Southwest Airlines and Omni Hotels & Resorts are teaming up to offer a special "Solarbration" sweepstakes ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.The sweepstakes—which can be entered now through March 11—will reward two lucky winners with a prize package that includes air travel on a flight predicted to be in the direct path of the eclipse.The flight options include Southwest Flight 1252, which departs Dallas (Love Field) at 12:40 p.m. CT for Pittsburgh, and Southwest Flight 1721, which departs Austin at 12:55 p.m. CT for Indianapolis.Omni will do its part by putting the winners up in custom-designed guest rooms inspired by the celestial event. The special accommodations will be located at Omni Hotels in the departure cities of Dallas and Austin and the arrival cities of Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.In addition to roundtrip flights and accommodations for two nights, winners will receive exclusive solar eclipse viewing glasses and fun inflight experiences aboard their eclipse flights.
What Were America’s Busiest Flights in January?
09.02.2024 - 11:07 / skift.com / Spirit Airlines / Delta Air Lines / Hawaiian Airlines / Southwest Airlines / Gordon Smith / Frontier Airlines
It might be January, but there are still millions of Americans taking to the skies. With vacationers seeking the winter sun and business travelers shuttling between major hubs, there’s little time for the nation’s airlines to hibernate.
Yesterday we brought you the world’s busiest international routes. Today, we’re drilling down into the U.S. domestic market.
Using the latest data from analytics firm OAG, Skift can reveal the sky-high links that had the most capacity this month. The full top 10 ranking is below, but here’s a little more context for the top five routes in our countdown:
A whopping seven different airlines fly between Las Vegas and L.A., which helps promote healthy competition for price-conscious passengers. In January, Southwest Airlines operated the most flights, followed by Delta, United and Spirit. American Airlines, Alaska, and JetBlue completed the line-up.
The popularity of both the origin and destination with leisure and business traffic ensures this route is a star performer throughout the year. With the Super Bowl coming in February and thousands expected to descend on Las Vegas, demand next month could be even higher.
Denver’s busy connection to Phoenix is served by four passenger airlines. Once again, Southwest has the lion’s share of capacity, with United, Frontier, and American completing the set. While both cities are great destinations in their own right, Denver serves as a major transit hub for United, while the Arizona capital is a key gateway for American Airlines. These onward connections help channel travelers through the airports and keep the route performing more strongly than you might expect.
Atlanta makes the first of two appearances in our top five, with a link to Florida’s Atlantic coast. A total of five airlines flew between the two cities in January 2024 – but there’s one that dwarfs its rivals. Delta Air Lines’ home and hub in Atlanta means it offers more than half of the air capacity on the route, with almost 150,000 seats.
Spirit, Southwest, JetBlue, and Frontier split the remainder between them. Fort Lauderdale’s enormous popularity as a departure point for Caribbean cruises adds to the numbers, especially during the winter months.
A reminder of the huge importance of aviation to island communities, the second busiest U.S. domestic route is an intra-Hawaii service. Despite being one of the nation’s most important air links, only two scheduled carriers operate between the airports.
Hawaiian Airlines typically flies the Boeing 717 on the route, while Southwest operates the much larger Boeing 737 Max 8. Although Southwest flies half the number of flights as Hawaiian, its bigger planes mean it can offer 70% of its rival’s capacity. The figures come at
Spirit Airlines to Suspend Operations at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport
Spirit Airlines has announced plans to suspend operations at New Hampshire's Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) on May 8, according to Boston.com.The budget carrier said the decision is due to "ongoing operational constraints related to Pratt & Whitney GTF engine availability and seasonal demand for our MHT flights.""This decision reflects our continuing efforts to make necessary strategic shifts to enable Spirit to compete effectively in the current environment," Spirit added. "We apologize to our guests for any inconvenience, and those with reservations for May 8 or later will be offered a refund. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is a great partner, and we look forward to returning with seasonal service next winter."Spirit operates nonstop flights to Orlando and seasonal service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from MHT. According to Reuters, the airline is the largest domestic operator of GTF-powered (geared turbofan) NEO aircraft and has been battling engine issues since last summer."MHT is grateful to Spirit Airlines for their service to the Manchester community for the last few years," the airport said in a statement. "We understand that difficult decisions have to be made in light of the Pratt and Whitney engine issue. It is important to note that this is a pause in service, not a withdrawal in service. MHT stands ready to warmly welcome Spirit back to the Manchester market when the time is right for them."
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Alaska Airlines Expands Service From Portland International Airport
Alaska Airlines is expanding flight service from its hub at Portland International Airport (PDX).On Monday, the Seattle-based carrier announced plans to add more than 20 daily departures to popular destinations starting this summer. Alaska, which is in the midst of a potential merger with Hawaiian Airlines, said its capacity has increased by 25 percent.Alaska plans to increase service from PDX to a handful of cities, including Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento and Ontario, California beginning August 20. Starting October 1, the airline will increase service from PDX to Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Phoenix, Fresno and Medford, Oregon.The carrier will also add a second daily roundtrip flight between Portland and Redmond/Bend on October 1 and has extended nonstop seasonal flying from PDX to Billings, Kansas City and Minneapolis until the end of the year.Alaska currently serves 53 nonstop destinations from Portland, recently launching nonstop service to Miami. Meanwhile, year-round flights to Nashville start on March 14. By summer, the airline will have more than 100 average daily departures from Portland."We've been the largest carrier in Portland for more than 20 years. We don't take that for granted. It's important for us to provide our guests with a variety of convenient flight options at PDX along with the addition of new routes. We know travelers have a choice and we want them to fly with us," Kirsten Amrine, vice president of revenue management and network planning for Alaska Airlines, said in a statement."We're thrilled about the added flights out of PDX," added Dan Pippenger, chief aviation officer at the Port of Portland. "As our largest carrier, more Alaska flights means even more options for travelers, whether they're flying cross-country or within the state. And the increase in service means more visitors for our concession and ground travel partners – the local businesses that are the heart of our region and bring so much excitement to our airport."Contact your travel advisor or visit AlaskaAir.com to book the airline's expanded service from PDX.
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