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23.12.2023 - 14:57 / thepointsguy.com / Best New
Another year has come and gone, and boy was this was a busy one for airline network planners across the country and around the world.
From new routes to far-flung destinations like Christchurch, New Zealand, to commercial airline service returning to Delaware, airlines added many new dots and lines to their route maps in 2023.
Of course, not all were successful — just look at American Airlines' big retreat in Austin — nor were all of them noteworthy enough for a story.
But as we reflect back on 2023, TPG's aviation team voted on the top 10 new routes that were either announced or commenced this year.
Without further adieu, here are the winners.
Earlier this year, there was just one U.S. state without commercial air service: Delaware. Local travelers had to drive to nearby cities like Philadelphia or Baltimore to catch a flight.
But that changed when airline startup Avelo entered the market with a series of routes from Wilmington Airport (ILG). Some of them have since been suspended, but Delaware travelers can still go to a slew of destinations from Wilmington, including Orlando, Tampa and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Before Avelo's entry earlier this year, Delaware hadn't had air service since June 2022, when Frontier Airlines retreated from the market, Cirium schedules show.
Most readers have probably never heard of Atlantic Airways, but the airline gave New York its first-ever flights to the Faroe Islands this summer season.
The 3,024-mile service, which operated seasonally once a week from August to October, was flown on an Atlantic Airbus A320neo.
The Faroe Islands are in the North Atlantic Ocean and have historically had limited air service due to the Danish territory's remote location. Vagar Airport (FAE) is the territory's only airport, and it serves the capital of Torshavn, the largest city in the Faroe Islands.
Atlantic Airways flew there from New York's "other" airport — Stewart International Airport (SWF) — and there's no telling yet if the flights will return for another season.
Perhaps no airport received as much attention in 2023 as the new international airport in Tulum, Mexico, which officially opened on Dec. 1, 2023.
U.S. airlines have been busy preparing their Tulum schedules, and Delta Air Lines was the first to announce service there from its Atlanta hub. American, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines have all followed up with their own route announcements, and Air Canada even joined in on the fun, too.
The new Tulum airport makes it dramatically easier and more convenient to visit Tulum, allowing you to skip the lengthy and pricey drive from Cancun.
Every midsized U.S. airport dreams of getting a flight to Europe.
Last year, St. Louis was reconnected with Europe thanks to
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The most visited city in the world offers a great base from which to explore the surrounding area. Think sumptuous castles and ancient hunting grounds in under an hour from the Eiffel Tower or day trips to the Normandy D-Day landing beaches, Champagne tasting or visiting the Loire Valley château—all are possible in a day trip from Paris and here are six of the best.
Consider the plight of January, the sad sack of months.
It was 2:38 p.m. on August 21, 2017, when day turned to night. That was the precise moment in Greenville, South Carolina, when the moon, passing between the sun and Earth, fully blocked our view of the sun.
For the vast majority of travelers, a cruise is anything from a weekend getaway to a 7- or 14-day vacation in the sun. Some people can afford the time and money to splash out on a longer trip, perhaps an intensive month-long historic tour of the Mediterranean, or the Caribbean and Central America. But for the fortunate few, there is another option.
This series of articles about credit cards, points and miles, and budgeting for travel is brought to you in partnership with The Points Guy.
For the third year running, Delta has been named the carrier with the best on-time performance record in North America by the airline analytics company Cirium, which crunches data for 32 million global flights annually. Delta also won Cirium’s Platinum Award, determined by evaluating timeliness alongside the overall breadth of an airline’s operations.
Ask a New York City regular where to stay in Manhattan and they’ll tell you NoMad is the coolest downtown neighborhood. The clue is in the name: NoMad, or Madison Square North, bounces right off the north end of Madison Square Park. A recent revival has brought a surge in luxury hotels, inventive bistros, and voguish bars to this historic 30-block nook. NoMad hotels are close (but not too close) to Times Square while Chelsea and the Flatiron District are on the doorstep. The “North of Madison Square Park” neighborhood is ripe with luxury hotels for sightseeing and nightlife in NYC, and the new INNSiDE by Meliá New York NoMad leads the pack.
Flights will operate up to five times a week throughout the busy summer season from 30th May 2024 until 26th October.
What are the safest airlines in the world for 2024? As travelers gear up for another year of adventure and business, this question is top of mind. AirlineRatings.com, an airline safety and product rating review site, has the answer in its new ranking of the 25 safest airlines in the world.
If there was one thing we could choose to leave behind in 2023, it would be flight delays. And while there's no way to ever guarantee an on-time take off, choosing airlines with a punctual track record can help manifest smooth travels in your future. But don't just cross your fingers and hope for the best—use data to make those New Year's travel resolutions come true.
The airline network planners didn't simply fast forward to 2024.