Southwest Doubles Up to Aloha State
Two years after introducing service to the 50th state, Southwest Airlines is massively expanding its service to Hawai’i, introducing flights out of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix while adding on to its current schedule out of San Diego and other airports. This is all possible thanks to the introduction of the 737 MAX on extended overwater (ETOPS) flights.
Prior to the announcement, the airline operated to Hawai’i from Long Beach, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose. Long Beach and Oakland will see an extra daily flight to Honolulu this summer while San Jose gets an extra flight to Maui, but the real growth is in San Diego and the three new cities:
- Las Vegas – Honolulu 2x daily from June 6, Kahului 2x daily from June 27, Kona 1x daily from September 7, and Lihu’e 1x daily from September 8.
- Los Angeles – Honolulu 2x daily from June 6, Kahului 3x daily from June 6, Kona 1x daily from June 27, and Lihu’e 1x daily from June 27.
- Phoenix – Honolulu 2x daily from June 27, Kahului 1x daily from June 27, Kona 1x daily from September 7, and Lihu’e 1x daily from September 7.
- San Diego – Honolulu gets a 2nd daily from June 6, Kahului 2x daily from June 27, Kona 1x daily from June 27, and Lihu’e 1x daily from June 29.
The entry of the 737 MAX into Hawai’i — when not grounded for some problem or another — enables the Las Vegas and Phoenix flights since the 737-800s do not have the range. Notably, both those cities get morning flights from Honolulu while Vegas has a morning flight from Kahului, so the number of connecting options to the east will dramatically increase with this expansion. If you’re an east coaster who loves the idea of back-to-back 5 hour flights in unassigned seats with nothing more than snacks… it’s time to get excited!
Breeze Inaugural Route and Destinations Leaked
Breeze Airways, the startup airline planning to put flights on sale soon, has sprung a leak. Ahead of its launch announcement, the first routes and destinations appeared in an article hosted on Apple News on Thursday.
The article states the airline will fly 49 direct routes at launch, operating to 15 cities. The first route will be Tampa to Charleston (CHS), operated by E190 and E195 aircraft. The airline will eventually begin flying A220s once it’s up and running. The initial focus will be making enough money to operate for more than a month connecting the Rust Belt with the Sun Belt. Other cities at launch will include Nashville, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh.
It’ll operate with three fare classes: Nice, Nicer, and Nicest. Other finalists included Breezy, Breezier, and Breeziest along with Absolutely No Frills, Mostly No Frills, and Some Frills but Not Enough to be Frilly. The “Nicest” class will be the airline’s business class product which will launch when it puts A220s into service later in 2021.
What’s not included in the announcement is a launch date for the airline’s first flight. Look for that detail to come very soon, with some saying the airline is seeing which way the wind blows before it makes its decision.
Airlines Cancel Tel Aviv Flights
IAG airlines British Airways and Iberia canceled their flights to Tel Aviv today, joining several U.S. airlines in suspending service to the Israeli airport while tensions continue to escalate in the region.
An Iberia flight from Madrid to Tel Aviv was forced to divert over the Mediterranean Tuesday night as Israel’s defense system shot down rockets that were aimed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
The decision from the European airlines comes a day after American, Delta, and United halted flights to TLV for the time being. Lufthansa originally had planned to operate its Friday flight between Frankfurt and Tel Aviv before opting to cancel it early Thursday. British LCC easyJet and Israeli flag carrier El Al both plan to operate their schedules to and from Tel Aviv without cancellations, but both say they are monitoring the situation.
El Al has made Whatsapp messaging free on all flights so passengers can stay in touch friends and family on the ground. easyJet laughed at the idea, saying it doesn’t offer anything for free — even in a potential war zone.
Boeing Gains FAA Approval for 737 MAX Fix
Boeing received approval from the FAA on Wednesday of its fix for the electrical grounding issue that forced airlines to take approximately 100 737 MAX aircraft out of service last month.
The news comes as airlines are ramping up their operations with demand for summer travel reaching levels not seen since prior to the pandemic. In other words, they really need those airplanes flying instead of acting as shade structures for prairie dogs in the desert.
Of the ~100 aircraft taken out of service last month, more than 60 belonged to American, Southwest, and United – the three largest operators of the MAX in the United States. The airlines are eager to get their aircraft back into operation to get as many flights as possible out until the next issue forces it to be grounded again.
Germany Eases Restrictions for Vaccinated Travelers
The German government will permit travelers who are fully-vaccinated against COVID to avoid quarantine when entering the country beginning later this summer. The government will also allow non-vaccinated visitors to leave quarantine if they can provide two negative tests after Chancellor Angela Merkel approved the change to existing quarantine policies.
The country will launch its digital immunity certificate by the end of next month, which will be required for German residents to prove they’ve been fully vaccinated. The certificate will be stored in an app on your phone instead of the WHO’s vaccine booklet.
Germany has improved its vaccination rate after a slow start. Five million doses were administered last week, halfway to its goal of 10 million weekly jabs. A third of Germany’s 83 million residents have received at least one shot, with about 10% full vaccinated.
The government is making a strong push to complete the verification process prior to Wheneverfest Season which could be underway at any time.
- Air Busan is operating flights to nowhere that briefly leave Korean airspace just long enough to qualify for duty-free shopping.
- AirAsia X is beginning a $121 million fundraising drive.
- Allegiant is on the move at LAX, moving from its current location in Terminal 5 to the new Terminal 1-West gates. The airline will begin operating from its new location this Wednesday, May 19.
- Alitalia had a €12.8 million aid package from the Italian government approved by the European Commission. The cash will be transferred as soon as Alitalia can locate that darn routing number.
- Gulf Air is resuming direct summer seasonal service from Bahrain to Malaga. The flights will operate twice weekly between June 30 and August 29.
- Nauru Airlines put one of its B737-400 freighters up for sale. The airline plans to bring the plane to Narau’s monthly swap meet which takes place on the 2nd Sunday of each month.
- Pobeda began operating its first flights at Moscow/Sheremetyevo (SVO) this week. The airline is operating at SVO, located 35 miles from its Moscow/Vnukovo (VKO) base, for the first time since its founding in 2014.
- SKY Express is beginning 6x-weekly service between Athens and Brussels. The flights will begin this Sunday, May 16.
- Spirit is adding two new destinations out of Orange County airport, beginning daily service to Phoenix and Sacramento on June 9. On July 7 it is resuming daily service to Oakland and adding a second daily flight to Las Vegas. All new routes are subject to Spirit’s schedule addition fee which the four airports have not yet paid.
- Starlux‘s first flight to Vietnam landed in Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) earlier this morning.
- TAP applied for the liquidation of its ground handling company. The airline is a creditor of the company and 49.9% owner.
- Thai’s restructuring plan will remain in limbo as its creditors postponed their vote.
- Virgin Australia will remain a fully domestic operation for some time, except for flights to Queenstown, NZ which will begin September 18.
I didn’t want to believe that my roommate was stealing from his job as a traffic cop, but when I got home, all the signs were there.