Amtrak Has Cancelled the Winter Park Express service for the remainder of the 2019 – 2020 ski season.
Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will be contacted and typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day.
Amtrak is waiving change fees on all existing or new reservations made before April 30, 2020. To change reservations, log in to your account or go to Modify Trip on Amtrak.com, or find your reservation from your account on the home screen in the Amtrak app. A fare difference may apply to your new itinerary. If you want to cancel your reservation, you must call 800-USA-RAIL (not available via Amtrak.com or the app).
Airline also adds service for special events next year
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines is giving customers a treat this holiday season with the announcement of two new routes from the vibrant and eclectic city of Austin, Texas (AUS), to the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose, California (SJC), and to the historical city of Boston (BOS). These new routes will operate twice daily beginning in April.
The airline is also introducing unique service in support of special events like golf tournaments in Augusta, Georgia (AGS), music festivals in Palm Springs, California (PSP), and the annual visit to one of the nation’s biggest shareholder meetings with increased service to Omaha, Nebraska (OMA). Austin flights will be available for purchase starting Dec. 16 and special events flights will be available for purchase starting Dec. 22.
New Austin flights takeoff in April
American’s newest service is in response to strong demand from customers who need to travel between one of the nation’s largest tech cities, Austin, to the tech centers in San Jose and Boston.
“Our customers have expressed the desire for more routes between major tech cities, and we’re pleased to respond to their needs by helping them reach these important destinations with ease,” said Alison Taylor, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Distribution. “These new routes reflect our commitment to partnering with customers to seamlessly support their travel needs.”
Flights will operate twice daily, Monday through Friday, on a Boeing 737-800, year-round. The aircraft features high-speed Wi-Fi, access to power at every seat and 16 first class seats, providing additional comfort while commuting. With convenient flight times, customers flying the new service can get to meetings early and get back home in time for dinner. The airline has also recently renovated the Admirals Club to relax before flights, and, by the end of the year, American will have five contiguous gates at AUS.
“We added these routes with our customers top of mind to bring them closer to the places they value the most when conducting business,” said Vasu Raja, Senior Vice President of Network Strategy. “While it’s not our traditional hub and spoke routing, we understand the importance of travel for the tech community and look forward to offering these new flights to our loyal customers.”
And, for a quick weekend beach escape from the capital of Texas, American will also introduce the only service from AUS to Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD) on Saturday and Sunday, starting May 9.
Special flights for special events
In addition to the yearly increase in service for special events, American is also adding more unique flights that will make it easier than ever to attend must-see special events such as sports tournaments, concerts and meetings. American is adding direct service from Los Angeles (LAX) to PSP in April, for a faster way to get to one of the biggest music festivals of the year. The airline is also adding new service to AGS from BOS on an Embraer E175, and upgauging existing service from Chicago (ORD) to Augusta on a 737-800 to help customers who want a front row seat to golf’s biggest championship tournament. And in May, American will have the most seats to Louisville, Kentucky (SDF), for one of the most unique sporting events under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs, from BOS, CLT, DCA, DFW, LAX, LGA, MIA, ORD and PHL. American also has customers covered who care more about investing with the only service from BOS to OMA, as well as new flights from New York City (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to OMA on an E175 on May 1.
“It’s important to spend time and resources on memorable experiences, and we want to make sure our customers have options when it comes to the most important events around the country throughout the year,” Raja said. “We’re adding more seats, introducing new routes and making sure that our customers are taken care of throughout their travel journey.”
Nov 29 (Reuters) – Airlines that fly to and from Hong Kong will be able to keep their prized airport slots even if they temporarily cut capacity due to weak travel demand through March, according to the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department.
Many airlines, including flagship home carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, South African Airways and Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd have cut flights to and from Hong Kong temporarily as a result of sometimes violent anti-government protests that have led to a sharp fall in tourist and business travel demand.
More than 5,800 people have been arrested since the unrest broke out in June over a proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China, the numbers grew in October and November as violence escalated.
Under more normal conditions, it is tough for airlines to get take-off and landing slots at Hong Kong’s airport because it lacks capacity until a third runway will come into operation in 2024.
A “use-it-or-lose-it” rule stipulates an airline normally only keeps slots out of historic precedence if it can demonstrate it used them at least 80% of the time in the previous airline scheduling season.
The current winter season, which began on Oct. 27, ends on March 28, 2020.
Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday evening that in order to provide airlines with greater flexibility in aircraft deployment to deal with the fall in passenger demand, the “use-it-or-lose-it” rule had been temporarily suspended for the winter season.
Airport Authority Hong Kong reported declines in October of 13% in passengers and 6.1% in the number of inbound and outbound flights – the steepest falls since the unrest began.
(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Nov 18 (Reuters) – Air New Zealand Ltd said on Monday about 14,000 customers would be affected by cancellations this summer because of ongoing Rolls-Royce engine checks on its Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The national carrier, which has 10 Trent 1000 engines on its 787-9 fleet, said the schedule changes were “now unavoidable”, adding that further changes may also be needed.
Rolls-Royce has been struggling to fix an issue on blades on the TEN variant, causing more and more passengers face disruptions due to checks and repair work.
“Rolls-Royce does not have any replacement engines available while maintenance work is undertaken and has advised Air New Zealand there’s significant wait for repair service,” said a statement by the airline.
Air New Zealand will suspend its twice-a-week seasonal Christchurch-Perth service – hitting 61 flights – and its second daily Auckland-Perth service from Dec. 10 until Jan 5, 2020.
“Going into the holiday season we’re acutely aware how important travel is to our customers, and our schedule changes are designed to keep cancellations to a minimum,” Air NZ’s Senior Manager Customer Care and Communications Doug Grant said in a statement.
Rolls-Royce’s cost to fix the issue jumped by another 800 million pounds ($1.02 billion), as the aerospace group promised to spend more on parts and replacement engines to reduce the time aircraft are grounded while turbine blades are replaced.
($1 = 0.7815 pounds)
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney and Tom Brown)
Three roundtrips now every weekend from January 10 through March 29, with the popular $29 starting fares again this season
WINTER PARK, Colo. – Every weekend this ski season can last for three days instead of two, with Amtrak “ski train” roundtrips between Denver and Winter Park Resort on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, starting Jan. 10. Adult fares start at $29 each way and tickets are on sale now at Amtrak.com/WinterParkExpress. Each ticketed adult can bring a child age 2-12 for half the adult fare.
This will also be the second season of snack and beverage service using a Superliner® Sightseer Lounge Car, with windows from floor level and into the top of the railcar. Since 2017, more than 52,000 customers have avoided frustrating stop-and-go ski traffic on the roads to enjoy the service partnership on the rails by Amtrak and the resort named last year as the “Best in North America”. The 2019 season set a ridership record on a transportation mode that is reliable, sustainable and friendly.
The 2020 Amtrak Winter Park Express will run each Friday, Saturday and Sunday through March 29. The Amtrak trains depart Denver Union Station at 7 a.m. and arrive at the resort at approximately 9 a.m., leaving Winter Park at 4:30 p.m.to return to Denver at 6:40 p.m. All times Mountain. The station is served by the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) commuter trains to Denver International Airport, light rail, local or intercity buses, ride-sharing services and taxis.
The public can choose from 36 roundtrips for the comfortable and scenic ride using RTD, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific tracks to pass through the historic Moffat Tunnel.
Investments at the resort for this season include the new six-person Sunnyside lift, a $6 million upgrade to reduce the ride time from 8 minutes to under 4 minutes and give improved access to some of the most beloved intermediate terrain in the Mary Jane territory. This season will also see the first “Winter Park Fireworks & Family Fests” on Saturday nights Dec. 14, Jan. 18, Feb. 15 and Mar. 14 for fireworks, slope-side bonfires and more. Questions about the resort and its many features can be answered by calling the resort directly: 888-923-7275.
Amtrak and Winter Park Resort have also made it easy to book group travel by calling 800-USA-1GRP for a train/ski package – including lodging – crafted by representatives of the resort and Amtrak.
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – British Airways pilots are to go on strike for three days in September, their union said on Friday, in a dispute over pay that could disrupt the peak summer holiday season.
Last month, the pilots overwhelmingly voted for industrial action and the airline, which is part of IAG, failed in a court bid to stop them.
“The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today given notice to British Airways that it will call on its members to strike on 9th, 10th and 27th September 2019,” the union said in a statement.
“It is clear, following discussions with members over the last few days, that BA’s most recent offer will not gain the support of anywhere near a majority of its pilots.”
British Airways said the strike action was unjustifiable as their pay offer was fair and that the strikes would destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of customers.
