TravelSkills

News and Tips For Your Trips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Popular: Cheaper Hawaii? + Sleeper hotel program + Paris find + Delta app + 747 tears

Fly Southwest to Hawaii while burning off some SPG points at the St Regis Princeville on Kauai? Coming soon! (Photo: Barkley Dean)

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

1 Still plenty of questions- Confirmed: Southwest to fly to Hawaii. Unconfirmed: Lower fares

2 Expired, but more on the way as winter approaches- Another big fare sale starts today

3 4,100 hotels- The best hotel loyalty plan you might not be using

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

5 Airport news: Portland, Vancouver, LaGuardia, Miami, Nashville + Buh-bye Airberlin

6 This was fun! Come along for the ride- Trip Report: Tweeting my way to Paris on Lufthansa

Le Baron Rouge Paris Oysters

Fresh oysters, charcuterie and Sancerre on the sidewalk Sundays at Le Baron Rouge near the Bastille in Paris (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

7 Good comments on both sides- Delta app eliminates flight check-in

8 American Express changes Centurion lounge access policy

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

10 The end is near- A real tearjerker from United: Fond farewell to our 747

United 747

We’ll be hearing a lot more about this fine flying machine in coming weeks! (Image: YouTube/United)

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

Alaska Air  first class passengers to pre-order meals

NZ Deal: United SFO-LAX to Auckland just $945 round trip now thru Mar 2018

Chris’ new favorite website: Brilliant Maps

Are you a map freak like me? Then check out Brilliant Maps (Image: Whidbey Sounder/Brilliant Maps)

United packing more seats on its B777-200

Lufthansa taking over most of Air Berlin routes

United lets customers book Singapore Airlines award travel online

Singapore Airlines A350

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 at SFO (Image: Singapore Air)

Survey: Most road warriors enjoy their business travel

Biz travelers’ biggest headaches: transit time, layovers, booking changes

Dubai airport will replace security checks with walk-through, face-scanning tunnel

A 747 pilot reminisces about his favorite aircraft

TSA expands rollout of new checkpoint procedure

A hotel run by robots in Japan: Would you?

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Airport news: Portland, Vancouver, LaGuardia, Miami, Nashville + Buh-bye Airberlin

Rendering of Portland’s expanded Concourse E. (Image: Hennebery Eddy Architects)

In airport news, Portland International’s (PDX) Concourse E is getting a big expansion; Air Canada opens a new lounge at Vancouver; faster security screening comes to New York LaGuardia; Miami’s Centurion Lounge is getting bigger; Nashville takes the wraps off a billion-dollar growth plan; and some U.S. airports lose Germany service as Airberlin moves up its shutdown.

The next step in Portland (Ore.) International’s long-term $1.3 billion overhaul is an expansion of its Concourse E. The Port of Portland has just hired Skanska as the contractor to lengthen the concourse by 820 feet, constructing a two-story extension that will add six gates to the facility. The existing portion of PDX Terminal E will also be renovated, and its baggage system will be overhauled.  The $151 million project – which will enlarge Concourse E by 14,000 square meters — is expected to take three years. Concourse E is used by United, although long-term plans call for Southwest to move into the concourse, with United moving to the south side of the airport.

Air Canada’s new Vancouver Maple Leaf Lounge has a big periodicals library. (Image: Air Canada)

Air Canada has cut the ribbon on its newly renovated and expanded Maple Leaf Lounge at Vancouver International Airport. Open to qualifying Air Canada and Star Alliance customers, the lounge now occupies 1,250 square meters, with space for 258 persons. The two-level lounge has a business zone with desktop computers, printing and scanning services; hot and cold dining options and a chef’s station where custom dishes can be prepared; shower facilities; a TV area; a quiet zone with recliners; and free Wi-Fi. The new facility is decorated with the works of Canadian artists, and furnishings were created by Canadian designers.

Delta and the Transportation Security Administration have teamed up to bring a pair of new automated security lanes to Terminal C at New York LaGuardia. The airline said four of the new lanes will also be in operation by the end of this month at LGA’s Terminal D. The new security lanes – which are gradually coming to airports all over the country – allow several passengers to load their belongings into bins simultaneously. The bins are 25 percent larger than before, and empty bins are automatically returned to the beginning of the line by separate conveyor belts. The new design is estimated to move travelers through security checks up to 30 percent faster than before.

At Miami International, the airport’s board of commissioners has given a green light to American Express to expand its Centurion Lounge in Concourse D (near Gate D12 on the fourth floor). The project will give the lounge an additional 4,000 square feet of space. That will be taken up by a larger food buffet and beverage area, a new wine bar, more seating, a larger “tranquility area,” additional restrooms, and a pair of private telephone rooms. AmEx just opened a new Centurion Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, and is due to cut the ribbon on another at Philadelphia International this month. It also changed its admission policy; the lounges are now open only to AmEx Platinum Card holders and Centurion members; other cardholders can no longer buy day passes for the lounges.

Nashville’s overhaul includes an outdoor plaza and a new hotel. (Image: Nashville Airport)

Officials at Nashville International have released details of a five-year, $1.2 billion plan to make over the airport. It calls for an overhauled terminal, an outdoor plaza area, and a big central entrance with lots of natural light. New construction in the plan includes a 288-room on-site hotel, a 2,000-space parking garage, an expanded Concourse D with more retail concessions, and additional short-term parking areas. The airport plans also allow for the eventual addition of a light rail link to downtown Nashville, although that is a separate city project. Officials said BNA is growing faster than any other U.S. airport of its size, with passenger numbers jumping by more than 11 percent last year.

Say good-bye to Airberlin. (Image: Airberlin)

Several U.S. airports will lose some service to Germany in the next few weeks as financially-troubled Airberlin has decided to halt its operations no later than October 28. Earlier, the carrier had hoped to keep most of its flights going until it could negotiate the orderly sale of its assets to other airlines, but it has decided that was an unrealistic goal. In August, Airberlin filed for insolvency in Germany following a decision by Etihad Airways, one of its major owners, to stop putting money into the company. Airberlin’s U.S. destinations from Berlin include Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. From Dusseldorf, its U.S. schedule includes flights to Boston, Ft. Myers, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando and San Francisco. However, it recently stopped its SFO-Berlin, LAX-Berlin, Chicago-Berlin and Boston-Dusseldorf flights. Lufthansa has already announced plans to start flying New York JFK-Berlin on November 7 and Miami-Dusseldorf on November 8.

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10 hottest neighborhoods in the U.S.

You didn’t know Brooklyn had hills? Check out Sunset Park. (Image: Barry Winiker/Getty)

If business keeps taking you back to the same cities, do you spend your free time there revisiting the same old haunts and/or hanging around your hotel? For a bit of urban adventure, why not check out a city’s up-and-coming hot neighborhoods that are loved by locals but still undiscovered by visitors?

Travel publisher Lonely Planet solicited input from its experts and local contributors on the subject, and it came up with a list of uber-cool neighborhoods for trend-seeking travelers. Even if you’re not a hipster, hopping an Uber to these off-the-beaten-path districts could at least make you sound kind of cool and in-the-know to your colleagues back home.

