regional Archives - TravelSkills

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

November 21, 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 5, 2017

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 58^th 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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JetBlue-backed startup eyes short-haul aircraft revolution

April 5, 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Alaska adds premium economy seats to more jets

April 13, 2016

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

In December, Alaska Airlines announced plans to install new premium economy of seating to its fleet, and now it is extending that promise with a new regional jet order for its Horizon Air affiliate.

Alaska said Horizon Air (operated as a subsidiary) has placed its largest order ever for new aircraft to fly Alaska’s regional routes. It will take on 30 new Embraer 175s, and they’ll come with something Alaska’s regional operation doesn’t offer now: a three-class configuration. That will make the new planes consistent with the new three-class layout that Alaska is bringing to its mainline 737-800s, 737-900s and 737-900ERs starting late this year, with the addition of a Premium Class in between first and regular economy. (It will not go into Alaska’s 737-400s and -700s, however.)

The new Horizon planes, to be delivered starting next year, will feature 12 first class seats, 16 in “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. The new premium seating coming to the mainline fleet will have 35-inch pitch.

Virgin’s premium economy is called Main Cabin Select & offers six extra inches of space (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Alaska’s premium class seating (which basically offers 3-4 inches of extra legroom) is a different bird from Virgin’s over-priced “main cabin select” (which offers exit row, bulkhead seats, free food & booze, early boarding and dedicated overhead bin space). So it’s going to be interesting to see how this product in particular ends up in the merger.

Alaska said the new E175s will gradually replace 15 of Horizon’s leased Q400 turboprops, although it noted that “Horizon Air will fly both the E175 and the Q400 for the foreseeable future.” Alaska’s regional network already includes some E175s operated by SkyWest, and those aircraft are also expected to be reconfigured to a three-class configuration.

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Will more small cities lose regional airline service?

March 3, 2016

Regional carriers warn they are facing a significant shortage of pilots. (Image: Jim Glab)

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Republic Airways Holdings last week could be just the tip of the iceberg for the regional airline industry. Those carriers are struggling to maintain their existing fleets and route networks in the face of a significant shortage of pilots, according to their trade organization.

Republic, whose operating subsidiaries (Republic Airlines and Shuttle America) fly under the banners of American Eagle, United Express and Delta Connection, said it got into a financial squeeze because a pilot shortage forced it to ground a number of aircraft – which it still had to pay for even though the planes were producing no revenue.

And now the Washington-based Regional Airlines Association, which represents carriers that provide 45 percent of all the nation’s commercial flights, is warning that Republic’s situation is not unique.

The shortage of pilots “is endemic throughout the regional airline industry,” the group said in a statement this week. “As unprecedented numbers of major airline pilots reach mandatory retirement age, those airlines are hiring regional airline pilots at a rate that outpaces the supply of new pilots available to regional airline flight decks…The number of qualified applicants for jobs at regional airlines is far below demand,” even though some regional carriers are raising salaries and offering retention bonuses.

The organization noted that regional carriers got plenty of applications last year from would-be pilots who met federal standards, but “far fewer were able to successfully withstand the regional airlines’ own screening and training process.” FAA experience and training standards for new pilots and first officers were raised significantly a few years ago in the wake of a Colgan Air crash in 2009 and other incidents.

The trade journal Aviation Week agreed that there is a problem here “that might lead to some smaller U.S. cities losing their air service.” It noted that starting pay for regional airline pilots has been increasing in recent years, but only to about $30,000, so it’s no wonder that those pilots bolt for higher-paying gigs at major airlines as soon as they can. But the publication noted it’s not easy for the regionals to raise pilot pay when they are locked into revenue-sharing agreements with the major carriers that they serve. (By contrast, the typical elementary school teacher makes about $44,000.)

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at the major airlines, is having none of this. It says its data “contradicts any claim that a pilot shortage is causing airlines to stop serving smaller communities and discredits calls by some airlines to weaken pilot training and qualification rules.”

Readers: Did you know the pilot of your high-tech regional jet might make less than a schoolteacher? Do you ever worry about the safety of regional airline travel? Post comments below.

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Bigger, better jets for Alaska, United

June 16, 2015

A new United Embraer 175. (Image: United)

The industry trend away from smaller regional jets to larger ones is continuing, as both United Airlines and Alaska Airlines this week announced plans to add more 76-seat aircraft — jets that are roomier, more comfortable and more passenger-friendly than predecessors like the CRJ.

United, which had already ordered 125 Embraer E175s that have been delivered starting last year, now says it is adding another 10 of the two-cabin, 76-seat planes to the United Express fleet. In addition, “United expects that the airline or one of the carriers that operate as United Express will convert 18 more E175 aircraft to firm orders in the near term,” the company said.

United’s E175s have 12 seats in first class and 64 in economy, including 16 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats. They come with power outlets in first class, wider seats and aisles than other regional aircraft, and bigger overhead bins, United said. Economy seating is configured 2 x 2. Overhead bins can actually accommodate most carryon bags and windows are nice and big. They will replace 50-seat regional jets in the United Express fleet.

United CRJ made by Bombardier getting replaced by roomier Embraers (Photo: RedLegsFan21 / Flickr)

United Express is in the process of adding Wi-Fi to its E175s, and this summer, “the airline plans to equip the E175s with personal device entertainment, offering customers complimentary movies and television shows to view on their Wi-Fi-enabled iOS and Android devices using United’s mobile app, as well as on laptop computers,” a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines regional partner SkyWest said it is buying eight more two-class E175s that will fly under the Alaska banner starting next year. That’s in addition to seven previously ordered E175s that SkyWest will start operating next month for Alaska.

Those planes will go into service July 1 between Seattle-Milwaukee and Seattle-Oklahoma City, and between Portland-St. Louis. The new SkyWest E175s also have 76 seats — 12 in first and 64 in coach.

Have you flown on an Embraer jet? How do they compare to other aircraft? Please leave your comments below.

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