An airline’s foundation is its fleet and route network. They help to make the world go round. Between October 1 and 13, the US welcomed an estimated 43 routes. Many were brand-new for the stated carrier, while others were seasonal resumptions or paused for a month or two and returned. A summary:
- Of the 43 routes, 33 were brand-new for the operator.
- 11 have not had non-stop flights before, at least not in the past 20 years.
- There are 40 domestic and three international routes.
- They vary from 26 nautical miles (48 km) to 5,788 nautical miles (10,719 km).
- Aircraft vary in size from the Cessna Caravan to the Boeing 777-300ER.
- They involve 14 airlines, but only two are international: Philippine Airlines and Porter Airlines.
- The fast-growing but still small carrier Breeze Airways added the most routes (13).
25 out of 43 routes
They are shown below. Breeze stands out. October marked its first time in Bangor, Lansing, Lancaster, and Portsmouth. Unsurprisingly, it has become Lancaster’s sole jet operator, with the Pennsylvania city around 77 miles from Philadelphia and 80 miles from Baltimore. According to the US Department of Transportation T-100 data, it is Lancaster’s first scheduled jet service.
| Airline (incl. any regional unit) | Routes that started October 1-13; see the notes above |
|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | Pasco-Los Angeles* (daily E175); Portland-Atlanta** (daily various 737 variants); Santa Rosa-Las Vegas** (daily E175) |
| American | Dallas/Fort Worth-Provo* (double daily CRJ700); Phoenix-Provo* (daily CRJ700) |
| Avelo | Santa Rosa-Ontario* (twice-weekly 737-700) |
| Breeze | Fort Myers-Bangor* (twice-weekly A220-300); Fort Myers-Burlington* (twice-weekly A220-300); Fort Myers-Islip* (four weekly A220-300); Fort Myers-Lansing* (twice-weekly A220-300); Fort Myers-Manchester* (twice-weekly A220-300); Fort Myers-Stewart* (twice-weekly A220-300); Fort Myers-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton* (twice-weekly A220-300); Norfolk-Phoenix* (twice-weekly A220-300); Orlando International-Bangor* (twice-weekly A220-300); Orlando International-Lancaster* (twice-weekly A220-300); Orlando International-Lansing* (twice-weekly A220-300); Orlando International-Portsmouth* (twice-weekly A220-300); Tampa-Bangor* (twice-weekly A220-300) |
| Contour | Charlotte-Altoona* (12 weekly ERJ); Chicago O’Hare-Cape Girardeau* (12 weekly CRJ/ERJ); Chicago O’Hare-Ft. Leonard Wood/Waynesville* (five weekly ERJ); Dallas/Fort Worth-Tupelo* (daily ERJ); Phoenix-Show Low* (12 weekly; ERJ) |
| Delta | Austin-Harlingen* (daily E175) |
Route additions: 26 to 43
They are as follows. My favorite is Philippine Airlines’ October 2 launch of Manila to Seattle, the carrier’s eighth North American destination.
In the year to July 2024, the market had 90,000 point-to-point passengers, all of whom connected en route. It was Seattle’s second-largest unserved Asian city after Delhi (129,000), which Air India has repeatedly hinted would begin.
| Airline (incl. any regional unit) | Routes that started October 1-13; see the notes above |
|---|---|
| Frontier | Atlanta-Austin** (three weekly A320neo/A321neo); Seattle-Salt Lake City (three weekly mainly A320neo)* |
| JetBlue | New York JFK-St Vincent* (twice-weekly A320); first flight by a US carrier |
| Philippine Airlines | Manila-Seattle* (three weekly 777-300ER); never had non-stop flights before |
| Porter | Toronto-Phoenix* (daily E195-E2) |
| Southern Airways Express | Kona-Waimea* (daily Cessna Caravan) |
| Southwest | Birmingham-Phoenix** (four weekly 737-700/800); Las Vegas-Grand Rapids* (four to five weekly 737-700/800); Las Vegas-Memphis* (four to five weekly mainly 737-700); Las Vegas-Rochester* (NY; four weekly 737-700/800); Sacramento-Kansas City** (daily 737-700) |
| Spirit | Birmingham-Fort Lauderdale* (up to daily A320neo); Boston-New Orleans** (up to daily A321neo); Charlotte-New Orleans* (up to daily A320neo/A321neo); Hartford-Orlando** (simple resumption after a pause; frequencies vary A320ceo); Philadelphia-San Juan** (back after a brief pause; up to daily; A321neo the most common equipment); Pittsburgh-Tampa** (simple seasonal resumption; frequencies vary up to daily; A320ceo the most common variant) |
| Sun Country | Minneapolis-Sarasota** (simple seasonal resumption; twice-weekly 737-800) |
Source: Simple Flying