Here are its Top 10 picks, with comments from Lonely Planeteers:

Sunset Park, New York “The success of art and commerce behemoth Industry City has shone a light onto one of Brooklyn’s most exciting under-the-radar neighborhoods. Another favorite from Lonely Planet’s global neighborhood list, Sunset Park sits below Park Slope on the south and western borders of Green-Wood Cemetery, and hosts a heady mix of cultures and traditions…Set on one of the highest hills in Brooklyn, it offers spectacular views of lower Manhattan.” – Robert Balkovich

 Capitol Riverfront & Yards Park, Washington DC “One of DC’s most recent reincarnations, the former Navy Yard, a commercial wharf in the 19th Century, has been completely overhauled. Formerly one of the grittier parts of the US capital, the riverfront area began to change in 2008, when it became home to Nationals Park, DC’s major league baseball stadium. These days, there are more reasons to visit here than for sport alone; the entire waterfront precinct now features an attractive boardwalk, small riverside parks and a handful of top-notch eateries.” – Kate Armstrong

Denver’s RiNo is for foodies and arts aficionados. (Image: Gabriel Rovick/Lonely Planet)

River North (RiNo), Denver “Even as the Mile High City expands, RiNo still clings to its punk-rock roots. You’ll find it in the street murals that seem to pop up overnight, in the experimental galleries that play open house on Friday nights, and in the innovative food halls and rockabilly microbrews that play host to the city’s young, bold and tattooed. [RiNo] is playing center stage for the resurgent arts and cultural scenes that have transformed D-Town into the cultural dynamo of the American West.”  – Greg Benchwick

Point Loma, San Diego “Point Loma is the conservative neighbor of hippy Ocean Beach, with its sports fishing centers, yacht clubs, and naval base…[it’s] home to a mishmash of New England-style clapboard houses, tropical- themed hotels, and exquisite modern hilltop homes with panoramic views of the city and harbor below. It’s common to see members of the armed forces in uniform around the sleepy town, but foodies also gravitate to Point Loma for the outstanding seafood brought to shore daily by boats, and served in local restaurants.” – Jade Bremner

Pizza is a big draw in Seattle’s Frelard district. (Image: Geoffrey Smith)

Frelard, Seattle “A highlight from Lonely Planet’s global list, this new community has slowly taken shape in the space between two of Seattle’s most popular neighborhoods. First coined by Seattle restaurateur Ethan Stowell, owner of Frelard Pizza Company, the name Frelard reflects those of its neighbors: Fre(mont) and (Bal)lard…It’s the perfect place to refuel on a day spent exploring beyond Seattle’s main tourist sights.” – Valerie Stimac

Montavilla, Portland “On the far side of Mount Tabor Park in southeast Portland is the quietly cool Montavilla neighborhood…Its core is just a half-dozen blocks along Stark Street, lined with shops, restaurants and bars. The lynchpin of this stretch is the Academy Theater, a second-run cinema (built in 1948, restored and reopened in 2006) … Fifteen or so years ago, this neighborhood had a reputation for crime…Now there’s a busy Sunday farmers market, a handful of craft-cocktail and beer bars, cute little independent shops and a dive bar (Montavilla Station) known for its weekend blues jams.” – Becky Ohlsen

Austin’s South 1st Street is hipper than hip. (Image: Amy Balfour/lonely Planet)

South 1st Street, Austin “At first glance, South 1st Street looks like a ho-hum stretch of cottages, food trucks and weathered buildings. But don’t be fooled by the low-key façade … Chatty locals keep Bouldin Creek Café and the indie coffee shops buzzing while beloved Torchy’s Tacos serves “damn good tacos” from its very first location – a trailer – all day long… It’s an appealing mix of old and new – and a stark contrast to trendy South Congress Avenue one block east.” – Amy Balfour

Avondale, Chicago “Avondale offers no hotels or tourist sights. It’s mostly humble two-flat homes and the occasional smokestack or steeple popping up. But throughout this working-class beat on Chicago’s northwest side, groovy things are brewing…Get here soon though, because Avondale teeters on the edge. Hipster ‘hoods nibble at its borders, poised to spill over. And that may change its scruffy, artsy, lived-in magic.”  – Karla Zimmerman

 East Liberty & Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh “Pittsburgh won’t be the first American city to beep on your cool-o-meter, but its eastern neighborhoods might just be the sleeper hit your hipster sensibilities have been craving…the influx of moneyed millennials has willed a new food and beverage scene into existence, led by the Ace Hotel, which opened in a once-derelict YMCA in 2015 – all of which is making the Steel City’s reputation considerably less rusty.” – Brandon Presser

East Nashville, Nashville “Music City is known for its country crooners and the honky tonks on Lower Broadway, but just across the Cumberland River in East Nashville, residents march to the beat of a different drum…there are more tattoos, street murals and alternative music venues on this side of town…And if you came to Nashville for hot chicken, the East side has you covered as well, with Pepperfire, Bolton’s and the place that started it all, Prince’s.” – Evan Godt

What’s your favorite sleeper neighborhood that no one really knows about…but should? 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Routes: Southwest, AA, Delta, Alaska, + a new 787 route

Southwest just added several new California routes. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route developments, Southwest adds Cincinnati to its route map and adds service in several new California markets; American adds some regional routes and will put a wide-body on a SFO transcon; Delta adds more Comfort+ seats to regional aircraft; Alaska starts up its latest East Coast route; Spirit grows at Oakland; Frontier comes to Providence; and Air Canada pits a Dreamliner on a key SFO route.

Southwest Airlines this week added Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to its route map with an initial schedule of eight flights a day – five to Chicago Midway and three to Baltimore/Washington. At the same time, the airline’s route map eliminated Dayton, where Southwest had been running a few flights a day to Midway.

As the airline’s summer schedule kicks in this week, Southwest also inaugurated new non-stop service in several California markets, including San Francisco-Portland, San Jose-Reno, San Diego-Boise and San Diego-Salt Lake City. New seasonal summer routes active as of this week include Oakland-Newark, San Diego-Newark, San Diego-Spokane and San Diego-Indianapolis. Elsewhere, Southwest started daily service between Denver and Charleston, S.C.; weekend flights between Denver-Pensacola; and seasonal flights between Denver and Norfolk. At Nashville, Southwest kicked off new daily flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul and seasonal service to Seattle.

After all the hubbub about airlines putting flat-bed seating into the front cabins on more domestic routes – notably Boston-San Francisco – readers of Flyertalk discovered another entry into the fully-reclining transcon competition: An American Airlines listing for A330-200 service between San Francisco and its Philadelphia hub starting in early October. Could this be just a seasonal redeployment of excess transatlantic aircraft, or a permanent thing?

American has new Eagle service at Billings and Medford. (Image: American Airlines)

Meanwhile, American just added some new regional service, including daily flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Billings, Montana using a 76-seat American Eagle E175; and new Eagle service from Medford, Oregon to both Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Delta continues to roll out its Comfort+ extra-legroom economy seating to more regional aircraft. Earlier this year, it finished installing the seats on its CRJ-200s, and now it has started selling Comfort+ on its E-175s and CRJ-900s. The extra-legroom seats are also now on sale for travel starting June 15 on Delta’s E-170 and CRJ-700 aircraft. “Delta remains engaged with distribution partners to allow Delta Comfort+ to be purchased through travel agents and in consumer direct shopping displays,” the airline said.

Alaska Airlines has started flying its newest transcontinental route. The carrier is offering daily seasonal non-stop service from Portland to Philadelphia, using a 737. The Portland-PHL flights will continue through August 26. It’s Alaska’s 58th destination from Portland.

Air Canada has deployed a new 787 Dreamliner between SFO and Toronto (Image: Air Canada)

There’s something new in the skies between San Francisco and Toronto : Air Canada has just put a 787-9 Dreamliner into service on one of its six daily flights in the market. It’s scheduled on the airline’s 11:55 a.m. departure from SFO and its 8:15 a.m. westbound flight from Toronto. See more about this beautiful bird here. 

