Exciting new airline routes from December 2023 and beyond
01.01.2024 - 16:41
/ thepointsguy.com
The airline network planners didn't simply fast forward to 2024.
Instead, they spent much of December — especially the weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday — rolling out tweaks to their route maps.
This includes some big expansions from Air Canada and Frontier, as well as JetBlue, which joined the fray in adding service to Tulum's new airport. The planners down in Atlanta also didn't rest on their 2023 laurels when they unveiled a major expansion in Austin.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG's free biweekly Aviation newsletter.
Catch all the airline route news you might've missed below — and we'll see you again in 2024.
Alaska Airlines filed some noteworthy changes in one of its key focus cities: Boise, Idaho. While the airline experimented with some eastward-bound flights to Austin and Chicago from the city during the pandemic, those routes are being cut early in 2024.
Instead, Alaska will again focus on connectivity throughout the West for its Boise base.
All of this comes as the airline focuses on longer leisure-focused flights, such as the newly inaugurated service this month from Los Angeles and Seattle to Nassau in the Bahamas.
American didn't file any major network-related press releases this month, but that didn't stop the airline from toying with its route map.
This includes cutting two routes: Los Angeles to San Jose, California, and Dallas-Fort Worth to Fayetteville, North Carolina. These domestic outstations will continue to be served from other American hubs.
Meanwhile, the carrier is boosting service to Appleton, Wisconsin, with all-new flights from Dallas/Fort Worth taking off on June 5, 2024, and year-round service from Charlotte.
A cut: American axes a whopping 21 Austin routes in major network shake-up
Additionally, the airline added new daily seasonal service from Charlotte to Spokane beginning on June 5, 2024, followed by once-weekly seasonal service from Charlotte to Calgary launching on June 8, 2024.
Breeze will launch a new route between Hartford and Orlando on May 29, 2024. Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest all already operate this route, so Breeze's competition will be fierce.
Delta had perhaps the busiest December with two blockbuster route announcements.
The first is in Austin, where the airline is adding 11 new flights and 3 new routes, two of which are intra-Texas markets. These are rare point-to-point flights for the carrier that are aimed at connecting smaller Texas communities with the airline's global network. All of the increased Austin service comes just weeks after American retreated in the market.
Delta is also resuming flights to Taipei with the introduction of its first-ever transpacific flights from Seattle to Taiwan. Previously, Delta