mint service to more routes. (Image: JetBlue)

As JetBlue continues the gradual expansion of its Mint premium cabin service to more markets, it has reportedly set a date for the start of Mint flights on the Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale route. According to airlineroute.net, JetBlue will introduce Mint service on one of its two daily LAX-FLL flights on March 20, and will offer it on both flights by April 20. The carrier has expanded Mint from its JFK-LAX and JFK-San Francisco routes to San Francisco-Boston, with plans to add LAX-Boston this fall; next year, Mint should appear on select routes from Seattle, San Diego and Las Vegas as well.

Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines is growing at Las Vegas McCarran, with plans to add new daily service from there to both Nashville and Tampa starting September 6. Using 150-seat A319s. And on October 30, Frontier will begin new daily flights between Colorado Springs and Orlando.

Another low-cost carrier, Allegiant, plans to launch the only non-stop service between Oakland and El Paso, Texas on October 6, offering two flights a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. Meanwhile, Allegiant also plans to move into United’s Newark hub in November after the airport opens up more takeoff and landing slots. Allegiant will fly from Newark to Cincinnati, Savannah (Georgia), Asheville (N.C.) and Knoxville.

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Routes: American, Delta, United, Southwest

American's new service to Seattle from LAX in June will find plenty of competition. (Image: Jim Glab)

American’s new service to Seattle from LAX has plenty of competition. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news this week, American has a big growth spurt at Los Angeles International, and adds new routes from Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tucson; Delta announces a pair of new markets in the western U.S. and adds an East Coast route; United revives some Cleveland routes but drops two California flights; and Southwest plans five new non-stop routes this fall.

It’s a big week for American Airlines at Los Angeles International, where the carrier has started more than 20 new flights to a number of domestic destinations. As part of its build-up at LAX, American is adding two more gates and hundreds of employees there this year. New destinations added to its LAX schedule this week include Seattle (five flights a day in a busy market already served by Delta, Alaska, Virgin America, United and Spirit), Portland (three a day), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (two a day), as well as single daily roundtrips from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Kansas City, Omaha and Hartford. American also added seasonal daily flights from LAX to Anchorage, and weekend service to Durango, Colorado; and will operate summer flights to Jackson Hole, Wyoming every day and to Montrose, Colorado and Vail/Eagle, Colorado on weekends. With the schedule additions, AA now operates more than 220 flights a day at Los Angeles.

At its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub, meanwhile, American just started new daily flights to Montana’s Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and to Boise, Idaho. And in Arizona, American plans to offer the only non-stop service from Tucson to New York, with a daily daytime flight to JFK beginning October 6.

Delta will use E175s for new San Diego-Las Vegas service. (Image: Delta)

Delta will use E175s for new San Diego-Las Vegas service. (Image: Delta)

Delta Air Lines has set a December 17 start for new service linking San Diego and Las Vegas, a market thoroughly dominated by Southwest. Delta plans to operate three flights a day on the route, using Embraer 175s. And at its Salt Lake City hub, Delta plans to revive service this winter to Aspen, Colorado after a six-year hiatus. The Delta Connection/SkyWest flights will operate once a day with a CRJ700, starting December 17. On the East Coast, meanwhile, Delta just announced plans to begin flying between Newark Liberty International and Raleigh-Durham beginning November 6, using two-class CRJ-700s for three flights a day, operated by Delta Connection/GoJet.

United has been seriously downsizing the former Continental hub at Cleveland Hopkins, but it plans to operate seasonal flights to Florida again this winter, in spite of new competition from several low-cost carriers, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It said the airline will offer seasonal service from CLE to Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers from December 16 through early April. Meanwhile, United will end a couple of California routes, according to Routesonline.com. It will drop its daily Los Angeles-New Orleans service effective August 16, and its daily flights between Ontario and Houston Bush Intercontinental (operated by SkyWest) at the end of June.

In addition to the two new routes it will add from San Jose starting November 6 – to Salt Lake City and to Baltimore-Washington International – Southwest Airlines said that on the same date it will begin new service between Washington Reagan National and Providence, Rhode Island; Washington Dulles and Orlando; and Kansas City and San Antonio. The airline has already started taking reservations on all the new fall routes.

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Routes: San Francisco, JFK, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto

 

United 787-9 Dreamliner

United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner on its new San Francisco-Tel Aviv non-stops. (Image: United)

In international route developments, United kicks off new service from San Francisco to Israel; Qatar Airways doubles up its New York-Doha schedule; SAS and Norwegian both add new service out of Boston; Iberia comes to LAX; Chicago O’Hare gets new service to Iceland, China and Mexico; American and TAM both drop South American routes; and Air Canada revives a Salt Lake City route.