Spirit Airlines introduced a number of new domestic markets. (Image: Spirit Airlines)

Spirit Airlines has kicked off new seasonal service from Oakland International to Baltimore/Washington and to Detroit, along with seasonal flights between Detroit and Seattle. New year-round markets just introduced by the low-cost carrier include San Diego-Baltimore/Washington, Seattle-BWI, New Orleans-BWI, New Orleans-Cleveland and New Orleans-Orlando. Spirit has also added Pittsburgh to its route map, launching new daily flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Orlando, Las Vegas, Houston Bush Intercontinental and Los Angeles, along with three flights a week to Ft. Lauderdale and daily seasonal service to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Low-cost Frontier Airlines has announced some new routes starting in mid-August. The carrier will start flying out of Providence’s T.F. Green Airport on August 14 with daily flights to Denver and Orlando, and out of Islip, Long Island’s MacArthur Airport August 16 with daily service to Orlando.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Alaska targets Texas for growth spurt: Why?

Alaska/Virgin America will expand service at Dallas Love Field. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Alaska Airlines officials said last week they had no intention of giving up Virgin America’s gates at Dallas’ close-in Love Field – even though Alaska already flies to Dallas/Ft. Worth International – and this week they explained why: They are planning a significant expansion of service at Love.

The company said it plans to add four new West Coast routes out of Love starting later this summer and into next year, and to keep most of the DAL routes that Virgin already has, although with some changes of aircraft.

On August 27, Alaska will begin twice-daily flights between Seattle and DAL, using a Virgin A320 for one of them and an E175 for the second. The airline will also use three-class E175s for the other new routes, including daily service from Portland to DAL starting August 28, along with San Diego-DAL and San Jose-DAL, both starting February 16.

Southwest, the dominant airline at Love Field, also dominates all four of those routes, with multiple daily flights in each market; and American does the same from DFW. Alaska currently flies to Seattle and Portland from DFW, and will continue to do so.

Virgin America’s first class check-in at Love Field. (Image: Virgin America)

Alaska and Virgin America also plan on “streamlining the airlines’ route network at Love Field” with aircraft changes. This summer, the company will start replacing Virgin America mainline jets with E175s out of Love Field. The changeover is set for August 27 for the three daily DAL-New York LaGuardia flights, with a fourth frequency added October 28. On February 18, two daily DAL-Washington Reagan National flights will make the switch from mainline to E175s, with the third one doing the same March 11.

One additional tweak to Alaska/Virgin’s Love Field schedule: Service to Las Vegas will be dropped August 26. The company will continue operating Virgin’s current schedule of three daily flights from DAL to both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Alaska has ordered a number of new three-class E175s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Switching to E175s frees up mainline Virgin aircraft from Love Field to fly Alaska’s previously announced new routes from San Francisco to Philadelphia, New Orleans, Nashville, Indianapolis Raleigh-Durham and Kona, and new LAX-Philadelphia flights.

“Prior to merger, Virgin America lacked a regional aircraft to take advantage of mid-sized routes. The fuel-efficient E175 jet has the same amenities and features of a mainline jet and is perfectly suited for Love Field,” said John Kirby, Alaska’s vp-capacity planning.

Virgin America moved its Dallas flights from DFW to Love Field in 2014 after regulatory changes opened up the close-in airport to more long-distance flights beyond the states bordering Texas.

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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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New hotels: New York, San Jose, Portland, Orange County

New York's new 1 Hotel in Brooklyn has views of Manhattan. (Image: 1 Hotels)

New York’s new 1 Hotel in Brooklyn has views of Manhattan. (Image: 1 Hotels)

Recent hotel openings include a luxury property on the Brooklyn waterfront and a DoubleTree in midtown Manhattan; new AC Hotels by Marriott in downtown San Jose and Portland; and a Homewood Suites by Hilton near Orange County’s John Wayne Airport.

Two years ago, a company called 1 Hotels opened a property in Manhattan near Central Park, and now it has cut the ribbon on its second New York hotel, the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. Created by original Starwood Hotels founder Barry Sternlicht, 1 Hotels brands itself as eco-friendly in design and materials, and focusing on fresh, healthy food in its restaurants.

The 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge is just south of that iconic span, along Brooklyn Bridge Park. It has 194 rooms, including 28 suites. Rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows with views of Manhattan, free high-speed Wi-Fi, 55-inch TVs, and digital newspapers via an in-room Nexus tablet. The hotel offers a 10th floor hospitality lounge, a grab-and-go café, a screening room, and access to a 24-hour fitness center. This spring it will open a rooftop bar/lounge with a heated plunge pool and firepits, and next fall it will add a spa. Guests can grab free local rides in the hotel’s Tesla. There’s also 24-hour in-room dining, and shuttle service to local subway stations and to Wall Street. Advance purchase rates start at $271.

Don’t miss: TravelSkills walks thru 1 Hotel Central Park NYC

The rooftop bar at the new DoubleTree on Manhattan's West Side. (Image: Hilton)

The rooftop bar at the new DoubleTree on Manhattan’s West Side. (Image: Hilton)

Hilton has cut the ribbon on the newly-built, 37-story DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York Times Square West, at 350 W. 40th Street — halfway between Times Square and the Javits Center. The DoubleTree has 612 rooms with décor inspired by the Theater District. There’s a rooftop lounge offering nightly music until 2 a.m.; American bistro-style dining at Magnolia Restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner; and a 24-hour market.  The hotel has 1,000 square feet of meeting space. Guests who book direct with Hilton can pick up 1,000 bonus Honors points through April 30. Honors discount rates start at $157.

A room at Marriott's new AC Hotel in San Jose. (Image: Marriott)

A room at Marriott’s new AC Hotel in San Jose. (Image: Marriott)

Downtown San Jose has its first new lodging option in more than a dozen years with the recent opening of a new AC Hotel by Marriott. Located at 350 W. Santa Clara Street, the AC Hotel —  Marriott’s European-inspired “lifestyle” brand — has 210 rooms with free Wi-Fi, large-screen TVs, USB ports, safes and mini-fridges. Breakfast, tapas-style dinner and cocktails are available in the AC Kitchen & Lounge. Advance purchase rates start at $170.

Public space at the new AC Hotel in downtown Portland. (Image: Marriott)

Public space at the new AC Hotel in downtown Portland. (Image: Marriott)

Another new AC Hotel by Marriott has made its debut in downtown Portland, OR at 888 SW Third Avenue, at the corner of SW Taylor Street, about a block from the Multnomah County Courthouse. It has a coffee shop, an AC Kitchen for breakfast, and an AC Lounge for cocktails and tapas-style plates. There’s also a 24-hour fitness center. Rates start at $151.

Orange County's new Homewood Suites is close to John Wayne Airport. (Image: Hilton)

Orange County’s new Homewood Suites is close to John Wayne Airport. (Image: Hilton)

Newly opened in Orange County, California is the 161-unit Homewood Suites by Hilton Irvine John Wayne Airport, at 17370 Red Hill Avenue. It has studio, one- and two-bedroom units, all with full kitchens. Daily hot breakfast is provided, along with Wi-Fi, and an evening social hour on weeknights. The hotel has a grocery shopping service, an outdoor pool and sports court, and a game room with billiards, and it offers free shuttle rides to and from the airport. Rates start at $149.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Southwest announces 22 new routes

Southwest will boost capacity by 3.5 percent this year. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest will boost capacity by 3.5 percent this year. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest Airlines said its summer schedule, which starts June 4, will feature 22 new domestic and international routes, including some from the Bay Area as well as an expanded Caribbean network based at Ft. Lauderdale and a new presence at Cincinnati.

The company said it expects to increase its overall capacity this year by 3.5 percent (measured in available seat-miles) compared to 2016.

The airline’s new service on the West Coast includes three flights a day between San Francisco International-Portland and one a day between San Jose-Reno, along with seasonal non-stop service from Oakland to Newark Liberty International. At San Diego, Southwest will begin new daily flights to Boise and Salt Lake City, as well as seasonal service to Newark, Spokane and Indianapolis.

