Southwest will greatly expand its flying to the Hawaiian islands from the US mainland beginning in June. The Dallas-based carrier reveals on 13 May that it will be introducing new service to and from Hawaii destinations from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Diego, multiple times a day. That brings number of cities on the US mainland that the airline connects to the archipelago in the Pacific Ocean with a direct flight to more than 40. “These new flights bring Hawaii service closer to more of our customers who live near airports across the West, and make it possible to choose Southwest to fly between the Aloha State and cities as far east as Nashville, without spending an entire overnight in the air,” says Andrew Watterson, CCO at Southwest. Flights from the four western cities to the islands will go to Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Lihue. Until now, the airline – which started flying to Hawaii from the US mainland in March 2019 – did not have any non-stop connections from Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Phoenix. With this schedule update, it will be operating 25 flights from the four cities every day. The first of these new routes are set to launch on 6 June, with more being added through the summer travel season.<br/>
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US consumers have spent the last year largely cooped up, postponing long-planned vacations and trips to visit friends and family. That’s changing, and as the country wakes from its pandemic torpor, Frontier Airlines, flush with cash from its recent stock market debut, is positioning itself to take advantage of what it calls a “surge” in leisure travel. In fact, Frontier executives think the surge will last as long as 18 months, as people flock to the airways to take summer trips they put off last year and travel again for the year-end holidays. With a network primed for leisure flights and its focus on keeping costs low, Frontier thinks it’s uniquely positioned to reap the benefits as Americans head to the beach. But it’s not just the beach; the nature of travel will have changed as well. Workplace flexibility could redound to Frontier’s benefit as “work from home” becomes “work from anywhere.” As long as companies don’t mandate workers to return to their offices, and as the fear of the pandemic recedes, more people will take to the airways to work from wherever they want, Frontier believes. This could shift more leisure travel — traditionally heavy during the weekends — to midweek. “This could last for years,” CEO Barry Biffle said during the company’s inaugural quarterly earnings call on Thursday. The surge could result in people not being able to go where they want, simply because there just aren’t enough flights. Biffle thinks people who wait too long to make their summer plans will be out of luck, and this problem will snowball as more people begin to travel. <br/>
Central European low-cost carrier Wizz Air is to open a four-aircraft base at Rome Fiumicino airport from July. Wizz will operate four Airbus A321neos from the Rome airport as part of an expansion under which it will open 32 new services. Wizz already operates 25 routes serving Rome, either into Fiumicino or the city’s secondary airport Ciampino. Rome marks the airline’s 43rd base - and the fifth announced for in Italy in the past year. The airline opened bases in Catania and Milan Malpensa last year, as well as Bari in March. It will open a base at Palermo in June. The launch of a four-aircraft operations and 32 new routes - including 13 destinations currently unserved - at Rome marks the largest of its new Italian bases. Low-cost rivals EasyJet, Ryanair and Vueling already have bases at the airport, while struggling home carrier Alitalia is in the process of being relaunched. Wizz Air CCO George Michalopoulos says: ”Wizz Air’s 5th Italian base underpins our commitment to continue to invest in Italy supporting both Italy’s economic recovery as well offering consumers a wide range of affordable destinations at low fares. In the last 12 months we have allocated 17 based aircraft to Italy, and will continue to invest in the market, doubling our presence in the next three years by launching further operating bases and new domestic and international routes.”<br/>
Two Japanese regional airlines, Airdo and Solaseed Air, are set to merge, Nikkei learned Thursday, in what would be the first case of consolidation among airlines in the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The merger, which is set for the autumn of 2022, is expected to reduce the carriers' operating costs through joint procurement of supplies and aircraft maintenance, amid a sharp fall in air passengers. The two airlines, both backed by ANA Holdings, will announce the plan as soon as late May. They will set up a joint holding company in the fall of next year. The most likely scenario is that the two companies will be placed under the holding company, according to sources. The airlines must carefully consider the form of the merger, as Japan's transport ministry may seize valuable landing slots from the merged entity at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. In addition to reducing procurement costs through joint purchases of fuel and other supplies, Airdo and Solaseed will seek to combine back-office functions such as human resources and accounting. There is also a plan to merge aircraft maintenance work at the two companies.<br/>
The Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT) submitted a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday, asking the government to allocate soft loans for airlines and vaccinations for workers in the aviation industry. After a meeting of AAT members, which comprise Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Thai Smile Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet, the association agreed to call for clarity on proposals made at a meeting with Gen Prayut on Aug 28, 2020. As the industry faces a third wave of the pandemic, several flights had to be shelved to contain the virus spread. This delay caused more financial strain in terms of operational costs and payroll. Soft loans would help mitigate the economic impact from the outbreak, said the AAT. The association is encouraging the government to speed up the vaccination programme for airline staff, who are frontline tourism workers.<br/>
Virgin Australia Group is postponing most short-haul international flying, including flights to Fiji’s Nadi and Bali in Indonesia, until at least December amid shifting projections around international border restrictions. The Australian group cites the recent federal budget predictions for the aviation sector, including for international travel, where “visitation is expected to remain low until at least mid-2022”. However, “continued efforts” by Australia’s state and federal governments to refine trans-Tasman travel arrangements will allow the carrier to operate Boeing 737 services between Sydney-Queenstown and Brisbane-Queenstown, as planned from 18 September, and Melbourne-Queenstown services from 7 December, the airline notes. It adds that “while the international travel outlook remains uncertain, domestic travel continues to improve and the airline is continuing to review its domestic network to ensure it is responding to growth opportunities here in Australia”. On the other hand, flights into Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are deferred from sale for the time being alongside services to Port Villa in Vanuatu, Apia in Samoa and Honiara in the Solomon Islands.<br/>