West United States
 
Southwest Airlines starts a daily nonstop run on December 20 between Denver International and Orlando International operating until March 1, 2007…United Airlines starting next February 14 will begin regional jet service between Denver International and Huntsville, Alabama. Flights will depart DEN at 10:30 a.m...Mexicana Airlines is adding two days to its schedule and a larger jet giving Fresno daily service to Mexico. The new schedule will begin December 12 and will continue through early January. Mexicana will add daily flights on Monday and Tuesday to its current Wednesday thru Sunday schedule, and also will fly a 150-seat Airbus 320, up from the 120-seat Airbus 319 that it added in June. 

Midwest United States

Just in case you haven’t heard by now, Midway isn’t the only airport in Chicagoland to boast low-fare service. The locals are giddy about the fact JetBlue’s coming to town. January 4 is the launch date for nonstop O’Hare-New York JFK service. There will be five weekdaily roundtrips, all via A320s or smaller Embraer 190s. The latter are fitted with 2X2 seating, and boast ample headroom. In addition to the JFK service, JetBlue will also field a pair of daily flights from ORD to Long Beach beginning the same day, January 4…Southwest launches twice-daily Cleveland-Orlando service March 11.

South United States

Everybody wants to fly to Vegas, from every point of the compass. US Airways plans to do just that—nonstop—from West Palm Beach beginning in February. There will be a quartet of weekly departures…Since Delta dumped its DFW hub, American has been the only carrier lofting nonstops from Birmingham to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Now, word that Southwest plans to make the run from BHM to Dallas Love Field twice daily beginning March 11.

Southwest United States

Flyers in the Valley of the Sun will soon have a direct shot at Delta’s transatlantic connections out of New York Kennedy. The carrier plans to launch nonstop once-daily 737-800 service from Phoenix Sky Harbor International to JFK beginning February 25, 2007. The timing is perfect for connections to the carrier’s evening bank of transatlantic departures…You’ve got to wonder why this route took so long. Southwest intends to inaugurate twice-daily nonstop service from Dallas Love Field to Birmingham March 11. While the now dead Wright Amendment stopped direct service via full-size aircraft to some cities from DAL, Birmingham wasn’t among them. Southwest’s been able to fly the route—on a nonstop basis—for years. Now, it’s elected to exercise that option. American currently offers the only nonstop flights between the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex and BHM, and it does so out of DFW…Southwest lays on a seventh daily Albuquerque-Las Vegas nonstop March 11, as well as a sixth-daily Tucson-Los Angeles flight.

Northeast United States

More traffic feed for Delta’s New York Kennedy hub. The carrier plans to start nonstop JFK-Phoenix service February 16. A 737-800 will make the trip once daily. The run is timed to connect with DL’s transatlantic departures…Southwest just keeps growing its Baltimore/Washington “focus city” (the carrier doesn’t like the word “hub”). Latest evidence: new nonstop service from BWI to Pittsburgh is set to fly March 11. There will be a trio of daily nonstops…Also as of March 11, a third-daily Buffalo-Orlando nonstop on Southwest, and a fifth daily Manchester-Orlando nonstop.

Worldwide

High-tech business connections are in high demand in the Far East. That’s why EVA Air is launching nonstop service from Taipei to Mumbai December 10. There will be a trio of weekly departures on the route. EVA will field 747-400s on the route. The craft are fitted for four classes of service. Perhaps the best buy is Evergreen Deluxe. Lots of room at a decidedly decent price…Quick, name a hotter market than China. We’re waiting. Korean Air has almost doubled the number of seats it flies to Shanghai and Beijing. Where there were 10 weekly departures to Shanghai, there are now 21; and where there were eight weekly Beijing departures, there are now 14…There are pockets of Iraq where a semblance of sanity prevails, and one of them is in Erbril, in the Kurdish-controlled north of that war-ravaged land. There’s a demand for seats to the place, and so it is that Austrian Airlines intends to launch twice-weekly Vienna-Erbril service December 11. An A319 will make the trip Mondays and Fridays…Air Malta begins flying twice weekly (Mondays and Thursdays) ‘twixt Liverpool and the Mediterranean island next May