Frontier Builds New Frontiers With 13 New Routes
Frontier Airlines has announced 13 new routes in the last two days as the airline continues an aggressive post-pandemic expansion.
The big winner from Frontier was Atlanta, as it will see six new destinations on the airline. This gives Atlanta a total of 22 nonstop cities served by Frontier. The announcement of the Atlanta expansion comes several weeks after the airline announced a new crew base there – which is good, because the original plan to just have one person operate all these flights via remote control was shot down by the FAA.
The new destinations from Atlanta are:
- Cleveland (4x weekly, beginning June 11)
- Dallas/Ft Worth (4x weekly beginning June 11)
- Hartford (4x weekly, beginning June 11)
- Phoenix (3x weekly, beginning June 10)
- Portland, ME (4x weekly, beginning July 11)
- Providence (3x weekly, beginning July 12)
The other new routes for Frontier include: Philadelphia to Portland, ME (4x weekly, beginning July 13) and Providence (3x weekly beginning July 12). Travelers from Buffalo (2x weekly, beginning June 11), Portland, ME (once weekly, beginning June 12), and Providence (2x weekly, beginning June 10) will be afforded the opportunity to make the mistake of visiting Myrtle Beach. Lastly, Frontier is adding 3x weekly flights from Rochester to Orlando and 3x weekly flights from Miami to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
UK Aviation Leaders Push for US/UK Bubble
As Australia and New Zealand prepare to open a common travel bubble next week, leaders of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Heathrow Airport — alongside loyalists throughout the colonies — are pushing the UK officials to implement a similar corridor between the United Kingdom and the United States.
Recognizing the challenge of getting a good tan in the UK, the trio stressed that now is the time to bring a travel bubble to life. Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic CEO, stated that the strong vaccine program in both countries gives the UK an opening to develop the bubble.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to move towards opening the borders next month, when a green/yellow/red system for the safety level and quarantine requirements for travelers goes into effect. The British travel industry is pushing for the United States to be put on the “green list” immediately, allowing returning passengers to the UK to be exempt from quarantine requirements. Meanwhile, Germany will be banished to the red for the distant future as retalation for the English loss in the 1990 World Cup semifinals.
Alitalia Running Out of Money
Color us shocked. Alitalia is quickly running out of money, with things so bad it’s sending a collection plate down the aisle on flights asking for tithes from passengers to ensure enough fuel to land safely.
The airline was only able to pay its 10,500 employees half their March salary while awaiting negotiations between the Italian Government and the European Commission over the future of the airline. Alitalia told the two government bodies they have just three weeks to get their act together in time to launch the same airline with a new name new airline in time to take advantage of the summer travel season.
The EU contends the relaunch of this new airline is really just putting lipstick on a bloated, money-losing pig – and calling it a swan. It says the lack of separation between the assets of the current airline and the new airline are too similar, and that the new airline must pay the current airline market rate to keep Alitalia’s brand, operating certificates, and slots at its Milan/Linate hub.
The Italian government continues to make things up compeltely on the fly, now planning to bring back its old idea of leasing Alitalia’s assets to the new airline, an idea it passed on several months ago because it wasn’t feasible. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And on that note, we’ll be sure to pass along the GoFundMe link when it goes live.
Company That Sells Travel Says Travelers Want to Travel
According to a study from the travel technology conglomerate Amadeus, nine of ten (that’s 90% for those non-math majors) would-be travelers would be comfortable using a digital health passport if it led to getting back to traveling more quickly.
62% of the travelers surveyed also said that they would be more likely to use a passport app if it was done in conjunction with a trusted healthcare company. However, when asked to name a trusted healthcare company, none could do so.
The plan for vaccine passports is still very much to be determined. The Biden administration has previously said the federal government would not get into the vaccine passport business. Several EU countries plan to use some sort of passport this summer for European citizens to confirm their completed vaccinations to allow for easier travel in the bloc. Aruba, a constituent country of the Netherlands, became the first country to begin a passport program when it did so last month. Brazil said it couldn’t care less, just come visit.
Ethiopian Cargo Flight Lands at Wrong Airport
Ethiopian Flight 3891, a cargo flight from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Ndola, Zambia (NLA) in Namibia’s Copperbelt province accidentally landed 15 miles away at Copperbelt’s new airport that is not yet open.
Dozens of stunned workers saw the B737-800F aircraft approach and land without incident despite the airport still being under construction. Despite that, amazingly enough, Hudson News still had a stand at the unfinished airport with $14 tuna sandwiches and $7 water bottles for sale.
The landing was performed under visual flight rules, as there was no tower to guide them in. The crew in the cockpit was seemingly unalarmed when the Ndola ATC told the plane “we cannot see you,” because they were, ya know, at another airport. After landing, the crew eventually figured out their mistake, made their way to the next taxiway, and took off for the correct airport.
A spokesman for Ethiopian said that the heading of the runway at the new airport is the same as the runway at the current airport, leading to the error which seems like someone complaining there’s a Main Street in every city. Upon landing, the cockpit crew parked the aircraft while its cargo was unloaded and immediately went to find a computer to spend some quality time on Google Maps.
Airline Potpourri
- Air New Zealand plans to reopen its lounge network on April 19, the same day the Tasman travel bubble is scheduled to open.
- Alliance Air will launch its first E190 commercial ops this weekend.
- Ibom Air in Nigeria will be adding an A220 to its fleet in the coming weeks.
- Korean Air will raise between $180 and $270 million through a bond issue.
- Ryanair updated its financial forecast for the year ending March 31, 2021 with an expected total loss between €800 and €850 million, a smaller loss than it was previously expecting. Despite the good news, the airline is surely still angry at someone.
- Virgin Atlantic will be offering points in its Velocity rewards program when Australian’s gas up at 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country. No word on whether points will be offered for Vegemite pie purchases at the register.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
How do you find Will Smith in the snow?
You look for the fresh prints.