New Flight Routes Launching This Summer

Air travel is back in a big way heading into the summer of 2022 as demand for travel continues to skyrocket more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the ways airlines are responding to the increased demand accompanied by rising fuel costs is by raising airfares ahead of the peak travel season. But it's not all bad news for travelers because as airlines eye a return to profitability they're also unveiling new routes and resuming other routes that were cut amid the height of the coronavirus crisis. Whether it's linking the Midwest with sunny Florida, adding more connections to Europe from the Northeast or resuming nonstop flights between Hawaii and New Zealand, there are plenty of new routes to get excited about this summer.

Alaska Airlines is offering travelers more flight options from Paine Field in Everett, Washington this summer. Service between Paine Field and San Francisco resumed on May 19. Starting June 17, Alaska will offer 18 peak daily departures from Paine Field to places like Boise, Las Vegas, Orange County, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Diego, Spokane and Tucson.

Earlier this month, ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air announced new routes from Provo, Utah via Provo Airport (PVU) to Las Vegas (LAS) and San Diego (SAN) beginning August 18 and flights from PVU to Portland, Oregon (PDX) starting September 2. Allegiant will also connect Provo with Sanford, Florida beginning December 15. "Our recent announcement to begin base operations in Provo, Utah has opened the door for an expanded route map and these new flights will connect area travelers to four top-tier destinations," Drew Wells, Allegiant's senior vice president of revenue and planning, said in a statement. Meanwhile, Allegiant launched service between SAN and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (FSD) on May 19.

American Airlines will launch service from New York's JFK to Doha, Qatar on June 4. The airline is also bringing back popular seasonal routes this summer, including transatlantic flights to Barcelona, Spain (BCN), Lisbon, Portugal (LIS) and Venice, Italy (VCE).

Delta Air Lines just recently introduced new flights between Salt Lake City and London-Heathrow (LHR) on May 14 and will launch service between New York City via JFK and Stockholm, Sweden (ARN) starting June 1. Customers flying this route will also have the option of booking Delta Premium Select, the airline's premium economy cabin offering larger seats with more legroom and an adjustable footrest.

Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines will launch several new routes this summer, including new service from Las Vegas (LAS) to Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico starting May 20 and June 2, respectively; service from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) starting on May 26; service from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Detroit, New Orleans and Newburgh, New York starting May 26-27; service from PHL to Kansas City, Cincinnati and Boston beginning May 27 and service from PHL to San Antonio and Cleveland beginning June 15 and June 16, respectively. Frontier will connect Atlanta (ATL) with Newburgh and San Antonio beginning May 26 and Buffalo starting May 27, the same day it will begin flying between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Rochester, New York. Frontier will also connect Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Tampa International Airport (TPA) with Cancun, Mexico on May 27. Finally, service from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Cleveland launches on June 16.

Hawaiian Airlines will make its highly anticipated return to New Zealand on July 2 with the resumption of three-times-weekly nonstop flights between Honolulu (HNL) and Auckland (AKL). Hawaiian's Oakland-Kona service will also resume between June 15 and September 6. Customers can look forward to additional San Francisco-Honolulu service now through August 1 and daily nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Maui from June 11 through August 15.

JetBlue is giving travelers in the Northeast more options when it comes to connecting to Europe this summer, launching new nonstop service between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) on July 19, followed by nonstop service between Boston and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) beginning on August 22. This summer, JetBlue will operate approximately 150 daily departures at BOS and operate approximately 190 daily flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Southwest Airlines has big plans out west and in the Hawaiian Islands this summer. The low-cost carrier will launch once-daily nonstop service between Sacramento and Santa Barbara, California and once-daily service between San Jose, California and Eugene, Oregon beginning June 5. Southwest will also increase service from San Diego and San Jose this summer. In Hawaii, new once-daily service nonstop between Kahului (Maui) and Lihue (Kauai) begins June 5.

Spirit Airlines will launch new flights from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (MYR) and Rochester, New York (ROC) this summer. Flights from MYR to Louisville and St. Louis begin May 26, followed by service to Milwaukee on May 27. Spirit will connect MYR and ROC and fly from ROC to Orlando starting on June 24.

United Airlines will bring back its nonstop service between San Francisco and Melbourne, Australia beginning with three weekly flights this June. With the restart, United will be the only U.S. airline to offer nonstop flights from the U.S. to Melbourne. Additionally, United is in the process of launching or resuming as many as 30 transatlantic flights through early June. From June 2, United will offer three times weekly flights between New York/Newark and Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. The carrier will also launch a new flight from New York/Newark to Tenerife on June 9, becoming the only airline to fly nonstop between the Canary Islands and North America with three-times-weekly service.