However, California’s Orange County Register reported that Southwest will trim its operations at John Wayne Airport due to a shift in capacity allocations among airlines there. Southwest this week ended its Orange County-Mexico City service, the newspaper said, and on January 14 it will eliminate flights from John Wayne to Austin, Kansas City, Portland, St. Louis and Seattle, followed by the end of Puerto Vallarta flights April 25.

At Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, Southwest said it expects to cut the ribbon in early June on a new international concourse, designated Concourse A in Terminal 1. The facility will serve passengers on flights to eight international destinations, including four new ones: Montego Bay, Jamaica; Belize; Cancun, Mexico; and (subject to government approval) Grand Cayman. Southwest already flies from FLL to Nassau, Bahamas and the Cuban destinations of Havana, Varadero and Santa Clara.

Southwest's ecxpanded Caribbean network put of Ft. Lauderdale. (Image: Southwest)

Southwest’s expanded Caribbean network out of Ft. Lauderdale. (Image: Southwest)

Other new service from Ft. Lauderdale starting June 4 includes daily intra-Florida service to Orlando and daily flights to Washington Dulles and Philadelphia. Elsewhere in Florida, Southwest will kick off two daily non-stops between Tampa-New York LaGuardia and weekend flights between Pensacola and Denver.

Another big focus in Southwest’s summer schedule is Ohio, where it will begin service at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport with five flights a day to Chicago Midway and three a day to Baltimore/Washington. At Cleveland, the airline will add service to Atlanta and a second daily roundtrip to St. Louis. On the losing end of the schedule changes in Ohio are Dayton and Akron-Canton, where Southwest will terminate its service.

Elsewhere in the Midwest, Southwest’s summer schedule includes new service between Indianapolis-Newark twice a day and Nashville-Minneapolis once a day.

The airline is offering introductory sale fares on many of the routes for travel this summer. The sale fares’ booking deadline is January 26. Sample one-way starting sale fares include: San Francisco-Portland, $49; San Jose-Reno, $39; San Diego-Boise, $89; Ft. Lauderdale-Washington Dulles, $69; Ft. Lauderdale-Cancun, $89; and Ft. Lauderdale-Montego Bay, $99.

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Is Portland America’s best airport?

Portland PDX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the complete listings:

jdairport1

jdairport2

 

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

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

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Routes: Delta, United, Alaska, Southwest, Spirit

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

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

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

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

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

screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-10-49-35-am

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

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

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

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

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

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New California routes: Southwest, AA, Delta, JetSuiteX, Mokulele + more

Southwest will add two more California routes in March. (Image: jim Glab)

Southwest will add two more California routes in March. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, much of the action is in California, including a pair of new Southwest routes, new American flights from northern California and LAX, a new Delta market from Los Angeles, and new intrastate service from JetSuite and a small Hawaiian carrier; meanwhile, Alaska upgrades its equipment on two California routes.

Southwest Airlines, which has focused much if its recent growth on California, plans to add another pair of routes there. The carrier said that beginning March 9, it will start new service to Salt Lake City from both Sacramento and Burbank. Southwest is offering introductory fares starting at $59 one-way for booking through October 20.

American will begin Phoenix flights from Santa Rosa's Charles M. Schultz Airport. (Image: Charles M. Schultz Airport)

American will begin Phoenix flights from Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schultz Airport. (Image: Charles M. Schultz Airport)

On February 16, American Eagle/SkyWest will kick off new daily non-stops between Sonoma County’s Charles M. Schulz Airport in Santa Rosa and AA’s Phoenix hub. The carrier will use a CRJ-700 on the route. Elsewhere in California, American plans to initiate summer seasonal service next year from Los Angeles International to Grand Junction, Colorado. The flights will operate from June 3 through August 19, also with an American Eagle/SkyWest CRJ-700.

Outside of California, American will begin new regional jet service on February 16 from Phoenix to Bullhead City, Arizona; and AA this month began American Eagle/Envoy Air flights twice a day from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Akron/Canton.

As we mentioned the other day in a post about the expansion of lie-flat premium seats on transcontinental routes, Delta plans to launch new service on April 24 between LAX and Washington D.C.’s close-in Reagan National Airport, using a 757-200 equipped with fully-flat seats in the front cabin. At the same time, Delta will drop one of its two daily Salt Lake City-DCA flights, replacing it with a Salt Lake-Washington Dulles service.

This Phenom 100 jet from JetSuite seats six (JetSuite)

A Phenom 100 jet from JetSuite (JetSuite)

JetSuiteX, which offers small-plane public charters within California, will begin new service October 17 between San Jose and McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, north of San Diego. The company will use a four-seat Phenom 100 to fly the route four times a week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On the same day, JetSuiteX will boost frequencies between San Jose and Burbank to two flights a day– and currently flights from both Concord and San Jose to Burbank are on sale for just $59 each way (for November trips) and that includes checked bags and wi-fi.

Following United’s recent decision to stop flying between San Francisco and Santa Maria, California, that town just got new service from an unlikely source: Hawaii-based Mokulele Airlines. The carrier is flying four times a day between Santa Maria and Terminal 6 at Los Angeles International Airport using nine-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops.

In nearby Santa Barbara, meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has started to use new 76-passenger Embraer 175s on its routes to Seattle and Portland, replacing 70-passenger CRJ-700s. The new planes have first class, Preferred Plus and regular coach seating, and are equipped with Wi-Fi service.

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Routes: LOT at LAX, AA seats, KLM popup, 2 new US cities for Icelandair

LOT Polish will use a 787 for new Los Angeles service in 2017. (Image: LOT Polish)

LOT Polish will use a 787 for new Los Angeles service in 2017. (Image: LOT Polish)

In international route news, LOT Polish Airlines will begin new service to Los Angeles and Newark; American Airlines officially launches its new international premium economy class in a few weeks; British Airways drops a Philadelphia flight but American adds one; KLM will fly to Minneapolis-St. Paul and offers San Franciscans a 787 sneak peek; and Icelandair plans to open up two more U.S. gateways.

LOT Polish Airlines will kick off the first non-stop service between the West Coast and Poland on April 3, 2017 when it begins service between Los Angeles International and Warsaw. LOT will fly the LAX route four times a week using a 787-8 Dreamliner. Also in April, the Polish carrier will resume service from Warsaw to Newark Liberty International, a hub for its Star Alliance partner United.  The Newark flights will begin April 28, initially operating three times a week with a leased 767-300ER, but switching to a 787 in August. With the addition of Newark flights, LOT will trim its 2017 summer schedule out of New York JFK from 12 flights a week to nine.

American's new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

American’s new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

When American Airlines puts its new 787-9s into international service next month, they’ll come equipped with the carrier’s new premium economy cabin – a first for U.S. airlines on international routes.  The first flights to offer the premium cabin will be from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Sao Paulo on November 3 and from DFW to Madrid on November 4. The premium economy service is in addition to (and priced higher than) the airline’s extra-legroom seating in the regular economy cabin. Premium economy seats have a 38-inch pitch, greater width than regular economy, adjustable headrests and footrests, larger video screens, noise-reducing headphones, free drinks and more.

British Airways’ longstanding Philadelphia schedule of two daily flights to London Heathrow will change in March 2017 when it drops one of them – the 10 p.m. departure. But joint venture partner American Airlines will pick up the slack, boosting its own PHL-LHR schedule from one flight a day to two.

Delta’s transatlantic joint venture partner KLM plans to kick off service on March 27 from Delta’s Minneapolis-St. Paul hub to Amsterdam using an Airbus A330 for three flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday). It hasn’t flown the MSP-Amsterdam route for 15 years, according to Airlineroute.com. Delta serves the route with two to three flights a day. Elsewhere, KLM is about to resume Miami service, as previously announced. October 30 is the launch date for the carrier’s three weekly flights from MIA to Amsterdam, which will continue through March 23 with a two-class A330.

