New Flight Routes Taking Off This Summer

Air travel will look much closer to normal this summer as carriers across the U.S. introduce new routes to meet the pent-up demand created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Whether eyeing a big city, an outdoorsy destination or a tropical beach getaway, summer travelers will have no shortage of options in 2021. Here's a look at what the major airlines have planned for the season ahead.

Alaska Airlines will begin flying daily nonstop flights between Boise and Chicago, and between Boise and Austin starting June 17. The airline will also begin daily nonstop service from Seattle to Idaho Falls, Idaho and Redding, California. The two new destinations are sure to pique the interest of nature lovers as they provide easy access to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks as well as the Northern California Redwoods. Other routes launching June 17 include Anchorage-Denver, Anchorage-San Francisco and San Diego-Santa Barbara. On June 19, Alaska will launch seasonal service between Anchorage and Minneapolis and San Francisco and Bozeman, Montana.

Allegiant Air is anticipating a lot of pent-up demand for travel this summer and is looking to meet it by adding dozens of new routes, including many destinations known for their outdoor appeal. The Las Vegas-based ultra-low-cost carrier will launch new routes to places like Austin, Boston, Bozeman, Des Moines, Destin-Fort Walton Beach in Florida, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Nashville, Portland and San Diego, with numerous flights taking off just ahead of Memorial Day Weekend. Allegiant is also making it easier to reach some of the top destinations in Florida this summer, including the introduction of new service from Cincinnati to Key West beginning June 9.

American Airlines is also expecting a busy summer travel season with more than 150 new routes this summer. The carrier plans to fly more than 90 percent of its domestic seat capacity compared to the summer of 2019, and 80 percent of its international seat capacity compared to two years ago. On June 5, American will launch eight new routes to one of the country's most popular summer destinations in Orlando, Florida, introducing nonstop service from Birmingham, Dayton, Louisville, Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham.

Delta Air Lines will ramp up its route map with new nonstop flights to more than 20 mountain, beach, outdoor and other leisure destinations this summer, including service between Detroit and Bozeman, and between Atlanta and Jackson Hole beginning May 29. The carrier is also connecting travelers to Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island via Boston (May 8) and Nantucket, Massachusetts with twice-daily flights from New York City (JFK) beginning May 28, and Saturday and Sunday service from New York City (LGA) beginning May 29. Starting June 5, Delta will introduce daily service from Atlanta and Saturday service from JFK to Grand Cayman Islands; Saturday service from ATL and JFK to St. Kitts; twice-weekly service from ATL to Roatan Island, Honduras and twice-weekly service from ATL to Bonaire.

Budget-friendly Frontier Airlines recently expanded its summer 2021 service with eight new nonstop routes including three new destinations in Nassau, Bahamas; San Jose, Costa Rica and St. Maarten. The airline will launch three times weekly service between Dallas and Cancun on June 10 before launching weekly service between San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands on June 12. Miami-Nassau service will begin June 24, followed by Orlando-San Jose, Costa Rica (July 1); Miami-San Jose (July 2); Miami-St. Maarten and Orlando-St. Maarten (July 10).

JetBlue has big plans this summer as the carrier will introduce new nonstop options from every region of the U.S. as well as Mexico and the Caribbean. Summer 2021 will see JetBlue roll out more than 15 new routes from the New York City area, including more nonstops between Newark and the Caribbean. Customers can also look forward to several exciting new destinations such as Los Cabos, Boise and Glacier Park/Kalispell, Montana. Notable nonstop options from NYC starting up this summer include Martha's Vineyard, Charleston, Boise and Denver, among others. Travelers can also fly from Newark to a handful of coveted Caribbean escapes, including Antigua, Saint Lucia and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Southwest Airlines recently revealed its revised summer schedule for travel between June 6 and September 6, 2021, adding flights to traditional summertime favorites as well as adding new markets as travelers look to make up for lost time this season. Southwest will expand service from St. Louis to places like Savannah, Sarasota/Bradenton and Destin/Fort Walton Beach while adding new service from Kansas City to Miami, Sarasota/Bradenton and Destin/Fort Walton Beach. Meanwhile, Chicago (O'Hare) will get new service to Austin and Fort Lauderdale while Chicago (Midway) will get returning service to Boise and Spokane out West. The low-cost carrier will also make its return to Costa Rica with daily nonstop service from Houston (Hobby) to Liberia, Guanacaste and San Jose starting June 6. Southwest will connect Baltimore and Liberia, Guanacaste beginning June 12, the same day it will bring back Saturday-only seasonal service from Pittsburgh to Cancun. Getting to Puerto Rico will also be easier this summer with Southwest offering increased daily flights from Orlando, Chicago (Midway), and Tampa to San Juan.

Spirit Airlines is preparing to launch Saturday service between New York City and Los Angeles via LaGuardia Airport between June 12 and September 4. The wallet-friendly carrier also rolled out service from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 17 and will begin daily service from LaGuardia to Nashville starting May 5, the same day the airline will connect Los Angeles and Los Cabos. Spirit's new daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and St. Louis begins May 27. In addition to NYC and St. Louis, Spirit will connect LAX with Louisville, Columbus and Milwaukee this summer. Nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta are scheduled to begin on July 1.

United Airlines will add new seasonal routes to countries planning to reopen to vaccinated and tested travelers this summer. United will resume daily flights from Newark to Iceland and Greece this June before introducing new flights to Croatia and expanded service to Greece and Iceland in July. Before then, the carrier is gearing up for what promises to be a busy Memorial Day Weekend with the launch of nonstop service to Charleston, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Pensacola and Portland, Maine from seven cities including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Indianapolis beginning May 27. United will also offer nonstop service on the following routes: Chicago-Nantucket; Denver-Portland, Maine; Houston-Kalispell, Montana and Washington Dulles-Bozeman, Montana.