Exciting New Airline Routes For August 2015 and Beyond
Today, TPG Assistant Editor Matt Zuzolo shares news of exciting new airline routes, including some that have just launched or are slated to begin in the future. Read on to see several new routes to look out for this month through the middle of next year.
NEW ROUTES LAUNCHED IN AUGUST 2015
Dallas Love Field (DAL) to eight new cities on Southwest (starting August 9, 2015)
Details — Southwest launched new flights to:
- Boston Logan (BOS)
- Charlotte (CLT)
- Detroit (DTW)
- Omaha (OMA)
- Philadelphia (PHL)
- Pittsburgh (PIT)
- Raleigh/Durham (RDU)
- Salt Lake City (SLC)
These new flights began operating on August 9, 2015 with one-way fares starting at $69. Dallas Love Field is already one of the airline's biggest hubs, so these flights will certainly add to the options for Southwest passengers flying from or through Dallas.
Washington-Dulles (IAD) – Accra, Ghana (ACC) on South African Airways (August 3, 2015)
Details — South African Airways launched the first nonstop flight between Washington and Ghana on August 3. This flight also continues onward to South African's hub in Johannesburg (JNB). SAA will operate this flight using its wide-body Airbus 340-600, with 42 lie-flat seats in business and 275 seats in economy. The flight will operate four times per week in each direction.
Schedule (Daily)
- SA210 Washington-Dulles 5:40pm Departure ⇒ Accra, Ghana 7:40am (+1) Arrival
- SA209 Accra 10:45pm Departure ⇒ Washington-Dulles 6:05am (+1) Arrival
NEW ROUTES ANNOUNCED IN AUGUST 2015
Dubai (DXB) – Panama City (PTY) on Emirates (launching February 1, 2016)
Details — Emirates announced that it would be launching the world's longest current flight later this year, just barely beating out Qantas' Dallas (DFW) - Sydney (SYD). Emirates' 8,588 mile flight will be 17 hours and 35 minutes long (15 hours and 45 minutes back to Dubai). Emirates will operate this route using its 777-200LR, rather than its much higher-end A380.
Schedule
- EK251 Dubai 8:05am Departure ⇒ Panama City 4:40pm Arrival
- EK252 Panama City 10:10pm Departure ⇒ Dubai 10:55pm (+1) Arrival
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Quito (UIO) on American Airlines (launching December 18, 2015)
Details — Starting in December, American Airlines will be operating five weekly flights between Dallas and Quito. AA will be using the Airbus A319 aircraft on this route. This is one of American's smaller aircraft, with eight first-class seats, 18 main-cabin extra seats and 102 economy-class seats.
Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) – Vail/Eagle (EGE) on United (seasonal - launching December 19, 2015)
Details — United will be operating a seasonal flight between O'Hare and Vail/Eagle starting in late December this year. Flying into Vail is one of the best ways to access some of the most popular ski resorts in Colorado, including Vail and Beaver Creek, as well as Breckenridge, Copper and Keystone. Note that while this flight is launching in late December, it won't operate between January 4 and February 7, 2016.
Newark (EWR) – St. Kitts (SKB) on United (launching December 19, 2015)
Details — United will begin flying nonstop between Newark and St. Kitts weekly on Saturdays this December. The airline will be operating a 737-800 aircraft with 138 economy seats and 16 business seats.
Schedule
- UA1925 Newark 9:00am Departure ⇒ St. Kitts 2:10pm Arrival
- UA1926 St. Kitts 3:05pm Departure ⇒ Newark 6:35pm Arrival
Scandinavian Airlines to Miami (MIA) and Los Angeles (LAX) (launching in 2016)
Details — SAS will be expanding its direct routes to the US next year with flights to MIA and LAX. The airline already operates flights to Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington-Dulles (IAD).
Schedule
Los Angeles (LAX) - Stockholm (ARN)
- SK934 Los Angeles 2:15pm Departure ⇒ Stockholm Arlanda 10am (+1) Arrival (Daily)
- SK933 Stockholm Arlanda 9:50am Departure ⇒ Los Angeles 12:15pm Arrival (Daily)
Miami (MIA) - Copenhagen (CPH)
- SK954 Miami 3:50pm Departure ⇒ Copenhagen 7:10am (+1) Arrival (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays)
- SK953 Copenhagen 9:30am Departure ⇒ Miami 1:50pm Arrival (Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
Miami (MIA) - Oslo (OSL)
- SK956 Miami 3:50pm Departure ⇒ Oslo 7:05am (+1) Arrival (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- SK955 Oslo 9:35am Departure ⇒ Miami 1:50pm Arrival (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays)
London-Gatwick (LGW) to Continental Europe and Latin America on British Airways (Launching in late 2015 and 2016)
Details — British Airways is adding several new routes to Europe and Latin America from London-Gatwick in late 2015 and 2016. New destinations include:
- Vienna, Austria (VIE) — September 17, 2015
- Valencia, Spain (VLC) — November 6, 2015 — at least twice per week
- Porto, Portugal (OPO) — February 11, 2016 — at least four times per week
- Lima, Peru (LIM) — May 4, 2016 — three times per week
- San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) —May 4, 2016 — twice per week
New Frontier Routes (Launching in October 2015)
Details — Frontier is expanding operations with several new flights in October. These flights will start at $19 through $69, and will be daily unless otherwise noted.
- Las Vegas (LAS) - Houston (IAH)
- Las Vegas (LAS) - Miami (MIA)
- Las Vegas (LAS) - Milwaukee (MKE)
- Las Vegas (LAS) - San Francisco (SFO)
- Orlando (MCO) - Indianapolis (IND)
- Orlando (MCO) - Los Angeles (LAX)
- Philadelphia (PHL) - Fort Myers (RSW)
- Philadelphia (PHL) - Montego Bay (MBJ) — Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday
Los Angeles (LAX) to Havana, Cuba (HAV) on American Airlines (charter — launching December 12, 2015)
Details — Following JetBlue's move to add charter service between New York and Cuba last month, American Airlines will be adding charter service on its Boeing 737 between Los Angeles and Havana later this year. Los Angeles joins Miami and Tampa as American's third location with direct flights to Cuba.
Which new airline routes are you most excited about?
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