Major airline to cut back flights from SFO, OAK and Sacramento

In this week’s news, Southwest Airlines’ CEO said the company is developing new digital strategies to keep passengers better informed and help them solve common problems without the need for staff assistance; he also reported that the airline had solid operational performance over the past few months despite weather problems; the threat of a Southwest pilots’ strike has receded for now; Alaska Airlines is dropping a few thousand flights from its January schedule, including some from the Bay Area; Hawaiian Airlines temporarily cuts some Bay Area service; Southwest is bringing back two northern California routes; Northern Pacific adds more departures at Ontario Airport; American adds two spokes from its Phoenix hub; Avelo expands outside the continental U.S.; three Midwestern towns get new service to Chicago; Delta will add code-share flights to the Baltic States; Air France puts a new plane on its LAX-Tahiti route; Etihad will add a fourth U.S. gateway; Frontier comes out with a 30-day version of its all-you-can-fly pass and extends ticket counter closures to 60 minutes before departure; United starts installing Braille markings in passenger cabins and introduces new business class amenity kits on transcontinental routes; Alaska offers perks to Mileage Plan members who buy ski passes; and Oakland Airport clears a key hurdle for its terminal modernization and expansion plan.

As Southwest Airlines continues to regroup and rebuild after its week-long operational meltdown last winter, CEO Bob Jordan this week outlined some key steps the airline will take in the months ahead to improve communications with customers. In a message to employees, Jordan said he wants Southwest to lead the industry in what he called “digital hospitality” — i.e., keeping customers in the loop as they travel and empowering them to act on their own behalf.

Jordan said Southwest will introduce “additional self-service capabilities with automated messages through email or text to provide quick access to actions customers can take themselves.” He noted that customers can now update or cancel flights “for passengers in a multi-passenger itinerary without calling customer service,” freeing up staff to handle more complicated problems. By the end of 2023, he added, Southwest will provide “on-demand information for customers with more visibility into their [checked] bag’s journey, including when the bag is accepted, loaded onto the aircraft, and offloaded from the aircraft.” 

He said the company will also rely on more real-time messaging to customers for things like flight information updates. “We want customers to have the information they need in the palm of their hand on the Southwest app,” Jordan said. He noted that the airline has also installed new lobby signage at 11 key airports (including Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento) and should have it in all Southwest airports by the fall. “This new signage will facilitate self-service, enhance the overall visual appeal of our lobby, and make our customers’ travel journey even easier,” he said.

The Southwest CEO said the company has made good progress in improving the reliability of flight operations, even during stormy periods. During the April-June quarter, he reported, Southwest operated a record number of flights with record numbers of passengers and checked bags, “all while achieving a [flight] completion factor of more than 99 percent…This solid operating performance has continued into July, where we’ve been able to minimize cancellations amid continued weather challenges throughout the network.” Jordan said Southwest has restored the “vast majority” of its pre-pandemic route network but noted that “doesn’t mean the network is optimized for different post-pandemic travel patterns,” so Southwest will tackle that issue into 2024. That includes re-evaluating short-haul routes “as business travel has somewhat plateaued below pre-pandemic levels,” and shifting some service “to get more exposure to additional leisure demand, which remains uniformly strong.” The airline will also schedule more departures at “times of day when we already have the staff but offer fewer flights.”

As for 2023 growth plans, Jordan said the airline expects to take delivery of 70 new 737-8s this year. “This is different from Boeing’s plans,” he said — alluding to recent supply chain issues that Boeing said might slow down 737 production — “but regardless, we’re planning to 70” as Southwest expects to “accelerate progress toward our long-term goal of mid-single digit annual capacity growth.”

The latest airline to plan a significant operational cutback is Alaska, which is dropping more than 3,000 flights from its January schedule, according to Simple Flying. It said the reductions will take place on routes “across the continent,” with the biggest hits coming to Alaska’s service between San Francisco and Paine Field in Everett, Washington (a route that will lose 5,400 seats in January), and between Seattle and Sacramento (down 12,700 seats for the month). According to Simple Flying, Alaska’s revised January schedule also includes reductions in flight frequencies between San Francisco and New York JFK and between SFO and Spokane, along with reductions in flights between Seattle and Oakland, Sacramento, Portland, Eugene, Atlanta and New York JFK. 

Cutbacks are also coming at Hawaiian Airlines to some of its Bay Area service, according to Beat of Hawaii, an island travel publication. It said the airline confirmed that its Airbus A321neo aircraft are facing an “unexpected engine recall” that will take them temporarily out of service. As a result, Hawaiian plans to suspend flights from Oakland to Lihue, Kauai, from Sept. 6 through Dec. 14. Between Sept. 9 and Jan. 8, the airline plans to drop Sunday flights between San Jose and Kahului, Maui, as well as Monday service from San Jose to Honolulu and Saturday flights from Honolulu to San Jose.  

