Sun Country Announces New Service to Branson from DFW
Sun Country Airlines announced Tuesday, Mar. 17,that it will begin nonstop flights to Branson Airport on May 11, when the airport opens for service. Branson Airport is the nation’s first privately developed and operated commercial airport.
D/FW is the fourth destination to be announced for the new airport. AirTran Airways recently said it would fly to Atlanta and Milwaukee, and Sun Country plans to fly to Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Introductory fares will begin at $79 each way, according to Sun Country. The service will begin with one daily flight that departs D/FW at 9:35 a.m. A return flight arrives at 1 p.m.
“We are thrilled about Sun Country? service to (D/FW) and the grand opening of the Branson Airport on May 11,?said Jeff Bourk, Branson Airport’s executive director, in a prepared statement. ?e look forward to welcoming Dallas travelers to Branson where they can enjoy all we have to offer.?/span>
Because the airport is privately operated, it can make exclusive deals with airlines for service, officials said. Airlines have served Branson from the Springfield, Mo., airport. American Eagle, for example, has a nonstop D/FW-Springfield route.
Air Jamaica, LIAT cut routes
Jamaica’s cash-strapped national carrier and regional airline LIAT are both cutting routes as the world economic turbulence takes a toll on their operations.
Air Jamaica revealed to employees yesterday that it addition to getting rid of under-performing routes and reducing its plane fleet, it will have to trim its workforce.
“We are following a schedule that reduces our flying to try to match our capacity with demand and we are reducing and at least eliminating for the time being flights between Jamaica and Miami, also to Grand Cayman, Los Angeles and Atlanta and the Eastern Caribbean,” Chief Executive Officer Bruce Nobles said, adding that the service between Jamaica and Barbados and Jamaica and Grenada will also cease from February 26.
The number of persons who will be sent on the breadline has not yet been decided, Mr Nobles said, but he made it clear that the cuts will “affect all levels in the company because we are going to try and get the company’s cost down to try and match the revenue coming in the door”.
He said that efforts will be made to minimise the impact on staff, with consideration being given to options such as voluntary redundancies and leaves of absence.
The airline’s fleet will also be reduced from 15 to nine aircraft and existing leases will be restructured and aircraft returns negotiated.
All the cuts are part of a business plan for the carrier which is moving to be privatized by March.
Meantime, the Antigua-based LIAT announced on Monday that it would have to cut back on some routes because of a decrease in demand. It said the current world economic crisis was impacting on travel patterns in the Caribbean and the carrier would have to reduce the number of daily flights in and out of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and St Kitts and Nevis.
“At present there are some flights that are doing fairly well and there are some days with good loads; but unfortunately our forecast overall load factor for the month of January and the next few months is clearly showing a softening in the markets,” explained Director of Schedules and Special Projects Lesroy Browne.
“We will be continuing the process of adjustments throughout this trying time of world economic downturn to ensure that we add capacity where there is a demand and reduce capacity where we see the loads are not holding up.”
LIAT said that from February 15 to 25 and April 9 to 14, it would reinstate at least two flights in an effort to help satisfy demand around the time of the Trinidad Carnival as well as the Easter Weekend.
New Air Service from Austin to Puerto Vallarta
The white beaches of Mexico? Pacific Coast are now only two hours from Austin, Texas. New non-stop vivaAerobus flights from Austin to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, begin Jan. 15, 2009 out of the South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA).
From tours of the jungle to grilled marlin served beachside, Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful, cultured, luxurious vacation spot. The city maintains its unique Old Mexico charm with all the conveniences of modern life. The city enjoys over 300 sunny days a year with temperatures averaging 83 degrees. English is widely spoken, especially in the downtown shopping and dining areas.
Ultra low cost carrier vivaAerobus is only available from Austin, providing one departing and returning flight every Thursday and Sunday. Flights leave Austin at 1:35 p.m., arriving in Puerto Vallarta at 3:40 p.m. Flights depart Puerto Vallarta at 10:30 a.m., arriving in Austin at 12:50 p.m. Non-stop tickets from Austin to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Monterrey are available at www.vivaaerobus.com.
VivaAerobus started operations in Austin on May 1, 2008 and operates a fleet of Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
British Airways Arrives in St. Kitts
Preparations are being finalised today for Saturday’s arrival of British Airways’ inaugural flight from London-Gatwick into St Kitts’ Robert L Bradshaw International Airport.
When the 280-seat Boeing 777 aircraft touches down at 4:45 pm, Minister of State for Tourism, Sports and Culture, Senator Richard Skerritt; Minister of Housing, Agriculture and Fisheries, Cedric Liburd; Nevis’ Minister for Communications, Works, Public Utilities, Carlisle Powell; and Chairman of the St Kitts Tourism Authority, Alphonso O’Garro, will be among the passengers, along with top British Airways officials.
“The new weekly flight by BA will not only increase capacity to the destination, but the inclusion of the Club World seats also means that it will be easier for upmarket UK tour operators to sell both islands of the Federation,” a government release said.
The London Gatwick service will also connect a wide array of UK and European cities served by BA.
