This week several airlines have announced new routes that are expected to grab attention. Usually I do not make posts pertaining to new airline routes – but I plan on starting a weekly post about new / dropped routes. Many of the viewers of this site are travelers, and it’s always good to be in the loop of things. Now, onto the new routes!
AirTran Airways announced new service to Branson, MO, making AirTran the only carrier to service the airport. AirTran will be flying a 717 once, daily, to Atlanta’s Hartsfield. Flights will be intially sold at $99, but are expected to increase later on. Travelers from Branson will be able to connect, through Atlanta, to nearly 55 destinations across U.S. I must admit that I had never heard of Branson, MO until today. Apparently it’s dubbed as the nation’s first privately owned and financed commercial airport. Pretty neat, huh? It is good to see that small / regional airports are gaining airline service once again.
Onto American Airlines. Today the carrier announced non-stop flights between American’s Dallas / Fort-Worth hub and Madrid, Spain. The service will begin on May 1, 2009. Nearly 20 years ago (between May 1988 and November 1993), American flew DFW – MAD, but service was ended. This new announcement comes as no surprise, as analysts have been hinting that many of the “big six” carriers will be focusing on international service opportunities in the future – as they seek profits and expansion into new markets.
Delta Air Lines announced non-stop service between Delta’s hub in Salt Lake City and Tokyo’s Narita Airport. The route will start June 3, 2009. Delta said that they will fly the route five times a week, utilizing an Airbus A330-200 (from Northwest). Delta is expected to increase capacity on the Detroit to Salt Lake City route primarily due to the new route. Tokyo, from a Delta hub, comes as no surprise since Tokyo Narita was formerly a Northwest Airlines hub. Delta says that the route will help connect passengers to 20 destinations across Asia. This is just a piece of Delta’s massive international-service growth plan.
U.A.E.’s Emirates Airline (yes, not Airlines), will attempt the world’s longest green journey as the carrier tries their new environmental program with non-stop service between Dubai, U.A.E. and San Francisco, CA. The airline worked closely with government agencies at Dubai, Russia, Iceland, Canada, U.S, and other counties to plot what is being called the most environmental sophisticated route ever planned. The flight is expected to save 2,000 gallons of fuel and 30,000 pounds of carbon emissions during the 16 hour flight on a Boeing 777-200LR. Some of the details about what the route entails are listed here (ATC special clearances, taxi procedures, recycling, etc.) Emirates has been buying a substantial number of wide-body aircraft from Boeing and Airbus (including the A380, A330, 777) in an attempt to have the world’s most efficient fleet of wide-bodied aircraft.
JetBlue announced that they would be restarting service between Boston’s Logan and San Francisco. I must give credit where due. Dan Webb posted this yesterday, and immediately I couldn’t help but wonder if this is due to Virgin America’s recently announced service to Boston from San Francisco. No one is certain – but, as Dan points out, it’s great for Boston / San Francisco travelers. Usually the more competitors on a route, the lower the price.
Image: stock.xchng