March 30 is the starting date for United’s new non-stop flights from San Francisco to Tel Aviv. United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner to fly the route three times a week, with SFO departures at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The eastbound flight is estimated to take 14 hours and 10 minutes, with the return taking 15 hours 5 minutes. The carrier also flies to Tel Aviv from its Newark hub.

 Qatar Airways, which started service earlier this month to Doha from Boston, is due to add a second daily frequency between New York JFK and Doha starting April 1. The airline will use a new Airbus A350-900-XWB for the extra flight, which departs JFK at 6 a.m. The other flight still uses a 777.

The view from my room at the Radisson Blu Royal hotel in Copenhagen (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The view from my room at the Radisson Blu Royal hotel in Copenhagen (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Boston is getting new service to a pair of European destinations. March 29 is the launch date for SAS to start flying from Boston to Copenhagen every day. The Scandinavian carrier is using a non-standard aircraft on the route – a 737-700 Boeing Business Jet operated by PrivatAir, with 20 business and 66 economy seats. The other new Boston route that started this week is Norwegian’s Boston-London Gatwick service. The low-cost airline is using a 787 to fly the route four days a week. Norwegian also announced plans to start weekly service from Las Vegas to Oslo starting in November.

Iberia, a member of American’s Oneworld alliance, begins seasonal service March 30 from Los Angeles to Madrid. Using A330s and A340s, Iberia will start off with three flights a week, increasing to five a week May 17, then six a week beginning June 6 and daily frequencies from July 3 to August 28 before it starts to scale back the schedule again.

Icelandair Aurora

Icelandair’s stunning Hekla Aurora 757 livery (Photo: Icelandair)

At Chicago O’Hare, Icelandair has kicked off year-round service to Reykjavik, using a 767 to fly the route four days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), with an early-morning arrival in Iceland that permits easy connections to 20 destinations in Europe. Also at O’Hare, China Eastern Airlines has launched new non-stops to Shanghai Pudong, where it offers scores of connections to other Chinese cities. China Eastern is using a 777-300ER for the daily flights. And Mexican carrier Volaris announced plans to start service from Chicago O’Hare to Monterrey, Mexico on June 17, flying the route twice a week with an A320.

South America is losing a couple of routes to the U.S. On April 4, American Airlines plans to suspend its three-month-old New York JFK-Caracas flights “until market conditions improve.”  And on June 3, Brazilian carrier TAM is due to discontinue its three to four flights a week from Orlando to Brasilia.

Air Canada plans to return to Salt Lake City International on May 27, offering daily service to its Toronto hub with a 97-seat, two-class Embraer 190.

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Lovely new lounges; Seattle, Orlando, Hong Kong

Orlando's new Club at MCO is open to all n a day pass basis. (Image: Airport Lounge Development)

Orlando’s new Club at MCO is open to all on a day pass basis. (Image: Airport Lounge Development)

Delta plans a second Sky Club to serve its growing Seattle operations; a new independent lounge opens its doors at Orlando International; and the SkyTeam global alliance cuts the ribbon on a new Hong Kong facility.

Delta unveiled plans to develop a second Sky Club lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with opening tentatively set for late next year. The airline said the 21,000 square foot facility — one of its five largest systemwide — will be located between Concourses A and B, offering views of the runways and of Mount Rainier in the distance. Every seat in the lounge will have power outlets nearby, and the facility will offer “a unique spa space” and a rotating selection of art from local galleries. Free menu selections will focus on local cuisine.

At Orlando International Airport, there’s a new 8,000 square foot private passenger lounge open to anyone on a pay-as-you-go basis. Called The Club at MCO, it’s the 11th airport facility created by Airport Lounge Development, Inc. Day passes cost $35, and the club is also available to members of the Priority Pass, Priority Pass Select and Lounge Club membership programs. Located at Airside 4 near Gate 91, the lounge has a Productivity Zone with a laptop bar, printer, and two private rooms for conferences calls; restrooms with showers; a children’s zone; high-speed Wi-Fi; bar service; and a selection of free snacks and beverages.

The new SkyTeam loun ge at Hong Kong's airport is anything but dark. (Image: SkyTeam)

The new SkyTeam lounge at Hong Kong’s airport is anything but dark. (Image: SkyTeam)

The SkyTeam global alliance — Delta, Air France/KLM, China Eastern, China Southern, China Airlines etc. — has opened a new premium lounge for all its member carriers at Hong Kong International Airport. Called the SkyTeam Exclusive Lounge, it’s in Terminal 1, open from 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Amenities include a noodle bar with cooked-to-order dishes; a yoga room; charging stations for electronic devices; free Wi-Fi; showers and a bar. The lounge can seat up to 230 persons, and it’s available to first and business class travelers and Elite Plus members of the 12 SkyTeam airlines that serve the airport.

