New Bay Area routes coming from United, Hawaiian

Dec. 8 is the launch date for United Airlines’ newest transpacific route: nonstop service from San Francisco to Christchurch, New Zealand. United plans to fly the route three days a week with a 787-8. It will be the only nonstop service from the U.S. to New Zealand’s South Island, which is known for its dramatic mountain scenery and adventure travel options. United and its Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand both fly from SFO to Auckland, and United recently revived Los Angeles-Auckland service with four flights a week.

Sacramento-area residents will be getting some new options for travel to Hawaii In the spring. Hawaiian Airlines said it will introduce two new routes at Sacramento, including four flights a week to Lihue, Kauai, beginning May 24, and three a week to Kona on the Big Island starting May 25. Both routes will use Hawaiian’s single-aisle A321neos. The carrier already flies from Sacramento to Honolulu and Maui. On May 15, Hawaiian also plans to introduce daily A321neo nonstops from Salt Lake City to Honolulu. 

In other domestic news, low-cost Breeze Airways said this week it will add two California routes early next year, including Orange County to Ogden, Utah, starting Feb. 21 with four flights a week; and San Bernardino to Phoenix, beginning Feb. 15 with two weekly flights. In an update on Alaska Airlines’ winter flight schedule, Aeroroutes.com listed several California routes that will be suspended. From San Francisco International, that includes service to Jackson Hole (suspended March 14-May 17), Spokane (Jan. 8-March 13), and Washington Dulles (Jan. 8-March 13). Also suspended this winter are Alaska’s flights from Monterey to Seattle (Jan. 8-Feb. 14), Burbank-Boise (Jan. 8-Feb. 14), Palm Springs-Boise (Jan. 10-Feb. 16), San Jose-Boise (now through March 13), Los Angeles-Tampa (Jan. 7-May 15), LAX-Washington Dulles (Jan. 8-Feb. 14), San Luis Obispo-Portland (Jan. 8-March 13), and San Diego-Newark (Jan. 8-Feb. 14). According to Simple Flying, American Airlines has dropped plans for LAX-Fort Lauderdale service next summer, which it had planned to operate from May through August. Low-cost Avelo Airlines has decided to end its routes from Arcata/Eureka, California, to Las Vegas and from Las Vegas to Dubuque, Iowa, effective Jan. 6. Avelo will also suspend some routes from early January through mid- to late February, including its service from Burbank to Bozeman and Kalispell, Montana; Burbank-Colorado Springs; and Burbank-Brownsville, Texas.

Although some travelers encountered weather-related flight delays and virtually everyone had to navigate through airport crowds, the Thanksgiving holiday crunch last weekend was basically crisis-free, despite huge passenger numbers. The Transportation Security Administration said this week that its airport officers screened more than 2.9 million travelers on Sunday (Nov. 26), “which represents an agency record — the busiest day ever for air travel.” That number beat out the 2.88 million travelers screened on June 30 of this year and on Nov. 26, 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. 

Individual airlines reported some impressive operational numbers for the overall Thanksgiving holiday period. For instance, American Airlines — the nation’s largest carrier — said its cancellation rate from Nov. 16 through 26 amounted to less than one-tenth of 1% of the 59,400 flights it operated. Southwest Airlines said its on-time performance from Nov. 17 to 26 was a respectable 82%, “despite weather challenges and ATC (air traffic control) challenges at key Southwest airports such as Denver, Chicago (Midway), Baltimore, and Kansas City.” Delta reported that on five of the 10 days from Nov. 17 through 26, it had no mainline or Delta Connection cancellations, and only seven mainline cancellations over the full 10 days. The busiest travel days were Wednesday through Sunday of last week (Nov. 22-26), and according to the Washington Post, the nation’s overall flight cancellation rate during those five days was just 0.2% and the flight delay rate was 16.2%. The positive performance by the airlines and the air traffic control system might give travelers hope that they can make it through the upcoming Christmas-New Year’s holiday period without major problems — barring any big storms. 

