Roundup – Service Changes

New service is proudly announced, but cancellations are usually not. One day, we discover that a flight we recall is no longer on the books. Of late, many flights are being cancelled, airlines are slashing capacity.

• Air Canada launched its Portland, Oregon to Calgary, Alberta service yesterday. The service, operated by 50-seater CRJs, operates once daily and complements four daily Portland to Vancouver flights. The airline has high expectations for the flight, commenting “We expect our new Portland service to be popular with business travelers, as well as both Canadian and American vacationers looking to enjoy the year-round outdoor adventures offered in Alberta and in Oregon.” Good luck to them.
• American Airlines is terminating its Austin to San Jose service.  More on this later.
• Midwest Airlines terminated its service to Toronto on Sunday. The airline seems to be slowly cancelling itself out of existence.
• AirTran launched seasonal nonstop service this week to Harrisburg, PA(through Sept. 8th) and Portland, ME(through Nov. 3rd) from Atlanta. They also began nonstop service from Atlanta to Atlantic City, Orlando to Asheville NC, Atlanta City NJ, and Knoxville TN, as well as service from Milwaukee to Washington National.
• American Airlines launched service on June 11th from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Montgomery, Alabama. Service is twice daily and operated by 50-seat ERJ-145 regional jets.  The airline is returning to Montgomery after terminating service in 2000.
• American Airlines began nonstop jet service to five new cities from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: Santa Fe, N.M.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Montgomery, Ala.; Brownsville, Texas; and Lake Charles, La..
• Commercial service has returned to Moses Lake, Washington after a two year absence. United Airlines will offer two daily flights to Seattle.
• AeroMexico confirmed its commitment to its service between Albuquerque and Chihuahua City, Mexico which began on February 9th. The nonstops operate three times week, with connecting service to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Torreon, and Tijuana.  The airline believes that there still can be sufficient market demand for the route now that the health warnings have been lifted, the economy is showing some signs of recovery, and the service has an opportunity to succeed on its own merits.
• flyDubai, Dubai’s first low-cost carrier, began service on June 1st. The first flight, which was to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, was closely followed by flights to Amman, Jordan, on June 2, Damascus, Syria, on June 8 and Alexandria, Egypt, on June 9, giving the new airline a total of four destinations in just nine days.
• Delta started service between New York and Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The service operates via Dakar, Senegal twice weekly and will expand to thrice weekly on July 1st.