United to Introduce Washington Reagan Link from San Francisco
United Airlines has announced it will launch a daily non-stop service between its San Francisco hub and Washington Reagan National Airport from May 14, 2012. With the addition of the new flight, United will serve San Francisco 13 times a day from the Washington DC metropolitan area, mainly serving Dulles International Airport in Washington. The new service will be flown with a Boeing 737-700 configured with 12 United First and 112 United Economy seats. "We look forward to offering this new service between Reagan National and San Francisco, which will further complement United's extensive service between these two great American cities and provide more options for our customers," said Jim Ferea, Managing Director of Domestic Planning, United Airlines. In the past year an estimated 997,000 O&D passengers travelled between San Francisco and Washington with around 845,000 flying to or from Dulles International and a further 152,000 flying to or from Reagan National. There are currently more than 80 weekly flights between the two US cities offering more than 13,000 seats in each direction. The new link by United Airlines will be the first to Reagan National from San Francisco. The airline currently has an estimated 47.8 per cent share of the traffic between the two cities, ranking it as the largest operator. Virgin America, the only other operator with direct flights follows with a 24.8 per cent share. United Airlines and its regional partner United Express now operate an average of 5,656 flights a day to 376 airports on six continents from hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, DC. Last year it operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers.
Spirit to Begin Flights to Minneapolis
US low-fare carrier Spirit Airlines has announced plans to launch flights to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport this summer with a three times daily connection from Chicago O’Hare and a daily offering from Las Vegas McCarran International due to commence from May 31, 2012. The new links continue Spirit’s rapid expansion from Chicago and Las Vegas where it is now ranked as the sixth largest operator by capacity, at each facility. Like many of its routes, Spirit will face direct competition on the two new services but believes its low-fare strategy will enable it to generate enough of a penetration in the markets to develop a sustainable platform for development. "We are excited to bring our ultra low fares to the Twin Cities," said Barry Biffle, Chief Marketing Officer, Spirit Airlines. "Our cheap fares and optional services have saved customers millions because we give consumers the freedom to choose only the extras they value and they only pay for what they use." The Chicago O’Hare - Minneapolis-St Paul International route is currently served by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines which between them offer more than 180 weekly flights providing over 17,000 weekly seats in each direction. United offers the greatest capacity on the route with a 40.8 per cent share of available seats; Delta (31.0 per cent) and American Airlines (18.2 per cent) also have sizeable shares. An estimated 648,000 O&D passengers travelled between Chicago O’Hare and Minneapolis-St Paul International last year, down 1.8 per cent on the previous year. However, average fares have risen by around eleven per cent during the same period to approximately $161 each way. The Las Vegas - Minneapolis-St Paul International route is currently served by Delta Air Lines and Sun Country Airlines which between them offer around 60 weekly flights providing just under 10,000 weekly seats in each direction. Delta offers the greatest capacity on the route with a 78.3 per cent share of available seats. An estimated 501,000 O&D passengers travelled between Las Vegas and Minneapolis-St Paul International last year, down 3.3 per cent on the previous year. However, average fares have risen by around nine per cent during the same period to approximately $227 each way. "I am very pleased to welcome Spirit Airlines to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport and wish the airline every success here," said Dan Boivin, chairman of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP and six general aviation airports in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. "Competition among airlines is good for consumers, and Spirit's unique low-fare business model provides a valuable alternative for cost-conscious travelers. It is a goal of the MAC to expand choices for the consumer with more options to more destinations while maintaining our commitment to sound environmental stewardship." Spirit Airlines is the fourth new carrier to announce services to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport since 2008. The market from the airport is dominated by Delta Air Lines as it was a former Northwest Airlines stronghold.
JetBlue Expands its Network in Colombia
US carrier JetBlue Airways is to expand its activities in the Colombian market with the introduction of a daily connection to Bogota's El Dorado International Airport from Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport with effect from May 7, 2012. The route will provide more opportunities for the increasing Colombian population in South Florida to travel between the two countries. "We've been flying to Colombia for more than three years and could not be more pleased with the reception we've received," said John Checketts, Director of Route Planning for JetBlue Airways. "Customers appreciate JetBlue's value proposition and continue to ask for more flights to Colombia. Bogota is a beautiful destination with strong ties to our Florida customers, who will enjoy the additional legroom, free snacks and drinks and exceptional service on this new route." JetBlue offers daily flights to Bogota from New York JFK International and Orlando International and is one of seven airlines currently providing more than 175 flights per week between USA and Colombia. In the past year an estimated 2.10 million O&D passengers travelled between the two countries with traffic from the Florida region accounting for just over half this total. There are currently 121 weekly flights into Colombia from Florida offering almost 15,000 seats. Avianca dominates this market with a 42.7 per cent share of the capacity followed by American Airlines with 30.5 per cent. JetBlue currently holds a 5.6 per cent share of the available seats, a figure that will rise to around ten per cent once the new route launches. JetBlue will be entering a market against established operators. Avianca and Spirit Airlines both offer daily flights to Bogota from Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International, with Spirit also serving Armenia, Cartagena and Medellin from the airport. An estimated 175,000 O&D passengers travelled on the Fort Lauderdale – Bogota route in 2011.
Argentina Requests Access to Falklands
Argentina has stepped up diplomatic pressure on Great Britain to negotiate over the Falklands Islands over the past few months in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, at the start of next month. In an address to Congress Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has now called for permission for the introduction of direct air services to the Falklands from the country’s capital Buenos Aires. The Falklands conflict began on April 2, 1982, when Argentine forces invaded and occupied the Islands an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located over 450 km off the coast of mainland South America. The conflict resulted from a long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The 74-day conflict came to an end on June 20 when British forces retook the South Sandwich Islands. Since then only limited air services have been permitted into the Falklands, or the Malvinas as they are known to Argentina, and currently only LAN Airlines provides scheduled passenger links from Santiago, although special Royal Air Force charters also operate from the UK. Cristina Fernandez said in her Congress speech that she will now be seeking to renegotiate the air services agreement with the UK on flights to the Falkland Islands from South America. "We want flights to the islands from mainland Argentina - Buenos Aires - operated by our flag-carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas," she said. The existing agreement came into force in 1999 and the UK Foreign office is expected to push for this arrangement to be maintained moving forward. However, there are reported concerns that Argentina may attempt to block the flights of LAN Airlines in the future to push its own cause for direct links.
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