“Indeed we now look forward to the commencement of (the) direct flight from Gatwick-London,” Prime Minister Denzil Douglas said earlier this week, as he said his ruling Labour Party would continue to push the twin-island federation as a high-end luxury destination which will provide higher wages for its local population.
Ahead of the inaugural flight, British Airways said that countries such as St Kitts and St Lucia continue to experience growth and investment and it is anticipated that larger numbers of travelers will want to visit those destinations.
“These two Caribbean islands are seventh and eighth respectively, on British Airways’ predicted top 10 long haul destinations for 2009,” it said.
Delta with new nonstop flights to Sydney, Sao Paulo, increased service to New York
Delta Air Lines will strengthen its gateway at Los Angeles International Airport in 2009 with the addition of its first-ever daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia* effective July 1; three-times weekly service between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil* beginning May 21; and increased service between Los Angeles and New York-JFK starting March 2.
Delta? growth at Los Angeles is supported by the recently announced expanded marketing agreement between Delta and Alaska Air Group that will make the two companies preferred partners on the West Coast and bolster connectivity at Los Angeles. The agreement will make Sydney, Sao Paulo, as well as Delta? existing international flights to Latin America, Tokyo-Narita, Seoul-Inchon, Guangzhou, Amsterdam, Paris-Charles De Gaulle and other U.S. destinations more accessible to travelers from points throughout the West Coast via easy connections with Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Delta and its Northwest Airlines subsidiary together with Alaska and Horizon offer customers daily connections to approximately 45 nonstop destinations to, from and through Los Angeles.
With the addition of Sydney, Delta will become the only U.S. airline to fly to six continents, enhancing its position as the premier global airline.
Beginning in March, Delta also will increase nonstop service between Los Angeles and New York-JFK from seven to eight daily flights to improve connections for New York and Northeast customers on long-haul international flights via Los Angeles. Additionally, Delta customers in the Southeastern U.S. will benefit from same-plane service between Atlanta and Sydney via LA.
*Subject to foreign government approval.
Northwest Airlines wants to delay Seattle-Beijing service
Citing adverse market conditions, Northwest Airlines wants to delay its planned service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Beijing, China, from March 2009 to March 2010.
Northwest Airlines, the subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, wants U.S. Department of Transportation approval to delay the route? startup date without losing its rights to the route. Bookings between the U.S. and China have dropped by almost a third in the past year, the airline told the DOT.
Northwest also wants to delay service between Beijing and Detroit by several months as well. The airline? Detroit to Shanghai route will also be suspended between Mar. 28 and June 3, said Anthony Black, Delta spokesman. Northwest had lobbied hard for that route, finally getting approval from regulators about a year ago.
The announcement comes a month after Northwest said it will drop its Seattle-to-London nonstop flight next year, less than six months after inaugurating the service. The nonstop flights will end Jan. 8.
Air Pacific – Hong Kong to Fiji
AIR PACIFIC, Fiji’s national airline, is in negotiation with Hong Kong regarding a new route between Hong Kong and Fiji. If approved, this direct route would capture more of the Asian travel market as well as travellers connecting from UK and Europe. It is hoped that the new schedule would commence by mid 2009, initially with two flights to Fiji a week operating B767-300 aircraft.
Anguilla Announces New Executive Air Service to Puerto Rico
Anguilla? Ministry of Tourism has announced the launch of a new executive air service which will operate between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Anguilla. The new service, scheduled to start on February 14, 2009, will be provided on the Anguilla Air Express, and operated by Rainbow International Airlines Inc.
Rainbow International Airlines is one of the premiere charter companies in the region, and currently operates executive charter service out of major hubs in the Caribbean including San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbados and St. Kitts.
They also serve a number of five star properties, including Malliouhana Hotel, Four Seasons, and Raffles, to name a few. They are the airline of choice for guests seeking the comfort, luxury and convenience of a private jet service, and this same quality of service will be offered to visitors traveling on the Anguilla Air Express.
The Anguilla Air Express will operate a Beechcraft 1900D Turbo Prop Airplane with seating capacity for 19 in leather reclining cabin chairs on this route. A captain and first officer will pilot the flight.
Ticket prices start at US$399 per person, including taxes. The emphasis of the Anguilla Air Express will be on first class, personalized service, with an agent meeting all passengers at the gate and escorting them through security and to the departure gate in San Juan, and through Immigration and Customs on arrival in Anguilla. The same level of service will apply on the return journey, with all passengers greeted at aircraft by an agent, then escorted through Immigration and Customs in San Juan.
With more than 30 beaches on 12 miles of coastline and some of the Caribbean’s best resorts and restaurants, Anguilla and its resorts continually sit on the top of Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure award lists.
Part of the British West Indies, Anguilla is home to the Caribbean’s highest concentration of luxury properties. Most of them are on the western half in Shoal Bay West, Rendezvous Bay, and Meads Bay.
Although still a long way from being overdeveloped (in 1980, the government decided to limit development to discreet, small hotels and elegant, upscale resorts), Anguilla is becoming more sophisticated with each season. The island is booming with recent hotel and restaurant openings and its airport runway is growing to accommodate larger commercial planes in addition to private jets.
