TRAVEL NEWS RECAP WEEK OF AUGUST 1
Over 150 Flights Canceled in Hong Kong Due to Typhoon Nida – The fierce winds of Typhoon Nida shut down most of Hong Kong and interrupted hundreds of flights. Gusts of over 60 miles per hour caused the Hong Kong Observatory to issue an amber warning, indicating heavy rain. The Airport Authority confirmed the cancellation of over 150 flights. Cathay Pacific and Dragonair canceled all their flights. As a result, hundreds of passengers were stranded at the airport. Ferry, tram, and bus services were also halted. The streets of Hong Kong have been deserted since the typhoon signal 8 occurred on Monday night. The typhoon has also swept across the southern part of Guangzhou, prompting the Shenzhen and Zhuhai airports to cancel most flights.
JetBlue Adds More Flights from Long Beach – The expansion of JetBlue’s flight schedule at Long Beach Airport is a result of new competition from low-cost rival Southwest, which recently started flying out of Long Beach in June. JetBlue is adding 4 daily round-trip flights to San Jose, beginning January 4, 2017, making it the airline’s 13th direct route from Long Beach. The airport’s schedule allows 50 daily departures and arrivals for regular commercial flights, 35 of which are held by JetBlue. Because JetBlue doesn’t use all of its available slots, city officials gave temporary use of JetBlue’s unused slots to Southwest Airlines, which will use them to compete with JetBlue on the Long Beach-Las Vegas route through December 31. JetBlue also plans to increase service on 3 existing routes from Long Beach to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco, beginning in November.
United Airlines to End Service at Santa Maria Airport - After October 5, 2016, United Airlines will not fly in or out of Santa Maria Public Airport, a small airport in Santa Barbara County, California. Currently, only 2 carriers service flights out of Santa Maria. United Airlines flies to San Francisco, and Allegiant Air flies to Las Vegas. Despite the city’s population of over 100,000 people, the route did not meet the expectations of United Airlines and is not sustainable, causing the airline to end its service. Airport officials are in talks with other carriers to find more service providers for the airport.
JetBlue Flights to Cuba Begin August 31 - JetBlue will begin regularly scheduled commercial flights to Cuba on August 31 at only $99 each way, but cheap fares are limited. JetBlue’s first route to Cuba travels from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport north of Miami to Santa Clara–Abel Santamaría airport east of Havana. The airline will fly this route every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from August 31 until October 1 when daily service begins. In November, 2 other routes will launch with daily service, Fort Lauderdale to Camagüey’s Ignacio Agramonte Airport and to Holguín’s Frank País Airport. The $99 one-way fares are special promotional rates, and most flights will cost more. Silver Airways will launch flights from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara on September 1, while American Airlines starts service from Miami to 5 destinations in Cuba in the beginning of September. All Americans need visas to travel to Cuba.
Southwest Airlines’ Pilots’ Union Board Votes to Oust CEO and COO - The board of directors from the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) voted a 20-0 Vote of No Confidence in Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly and COO Mike Van de Ven. The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) also completed a vote of no confidence. They believe poor decisions have deeply affected Southwest Airlines and its customers, such as operational deficiencies, unprecedented labor strife, and culture erosion. This vote encourages the immediate replacement of the CEO and COO, who are blamed for the operational failure at Midway Airport in January 2014, chaotic crew scheduling during the summers and holidays from 2014 to present, and the most recent cancellations and delays due to a glitch in the technological infrastructure. The Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) represents over 8,300 pilots of Southwest Airlines.
Alaska Airlines Plans New Hangar in Anchorage - Alaska Airlines announced plans to build a new $40 million maintenance hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, which will allow them to service an increasing fleet of larger, more efficient planes. The new 105,000 square foot hangar is part of a bigger project of over $100 million that includes terminal updates and new cargo aircraft. Construction of the new hangar begins this fall, with an expected completion of spring 2018.
Air Canada Launches Crowdsourcing Website - To connect with a younger demographic, Air Canada recently launched a website for Canadian citizens to raise funds for travel through crowdsourcing. The website is called Embarq, and aspiring travelers can upload photos or videos about who they are, their desired travel destination, and the price of the trip. Air Canada then sends them eGift cards in the amount raised to use on airfare, change fees, and upgrades. The website is only available to Canadian residents. Nearly 1,000 profiles have been created so far. The most popular destinations requested are Toronto, London, Paris, Vancouver, and Tokyo. Air Canada is the only airline that offers a platform with a combination of social commerce and eGift cards. Travel is sometimes crowdsourced via websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter, but Embarq is the first crowdfunding website solely for leisure travelers.
Missed last week’s news recap? Catch up with Travel News Recap Week of July 25.