As 2017 draws to a close, Routesonline looks at some of the biggest stories making the headlines this year. Part one of our review of the year features the US travel ban, Norwegian's expansion, Chinese low-cost carrier Lucky Air's ambitious plans and an interview with Etihad's chief executive Peter Baumgartner.
JetBlue first introduced the Airbus A321 into its network in late 2013, but started introducing its premium Mint configured aircraft into its fleet in the middle of 2014 for operation on Transcontinental routes from New York and latterly also from Boston. These aircraft are configured with 16 lie-flat seats, four of which are private suites, and 143 core JetBlue Experience seats (Economy and ‘Even More Space’ seats).
After reviewing and restructuring its operations at the start of the decade and reducing its network by around a third between 2011 and 2013, Frontier returned to growth in 2014 with a year-on-year capacity rise of 9.8 per cent. This was followed by a 6.9 per cent growth in 2015, while last year brought a 16.2 per cent increase as the airline took the opportunity to expand, adding six ‘new’ markets to its network.
US airlines are in a period of surging profits due to low oil prices, consolidation and strong demand. But with the arrival of a new US administration, long-standing issues such as infrastructure and a failure to develop secondary and tertiary airports, is everything positive?
Having successfully hosted World Routes back in October 2013, the first time the event had taken place in the United States of America, the fruits of that event mean the air service development community is back in the city for this year’s Routes Americas, which is taking place at the Aria Resort and Casino on February 14–16, 2017.
LIVE coverage from Routes Americas - the only network development conference which unites the Americas. Today: Final day of meetings, Route Exchange Briefing, handover ceremony
The aviation industry will gather in Las Vegas next week (14 and 16 February) at the 10th annual Routes Americas conference to plan new flights in North and South America.
An airport dominated by domestic traffic, Las Vegas McCarran has made huge strides in recent years to open routes to the rest of the world. Ahead of the city hosting Routes Americas 2017, we spoke to Rosemary Vassiliadis to hear more.
As it celebrates the tenth anniversary of its debut in the US market, Qatar Airways has said the new four times weekly link between Hamad International Airport and McCarran International Airport will commence from January 8, 2018. It will be flown using a Boeing 777-200LR.
Hainan Airlines' landmark Beijing - Las Vegas service has its roots in the US city hosting the World Routes air service development forum back in October 2013 and has been helped subsequently by regular meetings at Routes regional and world events. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimates the flights will account for $33.5 million in annual economic impact.
The eight ‘new’ markets comprise Canberra, the airline’s fifth destination in Australia; Dublin, Ireland; Las Vegas, the airline’s eleventh destination in the United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Medan’s Kualanamu International Airport, the airline’s third destination in Indonesia; and Tabuk and Yanbu, its ninth and tenth destinations in Saudi Arabia.
With Routes Americas just around the corner, we've rounded up some of the things not to miss during your time in the entertainment capital of the world.
Las Vegas is the host destination for Routes Americas 2017 – the meeting forum for airports, airlines and tourism authorities that want to develop new air services across the Americas.
The arrival of Qatar Airways would be a major development for Las Vegas, and the suggested January 2017 launch could have the route established ahead of next year’s Routes Americas forum which takes place the The Aria Resort and Casino Convention Facility in Sin City between February 14 and 16, 2017.
JetBlue confirms it will take delivery of ten additional Airbus A321s in 2017 and nine of these will be configured in its MINT arrangement to be introduced on routes to Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle from New York; to San Diego and Seattle from Boston and to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Fort Lauderdale.
