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Airline News
AirTran Airways New Flight Services
AirTran Airways will launch a new daily nonstop flight between Dayton
International Airport and Orlando International Airport beginning June
4, 2003. The new service will feature all new Boeing 717 jet aircraft.
Airtran’s plans to begin service to the Western U.S. just got bigger.
The airline, which in January announced it would begin service to Denver
this summer, added Los Angeles and Las Vegas to the list. AirTran will
begin the Denver service May 21 on 717 aircraft. AirTran marketing partner
Ryan Int'l Airlines initially will operate both the Los Angeles service,
beginning June 4, and Las Vegas, beginning June 11, using A320 aircraft.
AirTran Airways will commence service between Philadelphia International
Airport and Boston's Logan Airport starting May 21, 2003. The airline
will offer two daily flights between the two cities using Boeing 717 aircraft
with 12 Business Class and 105 coach seats.
AirTran Airways enhances service In Moline/Quad Cities with new nonstop
service to Orlando and third flight to Atlanta. Service in Moline/Quad
Cities will include one new nonstop flight to Orlando on Saturdays only
beginning June 7, 2003, and a third daily flight to Atlanta beginning
May 21, 2003. All flights will be operated with Boeing 717 equipment.
AirTran Airways offers new daily nonstop service between Milwaukee and
Baltimore/Washington. Effective June 14, 2003, the low-fare airline will
add two daily nonstop flights from Milwaukee's General Mitchell International
Airport to Baltimore/Washington International Airport, with continuing
service to Boston. All flights will be operated with Boeing 717 equipment.
Alaska Airlines New Flight Service
Alaska Airlines will begin daily service from Seattle to Orlando on May
22 using a 172-seat Boeing 737-900. Alaska Flight 18 will leave Seattle
at 8:45 a.m. PST and arrive in Orlando at 5:10 p.m. EST. Alaska Flight
19 will leave Orlando at 6 p.m. and arrive in Seattle at 9:13 p.m. The
Seattle-Orlando service is Alaska's sixth transcontinental route. Orlando
is Alaska Airlines' second Florida destination. The airline instituted
service to Miami in spring 2002.
American Trans Air Name Change
American Trans Air officially changed its name to ATA Airlines "to
avoid confusion with similarly named airlines" and "more closely
align" the name with parent company ATA Holdings.
American Airlines Reduced Service
American followed through on its threat to reduce service to the US Virgin
Islands following the Virgin Islands Port Authority's decision to increase
airport landing and passenger fees 25% beginning February 1. Nine flights
from American's Boston and New York schedules will be cut in April as
will 31 flights from the same markets from May through November.
America West New Flight Service
Effective April 6, America West is adding service between Memphis and
Phoenix.
Beginning June 1, America West will launch daily, nonstop service between
its Phoenix hub and Cancun, bringing the airline to Mexico's Caribbean
Coast. The service will be offered on A319 aircraft.
America West also plans to launch Las Vegas-Spokane, WA nonstop flights
beginning on June 18. Flights will be operated through its regional surrogate,
America West Express.
Cathay Pacific Offers Inflight E-mail
Cathay Pacific Airways and Tenzing Communications announced a new partnership
to offer the NETVIGATOR Inflight email service. The service will initially
be offered on a free trial basis until June, to passengers on 42 Cathay
Pacific aircraft. The entire Cathay Pacific fleet will be equipped with
the service by the end of 2003.
Continental New Flight Service
Nonstop Continental Express flights between Houston and Manzanillo will
begin December 17 between Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport
and Manzanillo, Mexico, pending government approval. The new Continental
Express service to Manzanillo will use the extended-range version of Embraer's
50-passenger ERJ-145 ExpressJet and feature Spanish-speaking flight attendants,
as do most Continental flights to Mexico and Latin America. Bilingual
customer service representatives will be available to assist passengers
at ticket counters and departure/arrival gates. The seasonal Continental
Express route will operate three days each week on Wednesdays, Saturdays
and Sundays through January 18, 2004, and will increase to daily nonstop
service from January 19 to March 28. Service will continue between Houston
and Manzanillo with a schedule of three weekly roundtrips from March 29
to May 30.
Beginning June 12, Continental will launch daily nonstop service between
Salt Lake City and its Newark hub on 737 aircraft. The airline already
offers three daily nonstop flights between Salt Lake City and its Houston
hub.
Also on June 12, Continental Airlines plans to begin nonstop service
to three new destinations from its Houston hub: Asheville, NC; Hartford/Springfield,
CT; Ft. Walton Beach, FL.
Continental Offers Internet Check-in
Continental passengers flying with e-tickets and without luggage in the
U.S. can now check in at www.continental.com from home or the office and
print their boarding pass. And, with boarding pass in hand, passengers
can proceed directly to security checkpoints inside airport terminals.
For a complete list of carriers with Internet check-in options, visit
the Client Gateway of the Northwestern Travel Management Web site, www..
