Exciting new airline routes from March 2024 and beyond

01.04.2024 - 18:41 / thepointsguy.com / Spirit Airlines / John F.Kennedy

The airline network planners closed out the first quarter of 2024 with a bang.

Most major U.S. carriers made at least one network announcement in March, and some, like JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, made much more sweeping changes to their route maps.

You'll catch all of the exciting route news — including all the new flights and the ones that won't survive another season — below.

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Alaska added just one new route, but that didn't stop the carrier from making headlines. The airline is adding service from Las Vegas to California's Sonoma County.

Though you might not think much of this 454-mile route, Alaska is going up against upstart Avelo Airlines in this market. Alaska is no stranger to a turf war, so it's possible that the airline's expansion is aimed at curbing Avelo's growth in Santa Rosa, California.

American didn't actually unveil any new routes or cut any flights, but it did make two noteworthy network changes.

The first is that the airline's route from New York to Rome will be upgauged to the Boeing 777-300ER during the peak summer season. This brings more premium capacity to this already popular route, so flyers might have a better shot of finding award or upgrade availability.

Also in New York, American will begin stationing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at its John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) hub. The carrier will fly from JFK to India using the 787 beginning later this year.

Avelo continues to grow by adding new lines and dots to its route map. The carrier added three new routes from its base at New Haven, Connecticut, as well as its first-ever service to Lakeland, Florida — an airport that hasn't seen commercial service in 12 years.

Lakeland sits between Tampa and Orlando and is seen as a strategic move by Avelo to diversify its Florida portfolio.

Breeze had a big month that didn't just focus on new routes. The airline launched a cobranded credit card, began a revamp of its frequent flyer program and also added five new cities to its network, including Bangor, Maine, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

March wasn't a great month for Delta's network. The airline shaved a handful of flights from its Los Angeles schedule, including service to London; Bozeman, Montana; and Vail, Colorado. Delta also ended its point-to-point experiment in New York's Westchester County, where it flew to Orlando and West Palm Beach, Florida.

Delta did add one new flight, though — a regional connection between Detroit and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Frontier made headlines again for a big expansion in the New York area. The Denver-based carrier is returning to Newark in June, and it'll also open a new outstation at JFK.

Frontier is