Denver International Airport to add Trans-Atlantic Air Service

Denver International Airport is adding its first new trans-Atlantic air service in more than a decade.
Icelandair announced Wednesday that it would start flying non-stop between Denver and Reykjavik in May. From there, travelers can also make connections to more than 20 other destinations in Europe.

Denver’s airport, the nation’s fifth busiest, currently has direct flights to London on British Airways and to Frankfurt on Lufthansa.

Icelandair pioneered cheap flights that carried many backpackers between Europe and the United States in the 1960s and `70s. The airline has added features like leather seats and in-flight entertainment but says it’s still considered a value airline.

Qatar Airways Adds New Non-stop Flights Routes to Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia

Qatar Airways announced three new routes as part of its expansion plans. The carrier will launch non-stop flights from Doha to Entebbe, Uganda on 2nd November and to Baku, Azerbaijan onto Tbilisi, Georgia on 30th November.

Qatar Airways yesterday announced an expansion of its international route network with the airline all set to offer flights to Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia from the airline’s hub at Doha.

From November 2nd 2011, Qatar Airways will operate daily non-stop scheduled flights to Entebbe, one of the largest cities in Uganda. This will be the carrier’s first new route to the African continent since 2007.

Qatar Airways will expand its operations into Central Asia from November 30th when the flag carrier of Qatar will introduce daily non-stop flights to Baku continuing onto Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia respectively.

The new routes will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class constitution. A total of 12 seats will be available in business class whereas 132 seats will be offered to travellers who prefer economy class tickets.

Qatar Airways made this announcement as the airline prepares itself for hectic few months ahead with the start of flight operations to Shiraz, Venice and Montreal in June; Kolkata in July; Sofia in September and Oslo in October.

Addressing a press conference in Dubai at one of the Middle East’s premier travel trade show (Arabian Travel Market), Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker observed that markets like Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia are hugely underserved by international airlines.

“But there is clearly demand and huge potential and, as a network global carrier, we are able to fulfil the needs of the travelling public from these three countries and for those wanting to travel there from markets we serve around the world,” Al Baker was quoted by the Qatar Airways’ website while addressing the packed international press conference.

“Qatar Airways already has a successful operation to the Russian capital Moscow. Expanding our presence deeper into Central Asia has been a focus of ours for some time so it is with extreme delight to be able to announce we will soon have new routes to add in this part of the world.

“And we are pleased to be reinforcing our presence in Africa, four years after our last move there when we launched flights to Tanzania’s capital city of Dar es Salaam. Adding Entebbe provides us with another foothold deeper into the African continent, where we already serve 15 destinations. We are confident this route start-up will be as successful as the others being planned,” he further added.

Qatar Airways is one of the few airlines awarded with 5-star rating by Skytrax along the likes of Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Kingfisher Airlines. Qatar Airways may not be the first name that springs up when the discussion is about tickets on cheap flights, however if travellers plan their travel early and book well in advance, the chances of netting cheap tickets on flights goes dramatically up for passengers.

Qatar Airways’ Express Expansion

Qatar Airways has really been on an expansion spree for the past few months. In January 2011, the airline launched flights to Bucharest, Budapest and Brussels in a single month alone. The 5-star airline also started flights to Germany’s Stuttgart in March and to Syria’s Aleppo in April, and now this triple bonanza to Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Al Baker stated, “As we take delivery of more aircraft, we will quickly induct them into service and constantly look at new opportunities to give the travelling public more travel options, more choice and more flexibility.”

Qatar Airways’ hub at Doha International Airport feeds passenger and cargo traffic to all parts of the world. The carrier currently operates flights to 100 cities worldwide with a modernised fleet of nearly 100 aircraft. By 2013, the carrier hopes to serve over 120 locations with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft.

JetBlue Launch Nonstop Flight and Low-Fare Airline Tickets from San Juan to St. Maarten

The low-fare/high-frills airline is set to launch nonstop San Juan flights to St. Maarten November 17 – subject to government approval.

This would make the discount airline’s eighth route out of San Juan, and its third from St. Maarten. Here’s what that means for you: This summer JetBlue will loft 27 daily departures from SJU and 34 daily flights from Puerto Rico proper. New San Juan flights to St. Maarten will spawn a slew of convenient connections from New York Kennedy, Boston Logan, Orlando International, and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood.

Seems the service JetBlue already offers to St. Maarten has been a boon to the island and the folks who fly there. It’s “changed the landscape of tourism in St. Maarten,” says Director of Tourism Regina LaBega, the island. “The airfares from key markets…have become more affordable.” That means more visitors.