Delta, Continental, Northwest Alliance
The Delta-Continental-Northwest alliance was approved and the carriers
should begin implementing mutual frequent-flyer-mile accrual and lounge
access within a few weeks. Frequent flyer mileage redemption will come
next, followed by code sharing. Code sharing between the three carriers
could begin as early as June.
Special Delta Fares
As you may know, Delta has been offering discounted, one-way 14-, 7-,
and 3-day advance purchase and walk up fares in 35 of their Atlanta business
markets, and in more than 350 other markets throughout the system.
Now, in response to traveler requests for more opportunities to fly in
first class at reasonable rates, Delta has added a special fare which
allows travelers to purchase first class seating for as little as $35
more than the discounted walk-up fare.
This fare does not require an advance purchase and is refundable, giving
you the flexibility you need in your travel plans.
Additionally, SkyMiles members received double qualification points towards
medallion status for these tickets purchased and flown. SkyMiles members
also receive a 50% class-of-service bonus
when purchasing these fares.
Delta Song Service
The tune of Song, Delta's new low-fare, lower-cost subsidiary, changed
a bit when the airline said Song's service will include Atlanta-New York
(Kennedy) flights beginning June 1. Song is scheduled to launch service
April 15 with New York (Kennedy)-West Palm Beach service and is putting
its initial focus on service between the Northeast and Florida. Atlanta
service wasn't on the table when Delta unveiled Song in late January,
but Delta said the new service is a way to meet customer demand for more
Atlanta-New York flights. Delta said the route also would improve Song's
operational reliability by providing the low-fare subsidiary greater access
to Delta's aircraft maintenance and 757 pilot crew base in Atlanta.
Hawaiian Airlines files Chapter 11
Hawaiian Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 21.
The company began a restructuring several months ago, but said it had
to file for Chapter 11 because it has been unable to reach agreement with
some of its aircraft lessors to reduce lease rates to what Hawaiian considers
"market levels."
Hawaiian asked for court permission to continue frequent flyer and other
customer programs, pay fuel vendors, hotels and other services without
interruption, and assume code-share, clearing house and interline airline
contracts. The company said it also requested court permission to continue
employee wage and benefit programs as usual.
Hawaiian said its ongoing restructuring already has lowered labor costs
by about $15 million annually through productivity improvements in union
agreements.
Horizon Air New Flight Service
Beginning June 8, Alaska Airlines' kid sister, Horizon Air, promises year-round
nonstop jet service between San Francisco and Tucson, plus seasonal service
from Seattle to Palm Springs, CA and between Portland and Missoula, MT.
Japan Airlines Cuts Honolulu Service
Japan Airlines, citing a drop in demand, will cut one daily flight between
Tokyo and Honolulu from April 1 to April 24, reducing the number of weekly
flights from 21 to 14. Between April 25 and May 6, weekly flights will
drop from 28 to 21. In addition, one daily flight will be cut from Japan
Airline’s Osaka-Honolulu service, reducing the number of weekly
flights from 14 to seven from April 1 to April 23. Other international
routes may also have temporary schedule changes, including Guam, Hong
Kong, London and Paris.
JetBlue New Flight Service
Effective June 26, JetBlue will begin nonstop service between San Diego
and New York with one daily flight and a second daily flight will be added
in July.
Lufthansa’s Business Class Flights
Lufthansa’s experiment with all business-class flights between Germany
and the U.S. appears to be working. Lufthansa first launched all business-class
service last June between Dusseldorf and Newark. Beginning May 19, the
carrier will launch the same service between Munich and Newark. All business-class
service between Dusseldorf and Chicago will begin June 9.
As with the first route, both new services will use 48-seat business
jets from Swiss charter company PrivatAir. Lufthansa's partnership with
PrivatAir for Dusseldorf-Newark is being extended for an unlimited period.
Midwest Express Eliminates Meal Service
Despite its reputation for lavish in-flight meal service, Midwest Express
will eliminate meals entirely beginning April 1. The carrier's baked-fresh-on-board
cookies will still be available.
Midwest Express Low-Fare Subsidiary
Midwest Express, known for its laser-like focus on high-end service and
business travelers plans to launch a low-fare subsidiary in the third
quarter with five MD-80 aircraft. The aircraft will be configured for
143 to 147 seats with 33-inch pitch in a single-class cabin. The airline,
which changes its name to Midwest back in March, maintained the plan is
based on "exhaustive customer research" revealing passengers
want Midwest to offer a value-priced, leisure-oriented product to complement
its premium service.
Northwest New Flight Service
Northwest Airlines and its Northwest Airlink affiliate, Pinnacle Airlines
Corp., have announced new nonstop service between Detroit and Bangor,
Maine beginning June 6, 2003. The new twice-daily Detroit-Bangor service
will be operated with the airline’s 50-passenger Canadair Regional
Jet (CRJ). To meet additional weekend demand, a third frequency will be
added on Saturdays throughout the summer.
US Airways New Flight Service
On March 15, US Airways began nonstop roundtrip service on three new Caribbean
routes: Boston-Cancun, Pittsburgh-Montego Bay, and Charlotte-St. Croix.
The carrier flies daily between Charlotte and St. Thomas.
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