KLM 787

Business class seats on KLM’s 787 Dreamliner (Photo: KLM)

In San Francisco, meanwhile, KLM is inviting travelers to visit a Pop-Up location that the carrier will open at Union Square (445A Sutter Street) October 14 to 22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Pop-Up’s purpose is to promote KLM’s 787 Dreamliner, which it put onto its SFO route a few months ago. Visitors can experience the airline’s World Business Class and a virtual reality simulation of the 787, and will get a chance to win free tickets to Amsterdam.

Icelandair will expand its U.S. network in 2017 with the addition of two new gateways. The carrier will begin seasonal summer service to Reykjavik from Philadelphia four days a week beginning May 30, along with year-round flights from Tampa twice a week starting September 6. Also for the 2017 summer season, Icelandair will boost Denver-Reykjavik service from seven to nine weekly flights from June 1 through mid-September; and will increase its Portland schedule from three a week to four on May 20, adding a fifth weekly flight June 14 through August 31.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

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

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Routes: Alaska, JetSuite, Southwest, United, American, Spirit, Frontier

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines will add several routes into Newark (Image: Alaska Air)

In domestic route news, Alaska will add several routes into Newark; JetSuite plans a new California Corridor route; Southwest has its eye on Long Beach-Las Vegas service; United and American grow at Memphis; and Frontier and Spirit expand their Florida presence.

Taking advantage of the FAA’s decision to open up more takeoff and landing slots at Newark Liberty International Airport this fall, Alaska Airlines said it plans to add new flights there from four West Coast cities. On November 10, Alaska will begin one daily roundtrip from Portland to Newark, followed on November 21 by a new daily flight from San Diego to Newark; neither of the eastbound flights will be red-eyes. Then in 2017, Alaska will add a daily flight from San Jose to Newark on March 12, along with a third daily Seattle-Newark roundtrip beginning May 14.

Alaska also said it will begin twice-weekly seasonal service between Portland and Sun Valley, Idaho, operating from December 17 to April 1 and again from June 14 to September 16, 2017, using a Horizon Air Q400 turboprop.

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

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

Earlier this year, a private jet operator called JetSuite launched a new service between Burbank and Concord, California (just east of San Francisco) called JetSuiteX, selling single seats on scheduled departures of 30-seat Embraer 135s. And now the company plans to add a new JetSuiteX route on August 15, linking Burbank and San Jose with 12 weekly roundtrips and introductory fares as low as $99.

Last month, Southwest Airlines added Long Beach, California to its route map, launching four daily roundtrips to Oakland. And now Southwest plans to add daily Long Beach-Las Vegas flights beginning September 18, with introductory fares starting at $39. But the Long Beach-Las Vegas service is only scheduled to continue through the end of December.

American and United are planning to increase capacity out of Memphis, according to the Memphis Business Journal. It said that on August 23, American will replace smaller regional jets and an MD-82 with 160-seat 737s for its two daily Memphis-Dallas/Ft. Worth flights; and on October 6, it will add a fourth daily weekday flight between Memphis and Washington Reagan National. On October 31, the publication reported, United plans to replace a CRJ-700 with a 166-seat 737 for one of its two daily Memphis-Denver flights. This month, American eclipsed Delta as Memphis’ largest carrier.

Spirit Airlines is expanding its Florida network. (Photo: Spirit)

Spirit Airlines is expanding its Florida network. (Photo: Spirit)

Spirit Airlines will boost its presence at Orlando this fall, adding daily service to five cities, including Boston and Philadelphia starting October 7; Kansas City beginning November 10; and Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh, N.Y. as of November 17. Also on November 10, Spirit will kick off new daily non-stops from Baltimore/Washington to both Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla.

On October 30, Frontier Airlines is planning to launch daily roundtrips from San Diego to Orlando, as well as three weekly flights linking Orlando with Des Moines, Iowa. Meanwhile, Frontier will also trim its schedule at Pittsburgh at the end of October, discontinuing service to Atlanta and to Chicago O’Hare.

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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, Portland, Atlanta, Houston, Washington D.C. + more

United this week kicks off San Francisco-Singapore non-stops. (Image: Grand Hyatt Singapore)

United this week kicks off San Francisco-Singapore non-stops. (Image: Grand Hyatt Singapore)

There’s a lot of news about international air routes this week. United is due to start a record-breaking transpacific service on June 1, and will increase frequencies on another long-haul route out of San Francisco; United is also launching seasonal Europe routes from the East Coast and dropping its only service to Africa. Meanwhile, Delta will revise its partnership arrangement with Virgin Atlantic in 2017, and will add a new transatlantic route from Portland; Atlanta welcomes new service from a Middle Eastern carrier; Swiss delays the deployment of its fancy new wide-body to San Francisco; and low-cost carrier Norwegian adds a Las Vegas route.

On June 1, United is due to begin the longest scheduled route by any U.S. carrier – an 8,446-mile flight from San Francisco to Singapore. United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner for the new service, which will save travelers an estimated four hours in each direction compared with existing one-stop or connecting flights. The schedule calls for an 11:25 p.m. departure from SFO for the 15.5-hour westbound flight (16.3 hours eastbound). In another long-haul development from San Francisco, United said that starting October 8, it will increase frequencies on its SFO-Tel Aviv route from three a week to daily service; United also uses a 787-9 on that route.

In other international route news at United, the carrier is blaming a slump in global energy markets as well as government currency restrictions for its decision to terminate its daily flights from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Lagos, Nigeria after June 30. Meanwhile, United has started seasonal summer flights to Europe from the East Coast, offering daily service from its Newark hub to Athens (using a 767-300), and daily flights from Washington Dulles to Barcelona (with a 767-400) and to Lisbon (using a 757-200).

Portland International will get its first London non-stops from Delta next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Portland International will get its first London non-stops from Delta next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Delta just announced a new transatlantic route for 2017, with plans to start operating seasonal service between Portland and London Heathrow effective May 26-October 29. It will fly the route four days a week with a 767-300ER. Delta said it will also revise its joint scheduling arrangement with partner Virgin Atlantic next year. The existing Delta flight from Seattle to London will switch over to a Virgin Atlantic 787-9 starting March 26, increasing capacity by 50 seats a day; on the same date, Virgin’s single daily fight from Detroit to London will be replaced by a second daily Delta flight. And on May 25, Virgin will take over Delta’s New York JFK-Manchester route, with Delta picking it up again the following winter; and Delta will take over one of Virgin’s two daily Atlanta-London frequencies, giving Delta a total of three a day and Virgin just one.

In other news, Delta last week kicked off new year-round service from New York JFK to Edinburgh, Scotland. Delta started the route with a 757-200ER, but will switch to a larger 767-300ER for flights from June 8 to September 5.

Qatar Airways will use an A380 super-jumbo for its Atlanta inaugural flight.(Image: Qatar Airways)

Qatar Airways will use an A380 super-jumbo for its Atlanta inaugural flight.(Image: Qatar Airways)

 As we’ve mentioned before, June 1 is the launch date for new Qatar Airways service from Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson to Doha, Qatar – a move that has seriously irritated Delta. Although Qatar’s plans call for a 777 to fly the route on a regular basis, it reportedly intends to use an Airbus A380 for the maiden voyage. So far, Qatar is still a member of the Oneworld global alliance, which should make for easy connections at ATL with American Airlines flights.

According to Routesonline.com, which tracks airlines’ official schedule filings, Swiss has decided to push back the deployment of its fancy new 777-300ER on the San Francisco-Zurich route. Instead of bringing the new aircraft into SFO service on August 30 as previously planned, the aircraft won’t start flying the route until February 16, 2017. Meanwhile, on October 30, Swiss will put a 777-300ER into service between Zurich and Miami on four of its 14 weekly flights in that market, replacing an A330-300.

