Valentine’s Roundup

Happy Valentine’s Day to all those who celebrated it yesterday. Now, let’s give a little love to a few airlines.

• Israel’s El Al Airlines will add its first new destination in 10 years. On May 2nd, it will begin nonstop service between Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo, Brazil, operating three nonstop flights a week using Boeing 777 aircraft.
• AirTran is increasing its service out of Milwaukee, adding Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis, Denver, and Branson service. The service to Denver will be seasonal, ending September 8th. In addition, they will convert seasonal routes to Boston, Los Angeles, and Tampa to year-round. Seasonal flights to Seattle and San Francisco will be extended into the fall, and may also become year-round sometime in the future. AirTran had attempted to boost its presence in Milwaukee by acquiring Midwest Airlines, but the takeover bid failed, and AirTran is attempting to build service there itself while Midwest has severely contracted.
• Delta will add seasonal service between Billings, Montana and Atlanta, once daily using 76-seat CRJ-900 regional jets. The service will run from June 15th, through September 7th.
• AirTran is launching a buy-on-board program called SkyBites, on 60 of its flights effective immediately. “Sky Bites offers a la carte items, which range from $1 to $4, or combo packages ranging from $4 to $6 in price. A la carte selections include Kraft Foods snacks, such as Oreo Cakesters, Chips Ahoy! cookies, Nilla Wafers, Cheese Nips crackers and premium beverage options, including new selections such as glaceau smartwater® and FUZE® Slenderize Strawberry Melon; a Snack Box containing Wheat Thins crackers, Planters Smoked Almonds, Oreo cookies, Garden Veggie Cheese Spread and Sun-Maid Raisins. A variety of combo meals include a snack and a premium beverage. Purchases of Sky Bites may be made with credit or debit cards.”
• Catch a video of the launch of Virgin America‘s new service to Boston, with three daily trips to LAX, and two to San Francisco, with all planes offering in flight wi-fi service.
• American Airlines is finally transitioning to a cashless cabin. Starting this summer, they will only accept major credit or debit cards for purchases onboard.

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