American Airlines will use a special rule exception to fly longer-than-normal routes out of New York's LaGuardia Airport next year.
11.12.2024 - 14:03 / thepointsguy.com
After more than a decade of planning and years of tests, Amtrak's high-speed, next-generation Acela trains are finally set to enter service early next year.
The new Acela trains should enter revenue service at some point during the spring of 2025, the rail operator confirmed this week.
It's a milestone that should bring far greater comfort — and capacity — to Amtrak's key Northeast Corridor service that runs between Washington, D.C., and Boston via New York City.
The new trains "will upgrade the travel experience for millions of passengers and set the stage for the next generation of train travel in America and on the Northeast Corridor," Amtrak said.
Related: Amtrak debuts new self-check-in option on Acela trains
The fact that travelers won't see the new Acela trains until next spring is a delay from Amtrak's previously announced timeline, to be sure.
In fact, the new Acela trains are well over three years behind schedule, having encountered a series of hurdles — the coronavirus pandemic among them. Last year, a federal watchdog's report flagged defects on a slew of new Acela train sets, warning the problems threatened to further delay their arrival into service.
This time last year, Amtrak had told me it hoped passengers might board the new trains by the end of 2024.
However, the wait for passengers does seem to be nearing its end.
In an update last week, Amtrak said it recently wrapped up more than 900 test runs of the new Acela trains with Alstom (the train sets' manufacturer) and planned to soon submit data to the Federal Railroad Administration — a key final step.
Amtrak's multibillion-dollar next-generation Acela program will replace its aging Acela fleet with 28 brand-new train sets with personal outlets, USB ports, contactless restrooms and a much-improved cafe car.
Infrastructure improvements along the Northeast Corridor should also, eventually, allow the trains to hit top speeds of up to 160 mph.
Related: Amtrak Guest Rewards: How to earn and redeem points with train travel
This news comes as Amtrak just announced a record-setting ridership and revenue year in fiscal year 2024, which ran from October 2023 to September 2024. That included a 9% increase in Acela passengers over the prior year — and an 18% jump in ridership in the Northeast region, more broadly.
Related reading:
American Airlines will use a special rule exception to fly longer-than-normal routes out of New York's LaGuardia Airport next year.
Two years ago, I spent Christmas in Paris, and I've been longing to find the same festive charm in my home city of New York ever since.
In the children’s section of Albertine, copies of “Le Petit Prince,” stories of Tintin and Babar and other much-loved French classics are for sale beneath a sapphire-colored ceiling gilded with hand-painted constellations. What’s arguably New York’s most enchanting bookstore opened a decade ago inside the palatial Payne Whitney House, an early 1900s landmark built by the architect Stanford White on the southeast corner of East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue that’s served as the headquarters of the French Embassy’s cultural and educational activities in the United States for the past 72 years.
JetBlue plans to add a new first-class cabin, with larger seats and more legroom, to its domestic flights in the coming years.
Everyone likes to have a little fun, but if you're looking for a vacation that'sa lot of fun, WalletHub has some ideas. The personal finance website revealed its list of the most fun — and budget-friendly — cities in the U.S. and Las Vegas came out on top.
New York is one of the most iconic cities in the world, and even though I travel 100 days out of the year, I'd never been until recently.
"Will it or won't it reopen?" hotel cynics have been wondering about Waldorf Astoria New York for years. (Not me, of course. I'm an eternal optimist who always thought it was coming back. Cough.) But now, the Waldorf Astoria New York finally has a clear path to reopening day.
There's big news on the rails this week: Amtrak just reached 20 million members of its Guest Rewards program.
Extreme weather is happening more frequently across the country, as we have seen this year with Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic impact on Asheville, N.C., November’s wildfires in New York and New Jersey and this month’s fast-spreading Malibu fire. Nearly 20 percent of all Americans have had to evacuate their homes because of unexpected severe weather, according to a new study by the analytics firm YouGov.
In December, New Yorkers like to indulge in frothy hot chocolate and other traditional Yuletide treats as much as the city’s holiday visitors do, but facing crushing throngs and high prices, particularly at home, can be as off-putting as a rock-hard bagel.
In recent months, JetBlue has pulled back a bit in Europe, trimming its footprint at London Gatwick Airport (LGW) in the off-peak months and scaling back in Paris and Amsterdam.
JetBlue is heading to Spain next summer with its latest expansion efforts to Europe, and flights are already on sale for its popular economy and business class cabins.