Low-cost European carrier Norwegian plans to expand its presence at Las Vegas on October 31 when it begins new twice-weekly flights to London Gatwick, using a 787 and offering introductory one-way fares as low as $199 (plus add-ons, of course). Norwegian already flies from Las Vegas to Copenhagen and Stockholm, and plans to add LAS-Oslo flights in November.

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Routes: Alaska, United, Southwest, AA, Virgin + more

United plans to fly 757-300s from Washington Reagan National to San Francisco and Denver. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

United plans to fly 757-300s from Washington Reagan National to San Francisco and Denver. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

In U.S. route news, Alaska Airlines plans to expand at Mineta San Jose Airport with new intra-California service, and it is also growing at Portland; United trims its Cleveland schedule and puts larger aircraft on two Washington Reagan National routes; Virgin America makes a seasonal SFO route year-round; Southwest plans to fly to another Los Angeles-area airport; American adds a new spoke from LaGuardia; and a small niche carrier targets Pittsburgh for expansion.

Alaska Airline's mod new look. What do you think? (Image: Alaska Air)

Alaska Airline’s mod new look. (Image: Alaska Air)

Alaska Airlines announced an expansion in the Bay Area, with plans to add service from Mineta San Jose Airport starting June 5 to both San Diego and Orange County/Santa Ana, Calif. The carrier will operate three daily flights in each market, using 76-seat Embraer 175s from SkyWest Airlines. The planes have 12 seats in first class, 12 in preferred class and 52 in the main cabin, and are equipped with Wi-Fi and free streaming entertainment. Meanwhile, February 18 is the launch date for three new Alaska Airlines routes out of Portland International. The carrier will begin once-daily service from Portland to Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Omaha.

Effective May 4, United Airlines plans to drop two routes from Cleveland Hopkins Airport, ending its service to Las Vegas and to St. Louis. That brings United’s presence at Cleveland down to 15 destinations, from 58 two years ago. Meanwhile, United also plans to expand capacity on a pair of routes out of Washington Reagan National by switching to 213-seat 757-300s from smaller aircraft. The 757s will replace 737-800s starting March 23 on the San Francisco-DCA route, and A320s and 737-800s on the Denver-DCA route beginning March 3. In other developments, United plans to discontinue service April 4 from Chicago O’Hare to Elmira/Corning, N.Y., and to operate Saturday/Sunday seasonal service from O’Hare to Great Falls, Montana from June 11 through August 14.

Southwest Airlines, seeking to expand its network to “five for five in Greater L.A.,” has applied for takeoff and landing slots at Long Beach Airport. The airline already flies out of Los Angeles International, Burbank, Orange County Airport and Ontario. Southwest didn’t say where it wants to fly from Long Beach, but California and Nevada media are speculating that it might have its sights on the Bay Area and/or Las Vegas. The airline said it hopes to start service at Long Beach later this year.

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, American Airlines plans to start daily non-stop service from that Kentucky city to New York LaGuardia effective June 2. It said American will operate one daily roundtrip with a 50-seat regional jet.

A red carpet welcome under wintry skies at Palm Springs International

Virgin America’s inaugural flight to Palm Springs got the red carpet treatment (Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America Airlines said that its seasonal service between San Francisco and Palm Springs will be operated year-round from now on. The airline said it will fly the route four times a week through the fall. Virgin’s Palm Springs-New York JFK flights will remain seasonal, continuing through May.

OneJet, a small but fast-growing niche airline that operates seven-passenger Hawker 400 jets on routes in the Midwest, said it plans to make Pittsburgh its next focus city. The little airline, which already flies from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee and Indianapolis, plans to start twice-daily Pittsburgh-Hartford flights on May 9, and then to add four more destinations from Pittsburgh in the second quarter, although it didn’t day which ones.

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Routes: Virgin’s new Hawaii sale; JetBlue’s Mint to Boston; Alaska to Atlanta

Hanging out at the bar and soaking up what's going on outside. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America will bring Hawaii service to Los Angeles this year. (Virgin’s LAX lounge photo: Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route news, Virgin America plans a new Hawaii route; JetBlue sets schedules for the launch of Boston Mint service, and adds new cross-country markets; Alaska will resume an Atlanta route; and a niche carrier sets its sights on Portland.

Following up on its recent inauguration of service from San Francisco to Honolulu and Maui, Virgin America announced this week that it will serve the same two destinations from Los Angeles. The company said it has scheduled a May 5 start for daily flights from LAX to Honolulu, and a June 14 launch for daily service linking LAX with Kahului, Maui. Virgin noted that the new LAX schedule will allow even more connecting possibilities to Hawaii from the other cities it serves. Virgin is offering sale fares between Hawaii and LAX for as little as $338 round trip — today (Tuesday) only — and is offering Elevate members an award flight price starting at 8,278 points. UPDATE: As of Wednesday morning Feb 3, these “one day” sale fares ($338 rt) are still available when searching for SFO to Hawaii on VirginAmerica.com

NICE: These sale fares are good for travel all the way from now through summer– and they apply to flights from San Francisco, too! 

Are you signed up for the TravelSkills.com blog? Why not? Do it right now and don’t miss out. 

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

JetBlue will add more Mint flights on transcon routes from Boston. (Image: JetBlue)

Following up on plans it announced months ago, JetBlue has set the starting dates for the expansion of its premium Mint service to routes out of Boston.  According to Airlineroute.net, JetBlue will introduce a Mint-equipped A321 on one of its three daily San Francisco-Boston flights effective March 24, followed by a second daily Mint service beginning April 20 and the third starting September 20. JetBlue’s Boston-Los Angeles route will get the same treatment, but so far only one of the three daily flights on that route has the new Mint service scheduled, with a starting date of October 20.

Meanwhile, JetBlue also has its eye on some new cross-country markets. The carrier said it will begin new daily service between Boston-Salt Lake City on May 12, and between Ft. Lauderdale-San Diego as of June 16. Also in the works is new daily service linking Los Angeles with Buffalo, N.Y. starting June 16. On all three routes, the eastbound departure will be a red-eye.

Alaska Airlines is adding an international mileage and code-share partner. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines is bringing back nonstops between Atlanta and Portland, OR (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines dropped service between Atlanta and Portland, Ore. a few years ago, but now it is planning to revive that route on a seasonal basis. The airline said it will operate a daily 737 roundtrip on the route this year from June 4 through August 27. Delta already serves that market. Alaska also announced plans to operate weekly Saturday service this summer between Spokane and Anchorage, from June 11 through August 27.

Don’t miss: The “unofficial” airport of the big game giveaway

Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines plans to begin new year-round service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Portland, Ore. on June 9, according to Airlineroute.net. The 737 service will initially operate five times a week, and will be reduced to four a week after August 31.

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American steps into the battle for LAX

Uber and Lyft pick-ups at LAX could start soon. (Image: Thomas Hawk/Flickr)

Another major player wants a bigger slice of the LAX pie (Image: Thomas Hawk/Flickr)

Just a week after word got out about Delta’s plans to accommodate growth at Los Angeles International Airport by moving out of newly-renovated Terminal 5 to larger quarters at Terminals 2 and 3, American Airlines has unveiled a growth spurt of its own at LAX.

American said that it will add 20 more daily flights out of LAX starting June 2, serving nine destinations, and will beef up frequencies on some existing routes. The airline said it is building two new gates at LAX to accommodate the increase, which will give it a total of 220 flights a day at LAX to 70 destinations worldwide.

