Condor, AirTran, and Cathay Pacific Lead This Week's New Routes
Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.
· Condor:
We’re pretty intrigued by this new route, as passengers in the Seattle area might have a cheaper option for their 2011 European vacations. Condor Airlines—they’re part of the Thomas Cook group—is launching service from Seattle to Frankfurt on June 23. The flights will only be on Mondays and Thursdays, at least at first, and a little competition with Lufthansa could bring prices down for everyone on the route. Condor will be running Boeing 767-300s back and forth on this route, and there’s three classes of service to choose from—economy, premium economy and "comfort class."
If things go well in Seattle, Condor might even consider some other US destinations. There’s a little rumor floating around that somewhere in Florida—maybe near Tampa—could be getting service once 2012 rolls around.
· Frontier:
The furry animals and warm cookies are on the move once again, as Frontier Airlines is shaking up the schedule to and from Denver early next year. No crazy warm weather destinations or other fun options, but there’s plenty of practicality built in to these new options. Expect flights to Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, and Sacramento beginning next spring. In additional to the big city options the airline will also be bringing back its seasonal service to Fairbanks, Alaska beginning on May 13. All the new flights are bookable through September of next year, so start planning!
· AirTran:
Even though they’re set to shack up with Southwest Airlines before too long, AirTran continues to do their own thing. This week they announced that they’ll be visiting Bermuda once the warmer weather hits in 2011. Flights will head out from Baltimore as well as Atlanta beginning next spring—April for Baltimore and May for Atlanta for those marking their calendars. Technically they’re still awaiting government approval for the new flights, but we think it’s time to pack our Bermuda shorts since they’re already talking about it.
· Cathay Pacific:
We’ve been all about Cathay Pacific this week, so we couldn’t let the week pass without mentioning their new route news. As of September 1, 2011, you can jump aboard a Cathay flight from Chicago-O’Hare to Hong Kong. This is the first time that Cathay Pacific has added a new city to its US offerings since 1998, so it’s kind of a big deal. Expect Boeing 777s on the new route, and maybe if we’re lucky we can finally score a seat in their updated business class cabin. United Airlines kind of owns the Chicago to Hong Kong options, so let’s just hope a little healthy competition benefits our wallets.
· Alaska Airlines:
This week Alaska Airlines started a new option from San Jose to Los Cabos. Taking all the tech-nerds down south to get some color is a big task, so the airline is sending planes back and forth three times a week. The new routes run on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, so you might even be able to head out for a long weekend and return to the Googleplex on Monday morning. However, there’s no WiFi on this route, which actually might be a necessity for some.
[Photos: Wikimedia and PhillipC ]
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