OAG indicates there are no nonstop San Juan flights to St. Maarten. Right now there are ten nonstop routes to the island from the United States: Delta fields Atlanta flights to St. Maarten. JetBlue offers Boston flights to St. Maarten. United lofts Chicago flights to St. Maarten. American operates Miami flights to St. Maarten. JetBlue and American have New York flights to St. Maarten, and Continental New York/Newark flights to St. Maarten. US Airways lofts Philadelphia flights to St. Maarten, and United Washington, D.C. flights to St. Maarten.

JetBlue plans to deploy Embraer E-190 twinjets on the San Juan – St. Maarten route.

American Airlines Return Flights Service From Chicago to Dublin

Inclined towards Ireland for your next vacation? American Airlines is re-launching Chicago flights to Dublin, returning nonstop competition to the 3,656-mile run.

American will start flying Boeing 767-300s on the route beginning April 5. Right now, Aer Lingus offers the only nonstop service between the megahub that is Chicago O’Hare and the Irish capital. It connects the two cities with an A330.

American will ply the longish route daily. Chicago flights to Dublin depart O’Hare at 6:45 p.m., arriving Dublin at 8:00 a.m. the following morning. Assuming you got a decent night’s sleep on board, that leaves plenty of time to check into your hotel, wash up and see the sights.

A Cheapflights’ suggestion: fight the urge to immediately sleep when you arrive. Try to make it through the day and get to bed about 8 p.m. That will help re-set your clock faster. Avoid caffeine. That will keep you awake.

The return Dublin flight to Chicago departs Dublin at 10:00 a.m. and arrives O’Hare at 12:05 p.m., allowing ample time to make most onward connections.

The great thing about American’s new flight is that you deplane in Chicago as a domestic, not an international flyer. That’s because you will already have cleared customs and immigration in Dublin, in Terminal 2. Instead of queuing up with all the other international arrivals at O’Hare, just get off the plane, go to your next gate to catch your connection – or head home.

American Airlines Now Offer Daily Nonstop Flights New York to Budapest

Perhaps one of the reasons why Budapest hasn’t been on terribly many American itineraries is that, of late, there has been no nonstop from this country to the Hungarian capital. That has changed.

American Airlines now offers daily nonstop New York flights to Budapest. American is flying a Boeing 767-300 on the 4,360-mile transatlantic route.

Eastbound, New York flights to Budapest push back from the gate at John. F. Kennedy International Airport at 6:40 p.m. daily, arriving Budapest at 9:30 a.m. the following morning.

Westbound Budapest flights to New York depart at 11:55 a.m., and get to the gate at JFK at 3:35 p.m.

American has teamed up with oneworld alliance partner Malev for easy connections at Budapest’s Ferihegy International Airport. Malev has an extensive route network in Eastern Europe.

Budapest itself is a gem. The most frequently-visited site in the city is Buda Castle. This World Heritage Site has the Royal Palace, a trio of churches, and five museums. Stop at and savor some extraordinary Hungarian cuisine. Make the main course halászlsé – hot fish soup. Finish up with a bowl of cold hideg meggyleves – sour cherry soup. The contrast, in terms of temperature and taste, is wonderful.

Cross over either the Margaret Bridge or the Arpad Bridge to Margaret Island, Budapest’s most beautiful park. See St. Michael’s Church. Be bewitched by a music fountain. Explore centuries-old ruins. The island is rife with good restaurants, and even houses a couple of hotels.

Qantas Airlines to Increase Flight Service Los Angeles to New York, Non-stop Daily Flight Service

Qantas is bumping its LAX-NY connecting flight up to a daily service from 1 June 2011.

The Red Roo-liveried Airbus A330-200, which carries the same QF107/108 flight numbers as the primary feeder flights between Sydney and Los Angeles, currently runs just six flights per week from Los Angeles to New York’s JFK airport, skipping Tuesdays.

But it’s strictly for Qantas passengers connecting from Australia and New Zealand – no tickets are sold inside the US for this flight. Just as well, because Yanks may become quite jealous of the fitout on the A330: as one of Qantas’ international variants of the A330 it includes 36 Skybeds in business class.

They’re not the fully lie-flat horizontal beds – it’s a lie-almost-flat recline which tends to be better for extreme relaxing than serious snoozing. But that’s perfect for this last leg of your journey because it’s a day flight, and you should be trying to adjust to your destination time zone.

So in this stretch-out mode and with 60 inches of legroom (almost twice that of the A330’s economy cabin) it’s one of the best ways to spend the almost six hours shuttling from coast to coast and is a cut above almost anything on the US domestic market.

So while Qantas has plenty of codeshare flights from Los Angeles to New York with American Airlines, if you’re travelling in business class you may as well stick with Qantas all the way through.

Another reason is that Qantas runs this flight purely as a connection service for inbound LA flights from Sydney (QF107), Melbourne (QF93), Brisbane (QF15) and Auckland (QF25, which originates in Melbourne), so it’s more likely to be held over at LAX to accommodate late-arriving aircraft whereas a US domestic service would happily take off before your late flight touched down.