On June 2, American will jump into the busy LAX-Seattle market with five daily roundtrips. We say “busy” because LAX-Seattle is already served with multiple daily flights by Alaska, Delta, United, Southwest and Virgin America. In addition, Southwest flies from Burbank and Ontario to Seattle, while JetBlue serves Seattle from Long Beach.

American will also kick off three daily roundtrips from LAX to Portland, a route already well covered by Delta, Southwest and Alaska. Other new LAX markets for AA in June will include Minneapolis-St. Paul with two daily flights, and New Orleans, Kansas City, Omaha and Hartford, each with one flight a day.

At the same time, American will debut seasonal service every day from LAX to Anchorage and on weekends from LAX to Durango, Colorado. New summer service out of LAX will include daily flights to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and weekend-only service to Montrose and Vail/Eagle, Colorado.

The new domestic growth comes on top of American’s ongoing international expansion at LAX, including new daily service to Sydney that started last month, and plans to begin flights to Tokyo Haneda in February and Auckland, New Zealand in June.

 

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Twisting seats + loyalty programs review + in-flight beers + Hertz sale + more

Here are some newsy nuggets from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:

Newly designed airline seat twists as you move. (Image: Factorydesign)

Newly designed airline seat twists as you move. (Image: Factorydesign)

New design concept: An airline seatback that twists along with your body.

The New York Times reviews changes in airline, hotel loyalty programs.

Who’s got the best in-flight brews? Airline beers are rated.

Air Canada offers a World Travel Pass through January 18 only.

Portland International Airport will open a movie theater in the spring.

New York City plans to convert old public pay phones into 1G Wi-Fi stations.

Hilton’s DoubleTree brand introduces optional amenity packages.

United sees opportunity for more growth in China routes.

Odd tactics passengers have tried to get around paying a checked bag fee.

Hertz winter sale offers discounts of up to 30 percent for Gold Rewards members.

The rate of new hotel openings in the U.S. is expected to accelerate in the next two years.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  United packages Economy Plus with amenities + Ride-sharing firm goes out of business + Bucket list for air travelers + Useless travel gadgets + ‘Uber of the Skies’ dies 

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Is Newark America’s worst airport?

Despite dramatic recent improvements to United's Concourse C Newark ranked last in passenger satisfaction among large airports. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Despite dramatic recent improvements to United’s Concourse C, Newark ranked last in passenger satisfaction among large airports. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United Airlines is spending millions on improvements to its Terminal C hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, and for passengers, the work can’t be finished soon enough: A big new consumer survey finds Newark ranks at the bottom of all large U.S. airports in passenger satisfaction.

In fact, many U.S. airports have been spending lots of money on expansions and improvements in recent years, and it’s apparently having a generally positive  impact on travelers. A new J.D. Power survey of 21,000 North American travelers — its first poll on airport satisfaction since 2010 — found that on a 1,000-point scale, passengers’ overall satisfaction with large airports has gone up 54 points in the past five years, to 719, while the score for medium-sized facilities jumped 69 points, to 752.

That’s not to say there aren’t still big differences from one airport to another. The survey found that among large airports, Oregon‘s Portland International scored highest in satisfaction (791), just ahead of Tampa (776) and Las Vegas McCarran (759). By contrast, the lowest-scoring large airports were some of the nation’s busiest: Newark (646), LaGuardia (655), Los Angeles International (670) and Chicago O’Hare (680). Atlanta’s giant Hartsfield-Jackson ranked 8th with a 742 score, while San Francisco was in the middle of the pack at 721.

Related: Trip Report- United p.s. business class SFO-EWR 

Among medium-sized airports, Cleveland was at the bottom of the satisfaction list with a score of 698, just below Houston Hobby (700) and Hawaii’s Kahului (705). The highest-rated mid-sized facilities were Dallas Love Field and Southwest Florida International (both at 792), followed by Indianapolis and Raleigh-Durham (both at 789) and Jacksonville (787).

Oregon's Portland International scored first place as the nation's favorite large airport. (Image: Jim Glab)

Oregon’s Portland International scored first place as the nation’s favorite large airport. (Image: Jim Glab)

What makes a passenger decide that one airport is great while another is awful? J.D. Power found that key factors include retail concessions, security screening and gate areas. Airports that have added more new restaurants, bars, stores and other services “are realizing significant gains in overall customer satisfaction,” a J.D. Power official said.

The survey found an inverse correlation between passenger satisfaction levels and the amount of time it took them to go through check-in and security. And clean vs. messy gate areas can make a difference of almost 200 points in passengers’ satisfaction with the airport’s terminal facilities, J.D. Power said.

“Making sure travelers can hear flight announcements and having ample seating and outlets for charging electronics around a gate also lift satisfaction with terminal facilities by more than 130 index points,” the company said.

Another interesting finding: Older travelers tend to spend the most time in airports (an hour or more), but they spend a lot less money there ($7-$10) than Millennials and GenXers ($25 and $18 respectively), who are in airports on average for less than 50 minutes.

Check out the total listings below in the two charts from J.D. Power’s 2015 North American Airport Satisfaction Study.

Readers: What do you consider to be the country’s best and worst large and medium-sized airports? Do you agree with the J.D. Power findings? What can make or break your satisfaction with an airport? Post comments below.

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Stunning new airport designs: FRA, SLC, PDX (images)

Expansive check-in hall at Frankfurt Airport's new Terminal 3. (Image: Fraport)

Expansive check-in hall at Frankfurt Airport’s new Terminal 3. (Image: Fraport)

As air travel keeps growing, airports must expand to keep pace with the traffic. The most recent new airport designs include Germany’s Frankfurt Airport which this month started construction on a new Terminal 3; Salt Lake City released renderings of the ongoing massive overhaul of its airport; and Portland will add a new wing to one of its terminals.

Frankfurt

Exterior of Frankfurt's Terminal 3. (Image: Fraport)

Exterior of Frankfurt’s Terminal 3. (Image: Fraport)

Marketplace at Frankfurt's new Terminal 3. (Image: Fraport)

Marketplace at Frankfurt’s new Terminal 3. (Image: Fraport)

Officials in Germany this month held a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction on Frankfurt Airport’s big Terminal 3 complex — a project that will take years to complete. The first phase of construction, which won’t be finished until 2022, includes the main terminal building and two piers of aircraft gates (designated Piers H and J) that can handle up to 14 million passengers a year. (Officials of Fraport, the airport’s owning company, noted that the passenger capacity of the existing terminals 1 and 2 will soon be exceeded due to continuing traffic growth.)  In the future, the airport will be able to add another two piers to increase T3’s capacity to 25 million passengers. The new facility will be linked to the existing terminals with a new SkyLine people-mover system.

Salt Lake City

Rendering of central plaza in Salt Lake City Airport's new terminal. (Image: HOK Architects)

Rendering of central plaza in Salt Lake City Airport’s new terminal. (Image: HOK Architects)

Salt Lake City's new terminal will have plenty of huge windows. (Image: HOK Architects)

Salt Lake City’s new terminal will have plenty of huge windows. (Image: HOK Architects)

Sweeping roadway approaches to Salt Lake City's new terminal. (Image: HOK Architects)

Sweeping roadway approaches to Salt Lake City’s new terminal. (Image: HOK Architects)

The firms handling design and construction of the new terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport have released renderings of what the finished project will look like. Preliminary work started last year, and the terminal won’t be finished until 2020. The three existing terminal buildings will be consolidated into a $1.8 billion, three-story terminal building and 4,000-foot-long linear concourse will include 75 new gates, moving walkways, and new shopping, dining and parking areas.

Check out a video fly-through of the new terminal here.

