JetBlue will add Los Angeles-Orlando flights. (Image: Jim Glab)
In domestic route news, JetBlue announced a new transcontinental route out of Los Angeles and has scheduled more transcon Mint service; Delta Connection starts using new jets on the West Coast and wants more; small-plane OneJet adds another Pittsburgh route; United expands Puerto Rico capacity with big jets; and American adds a New England route out of LaGuardia.
JetBlue has announced a January 5 start for new transcontinental service between Los Angeles and Orlando, operating one daily A320 roundtrip (the eastbound segment will be a redeye). That will give the airline a total of 17 daily departures at LAX, including service to all four of its focus cities in the northeast and Florida. Meanwhile, JetBlue said the next expansion of its premium-cabin Mint service will come on May 15, when it will introduce Mint on both of its daily flights between San Francisco and Ft. Lauderdale. Mint is already slated to debut on JetBlue’s LAX-Ft. Lauderdale flights on March 20. In other news, JetBlue said it is expanding its partnership with Cape Air, putting its B6 code onto the latter’s flights from Boston and San Juan to small airports in the northeast and in the Caribbean.
Delta Connection/SkyWest is putting upgraded E175s into West Coast service. (Image: delta)
Delta Connection partner SkyWest has started flying the first of several new, upgraded Embraer 175s for Delta on the West Coast. SkyWest will be getting 19 of the new jets, to be used mainly as Delta Connection aircraft on the latter’s West Coast Shuttle routes linking Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The 76-seat E175s offer in-seat power outlets, seats similar to those on Delta mainline flights, faster Wi-Fi and ambient lighting. “This brand new E175 comes with all the trim and finishes of a mainline aircraft on a plane with 76 seats,” a Delta official said. “We designed the interior of this aircraft, in cooperation with SkyWest Airlines and Embraer, for a consistent brand experience.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reports this week that Delta wants to buy up to 50 new aircraft in the 70- to 76-seat range, part of a continuing effort to replace smaller 50-seat planes in its regional fleet. The report noted that over the past three years, Delta has eliminated half of the 309 50-seat jets in its Delta Connection fleet. The big hurdle for the new planes: Delta must obtain the approval of its pilots’ union, which has veto power over any plan for new, larger regional aircraft to be flown by Delta’s partner carriers instead of Delta itself.
OneJet uses small Hawker 400XPs on short-haul routes. (Image: OneJet)
OneJet, a small but growing operator that specializes in “nonstop travel in small and medium size markets, at relatively low cost,” will add new service between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati on October 19, with two flights a day. The carrier has been growing at PIT, where it also offers flights to Hartford, Indianapolis, Louisville and Milwaukee. The company uses small Hawker 400XP jets and concentrates on underserved markets of less than 700 miles.
United Airlines said it will give a big capacity boost to its route between Newark Liberty International and San Juan, Puerto Rico this winter. The carrier plans to increase its EWR-San Juan schedule from one flight a week to six – using a 344-passenger 777.
American Airlines will expand its presence at Burlington, Vermont on December 15, launching a new daily flight to New York LaGuardia and a second daily flight to its Charlotte hub.
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