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New routes: United to China, Delta to Brazil, Turkish to Miami…

Xi'an_location

United wants to start flying to Xi’an, China from San Francisco. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

In news of international routes, United wants to add a new China destination from San Francisco; Delta plans to add more service to Brazil from Orlando; SAS drops a key U.S. route for the energy industry; Canada’s WestJet goes transatlantic in a big way; and Miami is adding more European routes this winter.

  • United Airlines said it has filed for government approvals to add a new seasonal route to China next year. United wants to fly from San Francisco to Xi’an three times a week from May 8 through October 27, using a 787. If approved, it will be the first commercial air service available on that route. Xi’an, a city of 8 million, is the capital of central China’s Shaanxi Province. It is also home to one of China’s most famous historic and cultural attractions, the Terracotta Warriors.
  • Delta is doubling down on its planned new Brazilian route from Orlando to Sao Paulo, which begins December 19. Instead of keeping frequencies on the route at the initial four a week, Delta now says it intends to increase that to daily flights starting February 20. Delta will use its partnership with Brazilian carrier GOL to offer Sao Paulo passengers connections to 32 destinations from the city’s Guarulhos International Airport. Delta will use a 767-300 on the route. And could this be a coincidence? Brazilian carrier Azul, which had previously planned to start flying the same route on December 15, has now pulled that service from its schedule, according to airlineroute.net.
  • Canadian carrier WestJet is going transatlantic next year in a big way. The low-cost airline will use 767s to start flying to London Gatwick from six Canadian cities — Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and St. John’s, with frequencies ranging from twice a week to daily, depending on departure airport and season. During peak season, WestJet will offer 28 flights a week from Canada to London, with one-way fares starting as low as $249 (Canadian) from Toronto, $199 from St. John’s.
TravelSkills was out on the runways at SFO to watch the first British Airways A380 touch down (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways is deploying an A380 like this one on MIA-London (Chris McGinnis)

  • Miami International Airport notes that it will welcome significantly increased transatlantic service this fall and winter. In October, Austrian Airlines will start flying from MIA to Vienna and Turkish Airlines will debut MIA-Istanbul flights; British Airways will put an A380 super-jumbo onto its London Heathrow route; Lufthansa will add more Miami-Munich flights; Swiss will increase frequencies to Zurich; and Finnair will do the same to Helsinki. In November, Air Berlin starts twice-weekly service to Berlin.
  • SAS has a route from Houston to Stavanger, Norway dedicated to the energy industry — linking Texas oil companies with North Sea operations — and it uses an all-business-class, 44-seat 737-700. But that route will reportedly be dropped on October 25. The special aircraft, provided for SAS by Privatair, will be converted to a two-class, 88-seat version, and will go onto the Copenhagen-Newark route, according to airlineroute.net.

Related: Trip Report SFO-Copenhagen on SAS

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JAL back at DFW, Emirates in Orlando, Delta to UK, Copa at SFO, more BA

Japan Airlines will use a 787-8 on its new Dallas/Ft. Worth-Tokyo route. (Image: Japan Airlines)

Japan Airlines will use a 787-8 on its new Dallas/Ft. Worth-Tokyo route. (Image: Japan Airlines)

In international airline route developments, Japan Airlines plans to resume service to Dallas/Ft. Worth; Emirates starts flying to its newest U.S. gateway; Delta adds a pair of transatlantic routes next year; Copa is about to begin San Francisco flights; British Airways will boost schedules to two U.S. cities; and LAN upgrades Lima-New York service.

  • Effective November 30, Japan Airlines will resume service between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tokyo Narita  — a route it hasn’t flown since 2001. JAL will operate the route four times a week, using a three-class 787-8, and may boost frequencies to seven a week next spring. American Airlines, which is a joint venture and Oneworld alliance partner of Japan Airlines, will put its code on the flights. American already offers twice-daily 777-200 flights between DFW and Narita.
  • Emirates this week started flying its newest U.S. route, making a 16-hour flight from Dubai to Orlando International. Although the inaugural trip was with an Airbus A380 — the first one to touch down at Orlando — the regular daily Emirates service to the central Florida airport will be operated with a three-class Boeing 777-200LR.
  • Delta announced that in May 2016 it will add a pair of new seasonal transatlantic routes in cooperation with partner Virgin Atlantic. On May 1, Delta will begin daily non-stop 767 flights from its Salt Lake City hub to London Heathrow; and on May 26, it will launch daily 757 New York JFK-Edinburgh service.
Copa Airlines

Copa Airlines nonstops between SFO and Panama start Sept 17 (Photo: Bernal Saborio)

  • Star Alliance partner Copa Airlines is almost ready to kick off new service from San Francisco International to its Panama City, Panama hub, with connecting options available from there to 55 destinations in Latin America. The new daily non-stops are set to begin on September 17 with a two-class 737-800; the southbound flight will be a redeye.
  • British Airways has plans to increase capacity on its London Heathrow-Las Vegas route next year, increasing frequencies from seven to 10 a week effective March 16, all with 747-400s. The carrier will also add a new Monday 777 flight from LHR to Seattle, increasing its frequencies in that market from 11 to 12 a week.