The threat of a year-end holiday strike by flight attendants at American Airlines has abated after the National Mediation Board this week rejected the union’s request to declare an impasse in its negotiations with management. If the board had agreed, it would have started the clock ticking on a mandatory 30-day cooling off period, after which the flight attendants would have been able to walk off the job. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents American’s cabin workers, was already upset since the airline granted its pilots a hefty wage boost earlier this year, while flight attendants haven’t had an increase in four years. 

“We strongly disagree with this decision,” APFA said. “The company has had our economic proposal since March and has refused to respond to our comprehensive counter proposals since September. They have been stonewalling us, offering nothing but a single, rigid economic framework that does not address our current economic needs. This is not negotiations; it is a mockery of our efforts.” The union said the National Mediation Board plans another bargaining session between labor and AA management Dec. 12-14. “If they fail again to present a realistic proposal to resolve these negotiations, we will reiterate our request to be released,” APFA said.

Labor unrest continues to simmer at the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), which has been trying to negotiate a new contract for many months without success so far. Pilots have been picketing at airports and the union has opened “strike centers” in Texas and Maryland to support its members in the event of a walkout. Last summer, SWAPA asked the National Mediation Board to release it from further bargaining, but the request was denied. At the opening of the union’s Baltimore Regional Strike Center this week, SWAPA’s Anthony Mulhare told a local TV station that “our union leadership feels a strike is a realistic outcome of the negotiations at this point.” That would require another request to the National Mediation Board to be released from talks with management, followed by a 30-day cooling-off period. Southwest’s pilots are lagging the industry in their quest for a new deal with management; pilots at America, United, Delta, and Alaska Airlines have all secured new labor contracts this year.  

Clear, the provider of expedited lanes for airport security screening, this week started enrolling members who want to use a new form of biometric identity verification: facial recognition. The company has sent out email invitations to eligible members asking them to upgrade to “NextGen Identity+” by clicking on a link. They’ll then get instructions telling them to bring an official ID like a passport (preferred), state ID or driver’s license when they go to the airport, where they can stop at a Clear enrollment pod to complete the process. According to The Points Guy, a Clear spokesperson said this will allow members “to verify their identity with their face (instead of iris or fingerprints), eliminating the need for members to stop at a Clear Pod and seamlessly integrating into TSA equipment for friction-free entry into physical screening.” The technology will be rolled out at Clear’s network of airport locations in the coming months. 

Alaska Airlines said it is expanding the capabilities of its Alaskair.com website to handle bookings on the airline’s Oneworld and other international partner carriers. “We’re building a world-class, direct booking platform with access to a robust portfolio of domestic and global partners,” the company said. “Your hassle-free journey starts at alaskaair.com where tickets for flights can be purchased for travel onboard premium global carriers that include Air Tahiti Nui; Finnair; Iberia; Japan Airlines; Qantas; Qatar Airways; STARLUX Airlines, and more. You can buy tickets with our partners in all classes of service.” Effective Jan. 1, Alaska said, bookings on international partners made through Alaskaair.com earn elite-qualifying miles in the carrier’s Mileage Plan program, and triple miles if they’re paid for with the airline’s credit card. And in March, the airline will introduce new international award redemption options on its 24 partner carriers. “We’ll offer award redemptions starting as low as 4,500 miles one-way,” Alaska said, “We’re also expanding award availability so our members can find more award space when they want to travel.”

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines passengers who have iPhones or Apple Watches can soon use Apple Pay when they make in-flight purchases like beverages and food. “Because of new technology from Apple and our partnership with Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, we can now use (flight attendants’) iPhones to accept your contactless payment method of choice,” the airline said. It noted that its cabin crew members all carry iPhones to check seat assignments, deliver pre-ordered meals, and take snack and beverage orders. “When it’s time to pay for your beverage or snack pack, simply hold your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay with Apple Pay, your contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the flight attendant’s iPhone. The payment will be securely completed via NFC technology,” Alaska said. The new payment method is being introduced on “select flights” and will be available fleetwide “in the next few months,” the company said.