The exception to this is if you’re on QF11, which arrives too late into LAX for the QF107 connector.

Frontier Airlines Adds New Nonstop Flight Service Between San Diego and Omaha

Starting January 16, 2011, Frontier Airlines will add nonstop flights between San Diego and Omaha. Scheduled flight service three times a week with Embraer 190 aircraft.

Vice president of planning and strategy of Frontier Airlines said, “With the addition of this service, our guests in Omaha and beyond can now enjoy the superb service and affordable rates Frontier even more prominent tourist destination.”

Aircraft Embraer 190 (E190) that will be used to serve the flights are equipped with Wi-Fi facilities, all-leather seating in the configuration of two-by-two, and four-row seat “STRETCH”, which provides five inches extra legroom.

About Frontier Airlines

The original Frontier Airlines was Denver’s hometown carrier for 40 years before it was purchased in 1986. The airline carried 87 million passengers over the years and was known for great service and an outstanding safety record.

In 1993, executives from the original Frontier Airlines, as well as some newcomers to the industry, gave the old Frontier a fresh start. They were looking to fill gaps in Denver’s mainstream hub-and-spoke system.

We launched on July 5, 1994 with 180 employees and two Boeing 737-200s on routes between Denver and Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot, N.D.

Today, Frontier Airlines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc, an airline holding company that owns Chautauqua Airlines, Lynx Aviation, Midwest Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America.

Frontier is the second-largest carrier at Denver International Airport, employing approximately 5,000 aviation professionals. Frontier has one of the youngest Airbus fleets in North America offering 24 channels of DIRECTV® service in every seatback along with a comfortable all-coach configuration. Frontier offers routes to more than 50 destinations in the U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica. In addition, Frontier and Midwest have a codeshare partnership that allows passengers of both airlines access to 70 destinations in the U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica.

Low Cost Carrier Expansion : Spirit Airlines Add 11 New Flight Routes

Spirit Airlines (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) is introducing 11 new non-stop routes in the next phase of the ultra low cost carrier’s expansion along with new service to five new cities.

Spirit’s Fort Lauderdale expansion includes non-stop service to the following five new markets:

Plattsburgh, NY (serves Montreal, Canada) — four weekly non-stops starting January 14, 2011.
Niagara Falls, NY (serves Buffalo, NY and Toronto, Canada) — three weekly non-stops starting January 27, 2011.
Latrobe, PA (serves greater Pittsburgh area) — four weekly non-stops starting February 12, 2011.
Charleston, WV — three weekly non-stops starting March 3, 2011.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX — twice daily non-stops starting May 5, 2011.
Spirit’s Myrtle Beach expansion includes non-stop service the following five new markets:
Washington, DC (Reagan National/DCA, Washington’s close-in airport) — daily non-stop starting May 5, 2011.
Plattsburgh, NY — four weekly non-stops May 5, 2011.
Niagara Falls, NY — three weekly non-stops starting May 5, 2011.
Latrobe, PA — four weekly non-stops starting May 5, 2011.
Charleston, WV — three weekly non-stops starting May 5, 2011.

Spirit started regular scheduled Myrtle Beach service in 1996 and currently offers on average 11 daily non-stop flights from Myrtle Beach to seven major destinations in peak season, including: Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Detroit, New York LaGuardia and Fort Lauderdale, as well as connections to more than 25 additional cities in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America.

In addition to the today’s new route announcements, Spirit begins new service between Chicago and Las Vegas on November 11, 2010, and new service between Chicago and Atlantic City begins March 3, 2011.

Jet Airways to Start Daily Non-Stop Flights From Delhi to Milan

Jet Airways will commence daily non-stop flights from New Delhi to Milan from December 5, the airline said.

The service on the India-Italy route will make Milan the 24th international destination on Jet Airways network, it said.

The airline will operate the new service by using Airbus 330-200 aircraft. Configured in two classes, there will be 30 seats in Première (Business Class) and 190 seats in Economy Class.

Shares of the company gained Rs 10.75, or 1.33%, to trade at Rs 818.10. The total volume of shares traded was 94,518 at the BSE (10.31 a.m., Friday).

Virgin America Adds Flights Services to Orlando, Florida and Toronto

Virgin America, the low-cost U.S. carrier that is partly controlled by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, said on Thursday that it plans to start flights to Orlando, Florida, and Toronto later this year.

The San Francisco-based airline said it will add daily nonstop flights to Orlando from Los Angeles International (LAX) and San Francisco International (SFO) airports beginning Aug. 19.

Daily service to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport from LAX and SFO could start as early as June, should the U.S. Department of Transportation approve its application, Virgin America said in a statement.

Virgin America, whose main rivals include Alaska Airlines and other low-cost carriers, said it plans to announce at least three more new destinations this year.
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