Allegiant Announces Nine New Routes
Allegiant announced nine new nonstop routes this spring from five airports across its route map. The carrier is adding:
- From Austin: Sarasota (begins April 14), San Diego (begins April 20), and Washington/Dulles (begins April 21)
- From Nashville: Providence (begins April 21), Roanoke (begins April 21), and Washington/Dulles (begins April 21)
- From San Diego: Sioux Falls (begins May 19)
- From Orange County: Des Moines (begins April 14)
- From Savannah: Flint (Begins April 15)
The carrier’s release did not mention the frequency of the routes which leads to the assumption each route will operate whenever Allegiant damn well feels like flying it. The four cities added to Austin will grow its base there, while the Des Moines to Orange County and Savannah to Flint routes seem to be the result of dart throwing.
Aeromexico’s Bankruptcy Plan Approved
Aeromexico had its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan approved by the US Bankruptcy Court of New York this week after the airline and its parent company agreed to a $40 million settlement with a group of unsecured creditors.
In the new deal, Apollo Global Management is swapping its debt for equity, become the largest shareholder of the company with a 22.38% stake. Delta’s majority stake is being reduced to just 20%, but Delta is happy with the deal as it got Aeromexico to agree to provide the booze at the next SkyTeam pot luck dinner.
A group of Mexican investors will account for just over 4% of the company with the rest distributed amongst new investors and creditors. As part of the deal, Aeromexico will be able to wipe out about $1.1 billion worth of debt while raising $720 million if new equity capital.
PLAY Heads to NYC – Sorta
Icelandic Startup PLAY will begin flying to the United States this spring and announced its third U.S. destination, following the previously announced Baltimore and Boston. The airline is going wow its customer base by flying to New York, launching service New York/Stewart (SWF) on the farthest outskirts of what can maybe be considered the NYC metro area.
SWF is in Stewart, NY, about 60 miles north of Manhattan. Service will operate 4x-weekly, beginning June 10. The flight will depart London/Stansted, stop en-route for about 90 minutes in Reykjavik and then make its way to the New York area.
This flight will be the first international service into SWF in three years. Norwegian operated to the airport from Dublin, but suspended service in September 2019. The airport boasts a new $37 million international arrivals hall that will need a thorough cleaning as it’s sat vacant for so long.
- Air Europa needs cash.
- Air India‘s sale and leaseback of 21 B787s was nixed by the Indian government.
- American is hopeful of reopening its flagship lounges at Dallas/Ft. Worth and Chicago/O’Hare later this spring.
- Emirates will operate to Melbourne tonight with A380 service — its first time sending the A380 to Melbourne since the onset of the pandemic.
- Finnair will launch its new premium economy and business class products next week.
- FlyWestAF Algeria is excited AF to launch in Q4 of this year.
- KLM is beginning service to Austin on March 28.
- Ryanair is asking the Italian government to eliminate its boarding tax.
My cousin and I are going to get new glasses tomorrow morning.
After that? We’ll see…