FILE - The Rocky Mountains coated in a thick layer of late spring snow as viewed from 34,000 feet on April 16, 2017.
In this week’s airline news, Frontier and Spirit Airlines are shaking up their schedules, with the former adding some California routes and the latter ending some; Southwest resumes a Sacramento route to Mexico and Avelo Airlines begins its newest service from Santa Rosa next week; Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines start code-sharing on continental U.S.-Hawaii flights; Delta plans to add a route from SFO to Texas next year; Delta also plans a new transpacific route from its Salt Lake City hub and signs a code-sharing pact with a Middle Eastern airline; Southwest opens a website for cruise bookings; the Transportation Security Administration adds two more foreign carriers to its PreCheck roster; United introduces new wines for economy passengers on domestic flights; the SkyTeam airline alliance will begin offering intermodal connections to Eurostar trains; Japan Airlines offers free Wi-Fi to all passengers; Americans can start to apply for the U.K.’s new electronic travel authorization next month; Oakland Airport’s website adds a new route map and destination guide, and Chicago Midway opens its first premium passenger lounge.
Low-cost airlines like Spirit and Frontier adjust their route networks more frequently than major airlines, and both have just come out with big schedule revisions that include some California routes being added by Frontier and some being eliminated by Spirit. Frontier said it will add 22 new routes in December, including weekly flights from San Francisco International to Eagle County Airport in Colorado (gateway to Vail Ski Resort) starting Dec. 21 and three flights a week from SFO to Palm Springs beginning Dec. 12. Other new California routes for Frontier include daily service from Los Angeles International to Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City and Houston Bush Intercontinental, all starting Dec. 17; and three flights a week from Palm Springs to Denver beginning Dec. 12.
A view of Palm Springs International Airport.
Spirit has filed plans to eliminate 32 routes this fall, including some California service. According to a list published by the Points Guy, cuts taking effect immediately include San Diego-Salt Lake City and Burbank-Portland, to be followed on Oct. 7 by the elimination of San Jose-Portland and San Diego-Portland service and on Nov. 5 by the end of Los Angeles-Louisville flights. At Las Vegas, Spirit has ended Minneapolis-St. Paul service and plans to drop St. Louis flights Oct. 6 and Louisville service Nov. 4.
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(Spirit has faced increasing financial difficulties since a federal court blocked its merger with JetBlue in January, and the Wall Street Journal reported this week that Spirit is currently holding talks with its bondholders “over the terms of a potential bankruptcy filing,” although if the airline does decide to seek Chapter 11 protection, it “wouldn’t be imminent,” the Journal said.)
FILE - A United Airlines plane prepares for takeoff as an Southwest Airlines plane is landing at SFO on March 17, 2023.
In other domestic route news, Southwest Airlines on Oct. 5 resumes seasonal service from Sacramento to Los Cabos, Mexico, with one flight a week on Saturdays. On Oct. 10, low-cost Avelo Airlines plans to add its newest route from Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, operating........