Over 100 New Routes Have Been Launched In The US Since March 1st

Seattle to Heathrow will have up to five daily flights with four airlines this summer, the result of both American and Delta recently beginning – or restarting – the route. Some 110+ US routes were added in just 46 days to April 15th. Southwest added the most routes, while Las Vegas saw the most for an airport.

Over 110 US routes were launched between March 1st and April 15th, The Anker Report, an aviation analysis publication, shows. This has been crucial in the US’ recovery effort, with TSA data highlighting that demand around Easter was about 60% of that recorded in 2019 – much stronger than almost any other country.

Las Vegas added the most routes

Some 90 airports saw new routes, The Anker Report showed. Las Vegas was number-one, with 11 routes across four airlines:

1. Allegiant: Asheville (twice-weekly next week)
2. Allegiant: Flint (twice-weekly)
3. Frontier: El Paso (twice-weekly)
4. Frontier: Little Rock (twice-weekly)
5. Frontier: Wichita (twice-weekly)
6. Frontier: Oklahoma City (twice-weekly)
7. Frontier: Puerto Vallarta (twice-weekly)
8. JetBlue: Cancun (three-weekly)
9. JetBlue: Raleigh Durham (twice-weekly, rising to four-weekly in May)
10. Southwest: Colorado Springs (14-weekly)
11. Southwest: Santa Barbara (21-weekly)

Perhaps surprisingly, Las Vegas to Wichita now has three airlines offering non-stop service: Frontier togther with Allegiant (twice-weekly) and Southwest (once-weekly). Similarly Oklahoma City: Frontier, but also Allegiant (twice-weekly) and Southwest (six-weekly). Frontier’s entry is driven by a big reduction in flights and seats by Southwest versus pre-pandemic.

Seattle to Heathrow now has four airlines

Some 19 international routes launched, notably Seattle to Heathrow with both American Airlines and Delta launching, joining British Airways. (Delta last operated the route until March 2017.) Next week, there will be 10 non-stop services across the three carriers, as shown below.

1. American Airlines: three-weekly using B777-200ERs
2. British Airways: four-weekly with B787-9s/10s
3. Delta: three-weekly using B767-400ERs

This is a large number given that travel from the UK is still for essential reasons only, with international leisure not permitted until May 17th at the earliest. Come that May week, there will be 20-weekly – almost three a day. Virgin Atlantic will also be operating by then – making four airlines non-stop – with a seven-weekly service. The American-BA and Delta-Virgin partnerships are clearly important.

Up to five-daily coming

At the time of writing, there are 33 weekly services – up to five a day – bookable later this summer across American, BA, Delta, and Virgin. On August 13th, for example, departures from Seattle will include three in less than one hour:

1. 1335: BA
2. 1500: Virgin
3. 1820: BA
4. 1900: Delta
5. 1915: American

Southwest added 51 routes

The Anker Report shows that Southwest added 51 routes, over three times more than the 15 by American Airlines. Notable here are Southwest’s five new Colorado Springs routes, with the city new for the airline.

Unlike many destinations in Colorado, Colorado Springs is summer-focused. This fits with other outdoor-based destinations, including Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, that have seen big rises in planned capacity. They are all planning more capacity this May than in 2019.

Southwest’s Colorado Springs routes have pretty high frequencies, most notably Denver with 27-weekly, and the 73-mile service is Southwest’s shortest route. Simple Flying recently showed that Denver is Southwest’s top airport.