New Flight Routes Taking Off This Holiday Season

Airlines are building up their flight schedules in anticipation of booming travel demand this upcoming holiday season. Major U.S. carriers are eyeing a plethora of destinations, from warm-weather escapes to ski villages and even marquee international cities. Here's a look at some of the notable flights taking off in the coming weeks and months as travelers take to the skies for the holidays.

Alaska Airlines will connect Austin, Texas and Palm Springs, California five times a week starting on November 19. The carrier is also making travel from the West Coast to Mexico easier this winter, operating as many as 27 departures a day, including 20 from California and seven from the Pacific Northwest. On December 16, Alaska will begin seasonal service between San Francisco and Cancun while also launching two new flights from Portland, Oregon to Tampa and New Orleans. On December 18, Alaska will introduce new nonstop seasonal service from San Francisco to Loreto, Mazatlan and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo in Mexico. The new service will continue through April 16, 2022.

Ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air recently revealed plans to add 22 new routes over the final three months of 2021. New offerings include flights from Austin to Punta Gorda and Palm Beach, Florida, starting November 18 and November 19, respectively; flights from Orange County, California to Mesa, Arizona and Sioux Falls, South Dakota beginning November 19; service from Palm Springs to Des Moines, Iowa and Indianapolis starting November 18; flights from Provo, Utah to Houston beginning November 18 and flights from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Sarasota, Florida starting November 19. Starting December 15, Allegiant will introduce flights from Fort Lauderdale to Sioux Falls; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Peoria, Illinois as well as connect Sarasota and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

American Airlines will operate 341 peak daily flights at Miami International Airport this winter, including two new international routes to Chetumal, Mexico and San Andres Island, Colombia starting December 1 and December 4, respectively. American will also connect Miami with Tulsa, Oklahoma; Albany and Syracuse New York; Burlington, Vermont and Madison, Wisconsin beginning November 6. Meanwhile, daily service between Miami and Salt Lake City will start December 16. Other flights from Miami this winter will include daily seasonal service to Des Moines, Iowa and Milwaukee beginning November 2 and year-round Saturday service to Fayetteville, Arkansas beginning November 6.

Delta Air Lines will launch new nonstop service to Panama City, Panama just in time for the holidays. The new international flights from Los Angeles and Orlando will begin December 18, followed by service from New York via John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 20. What's more, Delta will add a second Saturday flight from Atlanta starting December 18.

Frontier Airlines recently began three-times-weekly service between Denver and Los Cabos, Mexico and will follow that up with a handful of new routes launching this November, including service between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico and new routes from Miami to Memphis, St. Louis, Portland, Maine and Syracuse, New York beginning November 1. On November 2, the carrier will begin service from Miami to Norfolk, Virginia and connect Philadelphia with Nassau, Bahamas. Frontier will launch service from Miami to Albany and Rochester, New York starting November 4 followed by Miami-Aruba service beginning November 20. The airline will connect Miami and Turks and Caicos starting December 18 and launch three new international routes from New York via Newark Liberty International Airport starting December 17, including Montego Bay, Jamaica, Nassau and Turks and Caicos. Frontier also has big plans for new service from Orlando.

As the United Kingdom reopens to fully vaccinated Americans, JetBlue is expanding its transatlantic service to London with new nonstop service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and London Gatwick Airport. The flight is operating four times weekly this October but will increase to daily flights starting in November.

Southwest Airlines will introduce a handful of new routes this fall, including service to its sixth destination in New York, Syracuse, from Baltimore beginning November 14. The low-cost carrier will also connect Bellingham, Washington with Las Vegas and Oakland starting November 7, launching one-time and two-times daily service, respectively. Southwest announced that it plans to resume service to all of its previously served international destinations by November 7 amid increased demand for beach and leisure destinations. Daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and Cancun, Mexico and Montego Bay, Jamaica and between Houston (Hobby) and Belize City, Belize will resume in early November.

Spirit Airlines will continue to open up options for budget-conscious travelers flying out of Orlando this holiday season with the addition of new daily flights to Miami starting November 17. The carrier also announced plans to resume service between Orlando and Port-au-Prince, Haiti and San Salvador, El Salvador on November 18 and November 19, respectively. Additionally, Spirit will increase service between Orlando and San Jose, Costa Rica beginning November 19.

United Airlines will fly its largest domestic schedule since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic this December, operating 3,500 daily flights with a focus on connecting the Midwest to warm-weather cities such as Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix. United will also operate 66 daily flights to more than a dozen popular ski destinations in states like Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, including places such as Aspen, Big Sky and Jackson Hole. The carrier is also growing its international footprint as well, launching new service between Washington, D.C. and Lagos, Nigeria on November 29.