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More 787s for LAX + AA trims first class + Delta to Brazil + Qatar earlier in ATL

American is bringing new 787s to two LAX routes this fall. (Image: American)

American is bringing new 787s to two LAX routes this fall. (Image: American)

In international route news, American will deploy new 787s on a pair of Los Angeles routes this fall, and will end first class on some London flights; Delta eyes new South America service from Orlando; Air China will add capacity at LAX and Icelandair will do the same at Seattle; and Qatar plans to move up its Atlanta debut.

American Airlines unveiled plans to add more new Boeing Dreamliners to its international network this fall, with an October 5 launch date for 787 flights from Los Angeles to Sao Paulo, and a November 5 start for new LAX-Shanghai Pudong 787 service. It currently operates Dreamliners from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Beijing, Buenos Aires and Shanghai, and will begin Chicago O’Hare-Tokyo 787 flights August 18. The 787s are replacing 777-200s.

In other developments, American plans to eliminate first class cabins on two of its three daily New York JFK-London flights on December 17 by switching them from 777-300ERs to 777-200s configured with business class, economy and main Cabin Extra seats. Meanwhile, American plans to change equipment from a 767-300ER to a 777-200ER on its JFK-Milan route September 9, and on its Miami-Paris CDG route starting November 5.

Delta has filed for government approval to move its Atlanta-Brasilia flights to Orlando starting December 1, serving the Brazilian capital city four times a week with a 757-200ER. Delta said the altered route would complement its new Orlando-Sao Paulo service. In other news, Delta plans to switch from a 767 to an Airbus A330-300 for five of its seven weekly flights between Atlanta and Dublin beginning May 26, 2016.

Another airline moves in at LAX Tom Bradley Int'l (Photo: Prayitno / Flickr)

Another airline moves in at LAX Tom Bradley Int’l (Photo: Prayitno / Flickr)

Air China last week relocated its Los Angeles operations from Terminal 2 to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, and also expanded its schedule between LAX and Beijing with the addition of a third daily roundtrip. All three flights use 777-300ERs with first, business and economy classes.

Starting May 5 of next year, Icelandair will boost its Seattle-Reykjavik schedule from seven flights a week to 11. The four additional flights will include “the only two international morning flights from Sea-Tac,” Icelandair said, with 9:15 a.m. departures on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Qatar Airways, which had announced plans to begin Atlanta-Doha flights on July 1, 2016, now reportedly will move up that schedule by a month, beginning the new 777-200LR service on June 1 instead. The airline is on a U.S. expansion binge, which also includes new flights to Los Angeles starting January 1, to Boston March 16, and a second daily New York flight March 1.

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Lots of new airline routes rolling out

A Hainan Airlines 787 like this one is coming to San Jose. (Image: Simon Auger/Flickr)

A Hainan Airlines 787 like this one is coming to San Jose. (Image: Simon Auger/Flickr)

In route news, both San Jose and Houston will get new transpacific routes in the next few weeks; JetBlue blows into Lake Tahoe; United kicks off a new U.K. service from Newark; and Orlando and New Orleans will see new Latin American routes.

  • China’s Hainan Airlines is set to launch its newest U.S. route on June 15 when it begins new 787 Dreamliner service between Beijing and San Jose. The airport is converting Gates 17/18 in Terminal B to accommodate the new international service.
  • JetBlue is adding summer and holiday season nonstops between New York JFK and Reno/Tahoe, the carrier’s 89th destination. Daily service will operate between June 18, 2015 and September 11, 2015, as well as between November 25, 2015 and January 4, 2016.
  • June 12 is the launch date for All Nippon Airways’ new route from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Tokyo Narita. ANA, a partner in the global Star Alliance with United — which has a hub at Houston — will use a 777-300ER for the daily flights.

Related: ANA’s Dreamliner ride to Tokyo!

  • The city of Newcastle in northeastern England has its first-ever non-stop air service to the U.S. following United’s launch of service this week between Newcastle and Newark. The seasonal service will operate five times a week until September. Newcastle is about five hours north of London on the road to Edinburgh.
  • Azul Brazilian Airlines plans to expand its route network to the U.S. on November 16, when it will start service between Orlando and Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The flights will operate five days a week through December 13, then increase to daily frequency.

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