“We are now making changes to our schedule. We will do everything we can to get as many people away on their journeys as possible,” the airline said in a statement.
“However, it is likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel and we will be offering refunds and re-bookings for passengers booked on cancelled flights.”
The airline said it was exploring options to supplement its fleet with aircraft and crew from other airlines, known as wet-leasing, and working with partner airlines to schedule larger aircraft to take more customers.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)
FILE PHOTO: Bjoern Kjos, CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, attends a press conference presenting quarterly report of the company, in Oslo
PARIS (Reuters) – Norwegian Air expects Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft to remain grounded until at least the end of August, missing the European summer season, CEO Bjoern Kjos said on Friday.
“If you ask Boeing they still say June or July,” Kjos said at the Paris Air Forum. “But we’re already in mid-June – we’ve planned for the MAX to be out until the end of August.”
More than 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets have been grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed nearly 350 people. Some airlines now expect the plane to remain out of action until the end of 2019.
Norwegian, which operated 18 of the planes, has said the grounding will raise its costs by up to 500 million Norwegian crowns ($58 million). The low-cost, long-haul operator has delayed disposal of older Boeing 737 models or prolonged leasing contracts while it waits for their MAX replacements.
Boeing is awaiting a decisions by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on software improvements it proposed after the crashes and whether to require additional pilot training before flights can resume.
If more training is ordered, a shortage of simulators means that “it might be much longer” before commercial flights resume, Kjos said. “For some operators it could take up to a year.”
As a customer of Boeing’s GoldCare maintenance program, however, the CEO said Norwegian might not have to wait that long.
“We’d hope to be at the front of the queue,” he said.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost and Tim Hepher; Editing by David Goodman)
SEATTLE, June 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — It’s the place Alaska Airlines’ guests said they want to fly to the most from Everett: Palm Springs.
So Alaska is making it happen.
Starting Nov. 5, you’ll be able to fly nonstop with us between Everett and Palm Springs every day of the week – just in time for the Coachella Valley’s popular winter travel season. You can buy your Alaska Airlines tickets now.
Alaska Airlines and its regional partners fly 46 million guests a year to more than 115 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Learn about Alaska’s award-winning service at newsroom.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
SOURCE Alaska Airlines
For further information: Media Relations, (206) 304-0008
SEATTLE, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — About 18,000 pounds of fresh Copper River salmon arrived on a fish-filled Alaska Airlines plane touching down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shortly after 6:30 a.m. Today officially marks the start of the salmon season that is anticipated by seafood lovers throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. By noon, Alaska Air Cargo is expected to deliver a total of 50,000 pounds of Copper River salmon to the Lower 48 with more scheduled on later flights.
Alaska Airlines pilots hold up the first Copper River Salmon upon arrival in Seattle
(Reuters) – NetJets, the luxury plane unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, has extended its contract with its pilots union by three years, avoiding the type of bitter labor dispute that it had with the union earlier this decade.
The tentative contract with the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, which represents 2,500 pilots, boosts pay, changes the compensation structure, and expires in 2026.
NetJets and the union said in a joint statement on Thursday that the accord followed six weeks of talks, which the Columbus, Ohio-based company began though the pilots’ 2015 contract wasn’t scheduled to expire until 2023.
More than 81 percent of the pilots voted last month in favor of the changes.
“The NJASAP Executive Board is exceedingly pleased with the outcome of this negotiation — an ambitious undertaking characterized by honesty, goodwill and a genuine commitment to continuing collaboration,” said union president, Pedro Leroux.
The contract was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NetJets’ labor peace contrasts with more than two years of contentious relations with the union that ended in 2015, after Adam Johnson was installed as chief executive.
The union, then also led by Leroux, had accused NetJets of trying to slash jobs, obtain givebacks on health care and work rules, and bait pilots through bogus Twitter posts to conduct work slowdowns that could result in their being fired.
In contrast, Johnson said on Thursday the contract extension was “built on a foundation of trust and transparency.”
Berkshire employed more than 377,000 people at the end of 2017, and most are not unionized.
Buffett, who flies on NetJets planes, told shareholders at Berkshire’s 2015 annual meeting: “We have no anti-union agenda whatsoever, and we think we have sensational pilots.”
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
In other NetJet news, Just in time for the winter ski season, we are excited to announce a partnership with Caldera House. Through this partnership, NetJets Owners can take advantage of exclusive benefits at Jackson Hole’s newest luxury hotel.
