Routes & Networks Latest: Rolling Daily Updates (W/C July 22, 2024)

The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.

 

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) said it expects to complete construction of a new airport train by December 2025, with plans for passengers to start using the train in 2026. LAX said the “automated people mover” train will operate continuously for 24 hr. a day on 2.25 mi. of elevated tracks. The train will connect to six stations: three inside the airport, one at LAX’s economy parking facility, one at LAX’s Metro Transit Center and another at the airport’s rental car facility. The LAX train’s route will take 10 min. total, and the top speed will be 47 mph. LAX said the train is expected to carry 30 million passengers annually. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass noted the train’s Metro Transit Center stop means “this train will make a direct connection to the Metro system,” giving passengers access to points throughout the area via Los Angeles’s public transit network.

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines said it transported 7.3 million passengers in the first half of 2024, up 9% year-over-year. The airline projects its capacity for the full year will be up 6% year-over-year in terms of seats offered to 19.8 million. Aegean noted it has increased frequencies between its Athens International Airport (ATH) base and London Heathrow to 4X-daily from 3X-daily. The airline opened two domestic routes in June with flights between Thessaloniki and Naxos and between Heraklion and Kalamata. It also commenced three international routes from ATH in June: Palermo, Italy; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Vilnius, Lithuania.

New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) passengers can now participate in an automated shuttle bus trial program at the airport. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs JFK, said it has “received approval from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to allow members of the public to ride in autonomous shuttles being tested within a large, on-airport parking lot.” Previous tests of autonomous shuttles at JFK did not include passengers. The Port said unionized contract drivers who currently operate JFK airport shuttles will be the “self-driving shuttles’ safety monitors” during the trial. Port Executive Director Rick Cotton said “safely incorporating self-driving technology at our facilities is part of the Port Authority’s future, and these tests help to prepare us for that eventuality by building a knowledge base on the possibilities and limits of these vehicles.”