In other domestic route news, the new entrant carrier Northern Pacific, which recently launched its first route with one weekly 757 round trip between Ontario, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, this week boosted that schedule to three flights a week. Flights depart Ontario on Sundays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with returns from Las Vegas on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. American Airlines will add two more spokes from its Phoenix hub starting Feb. 15, with daily American Eagle E175 regional jet flights to Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Washington, and to Tijuana, Mexico. Low-cost Avelo Airlines just announced its first destination outside the continental U.S., with plans to start flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico from New Haven, Connecticut on Nov. 15 twice a week. Three small cities in the Midwest got new air service this week as Contour Airlines started daily regional jet flights from Chicago O’Hare to Marion, Illinois; Kirksville, Missouri; and Owensboro, Kentucky, as part of the government’s Essential Air Services program. Contour is partnering with American Airlines, which has a hub at O’Hare, for connections to the three cities. 

On the international side, Delta has reportedly won approval to begin code-sharing with airBaltic, a European carrier serving the Baltic States. The pact will put Delta’s code onto airBaltic flights from key European gateways like Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt and others into Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; and Vilnius, Lithuania. Starting Oct. 29, Air France is planning to change equipment on its Paris CDG-Los Angeles-Papeete, Tahiti route from a 777-200ER to an Airbus A350-900. Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi, has picked Boston as its fourth U.S. gateway, with four flights a week due to begin March 31 of next year. Etihad already flies to New York JFK, Chicago, and Washington Dulles.  

Frontier Airlines has unveiled yet another version of its GoWild! All-You-Can-Fly Pass. This one is a monthly pass, good for unlimited travel over a 30-day period starting on the purchase date. It’s priced at $149, plus a $99 “enrollment fee” (which the airline has said it will waive for persons who buy a pass by Monday, Aug. 7). Frontier also continues to offer a fall-winter pass for unlimited travel from Sept. 2 through Feb. 29, priced at $299. As usual, the new monthly pass only allows purchasers to make confirmed flight bookings the day before departure (or 10 days in advance for international trips). “Seats available to pass holders are capacity controlled, limited in quantity and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last,” Frontier said. “At the end of 30 days, the pass will automatically renew unless cancelled.”

Frontier also announced this week on social media that effective Aug. 16, “all Frontier ticket counters will close for check-in and bag drop 60 minutes prior (previously 45 minutes) to your flight departure.” It offered no further explanation. According to The Points Guy, “Frontier now has the most stringent check-in rule. Most U.S. airlines typically close check-in counters anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes prior to departure. It is possible that the change will encourage more electronic check-ins, rather than in-person ones, which tie up agents. Additionally, the tighter cutoff would allow agents more time to get from the counter to the gate, where — at a number of airports — Frontier flights are frequently boarded by the same staff who work the check-in desk.”

United Airlines has started to install Braille markings to its aircraft interiors, helping sight-impaired customers locate their row and seat number, as well as lavatories. The company said it expects to equip its entire fleet with Braille by the end of 2026. “In addition to adding Braille, United is working with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and other disability advocacy groups to explore the use of other tactile navigational aids throughout the cabin such as raised letters, numbers, and arrows,” United said.

Passengers flying in United Business on the airline’s key transcontinental routes, including those from SFO, are getting new amenity kits starting this week. The company said it is partnering with the wellness brand Asutra on kits containing “cruelty-free” products “made without any parabens, phthalates, or petroleum,” including a cleansing face towelette, lip balm and hand lotion. The kit also provides a bamboo toothbrush, eye mask and ear plugs. New amenity kits for first class travelers are also being introduced on United’s Hawaii routes with comparable products from Hawaii-based Ua Body, United said.

Alaska Airlines is teaming up with the ski pass company Mountain Collective to offer special perks to Mileage Plan loyalty members. Those who buy a Mountain Collective ski pass by Sept. 25 will get 5,000 bonus miles (or 10,000 for elite-level members) and a third day free at a resort of their choice. Mountain Collective ski passes are good at 24 resorts including many served by Alaska flights like Utah’s Alta, Montana’s Big Sky, Wyoming’s Jackson Hole, Idaho’s Sun Valley and New Mexico’s Taos, as well as some international destinations served by the airline’s partner carriers.

Port of Oakland officials said Oakland Airport’s ambitious Terminal Modernization and Development Project has “passed a critical milestone” with the completion of a draft environmental impact report. The ongoing long-term project proposes major enhancements and expansion for the airport’s passenger facilities and to infrastructure like roadways and parking facilities. Specifically, the plan calls for modernization of the existing Terminals 1 and 2, including consolidation of passenger processing like ticketing, baggage claim and security screening into a single facility serving both terminals. It would also bring an expansion of the airport’s international arrivals area and the construction of a new 830,000 square-foot terminal, to be located north of the existing Terminal 1 with a connector linking the two buildings. 

Modernization of the existing terminals and the addition of the new terminal would give the airport a total of 16 more gates, officials said. OAK currently has 29 gates in Terminals 1 and 2, but officials said those terminals — built in 1962 and 1985 respectively — “do not meet current industry standards and were not designed to serve the number of passengers now using OAK, much less projected passenger demand.” The Port Authority will hold open meetings on Aug. 15 and Aug. 30 to explain details of the project and to hear public comments.