Portland

External view of Portland Airport's Concourse E expansion. (Image: Portland Airport)

External view of Portland Airport’s Concourse E expansion. (Image: Portland Airport)

In January 2016, Portland International Airport in Oregon will begin work on a $98 million, 44,000 square foot expansion of Concourse E on the north side of the terminal, adding new gates and food-and-beverage outlets. When it’s finished, Alaska Airlines will move from concourse space south of the terminal to the newly expanded north side, and United will do the reverse. In the months ahead, Portland will also redesign its security checkpoints, and overhaul the ticket lobby and baggage claim areas.

Interior space at Portland's expanded Concourse E. (Image: Portland Airport)

Interior space at Portland’s expanded Concourse E. (Image: Portland Airport)

What do you think is the most beautiful airport in the world? Why do you think so? Please leave your comments below.

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New routes for American, Alaska, JetBlue, Frontier

Don’t miss: Delta unveils revamped Airbus

Alaska Airlines will add three routes from Portland International. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines will add three routes from Portland International next winter. (Image: Jim Glab)

In route news, Alaska is adding a trio of routes out of Portland, American is extending its reach from LaGuardia into the Midwest, Frontier adds some markets and drops some, and JetBlue tacks on a new spoke from its Ft. Lauderdale hub.

  • Alaska Airlines has set a mid-February start for three new routes out of Portland, Oregon, where it will begin operating one daily roundtrip each to Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Omaha.
  • American Airlines plans to add new daily service November 3 between New York LaGuardia and Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio, around the same time that Southwest drops that route. (Earlier, United had said it will begin new Akron-Newark flights in late October.) American also will begin twice-daily flights on November 5 between LaGuardia and Memphis. Both routes will use regional jets. And December 17 is the launch date for new twice-daily American service between LGA and Jacksonville, Fla., with 69-seat E170s.

Just in: Kimpton loses all but 2 hotels in San Francisco

  • Ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines continues to shuffle its route network. in the latest announcement, Frontier will add seven routes on October 24-25, with one daily roundtrip in each. Those include service from Las Vegas to San Francisco, Miami, Houston and Milwaukee; from Orlando to Indianapolis and Los Angeles; and from Philadelphia to Ft. Myers. Also in October, Frontier will scale back a bit at Cincinnati, dropping its daily n on-stops to Ft. Lauderdale and Atlanta (but reviving Atlanta next year as seasonal service), and trimming its schedule to Las Vegas by 50 percent.
  • Effective November 19, JetBlue will begin daily service from its growing Ft. Lauderdale hub to Charleston, S.C., with a 100-seat E190.  It already serves Charleston from New York, Washington and Boston.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Avoiding long customs & immigration lines  + Fingerprint as boarding pass? + Hotel rate shocker  + More!


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UberX okay in LA by summer?

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(Photo: Jason Tester Guerilla / Flickr)

(Photo: Jason Tester Guerilla / Flickr)

Most Uber- or Lyft- loving frequent travelers know the silly drill when arriving at LAX: You get off the plane hoping to summon an UberX or Lyft ride, and you get a message stating “no cars available.”

At that point, you sigh and decide to pay the premium for UberBlack or SUV. Or pay a taxi $50 for a ride into town vs UberX or Lyft fares of about $30.

Or, like others, you jump on a hotel, rental car or parking lot shuttle, take a ride off airport grounds, and have your UberX pick you up there for your ride into town.

Deal: Get $20 off your first Uber ride!

The practice has become so common that companies providing shuttle services are now asking for proof that you have a reservation and are not freeloading.

All that may be coming to an end soon, though. Thankfully. Here’s what the LA Times is reporting today:

Screen Shot 2015-05-05 at 8.15.17 AM

Luckily in San Francisco, Portland and many other cities, airport officials have worked out a deal allowing UberX and Lyft to pick up passengers at at the airport. The deals require drivers to pay the airport a fee of around $4 for each pick up.

The hope is that LA can reproduce that- and soon. Let’s hope so!

Deal: Get $20 off your first Uber ride!

–Chris McGinnis

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Star Wars invade DEN + United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Secret stash of hidden hotel deals + Big new carrier for ATL+ Roomier widebodies on domestic flights! 


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Uber’s back in Portland

Portland gets Uber back (Image: Uber)

Portland gets Uber back (Image: Uber) CLICK to get $20 off your first ride

Portland OKs Uber — for now. The Portland, Oregon City Council has agreed to let Uber and Lyft operate in the city for the next four months, subject to certain conditions.

Currently, UberX is the only option in town and airport to city runs cost $30-$40 each way.

Get $20 off your first Uber ride! Click here.

Opposition from the city had caused Uber to stop operating there shortly after it started in December.

The council said drivers for ride-sharing services must have liability insurance, get background checks, obtain business licenses and have their cars inspected.

At the same time, the council voted to deregulate the city’s traditional taxi industry, removing restrictions on hiring and fares. The council will review the situation after the four-month test period.

Unfortunately, Uber’s still having a tough time cracking back into Nevada— it’s especially painful not to have Uber in Las Vegas. Hey, did you check out our post on the latest, greatest, hottest hits in Vegas, baby? Here it is.

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Virgin to launch new SFO-Portland PDX nonstops

If you are going to be out at SFO’s Terminal 2 around noon on Tuesday, stop by for the festivities and a free cocktail as Virgin America launches its new nonstop service to Portland International Airport (PDX) with a red-carpet sendoff.

Virgin America CEO David Cush will cut the ribbon on the new route along with SFO leadership and first flight guests – including Portland Mayor Sam Adams and star of IFC’s hit show “Portlandia,” Kyle MacLachlan. Virgin teamed up with IFC around its hit show “Portlandia” to help launch the new service via a unique Facebook promotion. The quirky “Arts and Aircrafts” Facebook app invited Portlanders to help bring the style back to flying by allowing them to upload their favorite photos and “put a bird on it” – to score a 20% discount off Virgin America flights.

The top voted photo winners will join the inaugural flight and Portland hangar party – as well as score free PDX flights and a two-night hotel stay.  Upon touchdown at PDX, the airline will host a Portland-themed Hangar celebration for its first guests, teammates and friends – just off the runway.

Current fares on Virgin, United or Alaska (the three carriers offering nonstops on the route) now run as low at $218 round trip.

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Virgin America to Portland, OR; maybe Washington DC National

Lots of interesting news coming out of hometown carrier Virgin America this week…

First, the carrier has announced new flights to Portland, Oregon starting on June 5. Introductory fares are just $198 round trip including all taxes and fees– not bad! However, there’s just a single daily roundtrip for now.

Second, Virgin (along with nearly every other low-fare carrier) has filed with the US Dept of Transportation for rights to fly into Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)– the district’s preferred, close-in airport compared to Washington-Dulles which is located in the far northern suburbs in Virginia at least 45 minutes by cab or car from the city.

The carrier is asking for the right to serve SFO-DCA with two daily nonstops in each direction. Flights would depart SFO at 8:25 am and 5:15 pm, and return from DCA at 9:05 am and 1:35 pm.

In a Virgin America press release, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom expressed support for Virgin, saying, “California and the Bay Area in particular have suffered with no nonstop DCA flights – and one of the most populous and economically important regions in the nation deserves better.” (If Virgin gets the right to fly right into the beating heart of the American political scene, Newsom will likely be one of its best customers.)

Other politicos and heavy hitters from organizations such as The Bay Area Council, San Francisco Travel, The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group also weighed in with their support of Virgin’s efforts to score the right to serve DCA nonstop from SFO.

(HEY! Are you following Chris on Twitter or Facebook? Come on and join in!)

As I wrote in TravelSkills last week, United Airlines is now selling new flights into Washington National starting this May. In order to get one of the tightly controlled landing slots at DCA, it had to dump one of its nonstops from Chicago O’Hare. (When I performed a random check for midweek roundtrips in June, United.com quoted $585 roundtrip SFO-DCA.)


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