A number of new flights out of Boston and Delta’s new private jet partnership lead this week’s air travel news.
JetBlue announced plans to add a number of new flights out of Boston in 2020. That spring, the airline will expand its service to New York’s LaGuardia airport to up to 10 daily roundtrips; complementing the airline’s additional service to JFK and Newark Liberty, it will operate up to 22 daily flights between Boston and the New York metropolitan area. In the summer, JetBlue will increase its flights between Boston and Austin to up to three daily roundtrips, adding a new morning departure from Austin and an evening return. In addition to New York and Austin, JetBlue will phase in added flights in 2020 on more than a dozen routes, coast-to-coast between Boston and:
- Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
- Denver International Airport (DEN)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
- San Diego International Airport (SAN)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)
- Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
American Airlines announced two new routes from Austin: one to Boston and one to San Jose. These new routes will operate twice daily beginning in April.
In private jet news, Delta announced plans for a new partnership with Wheels Up that will expand its private aviation offerings for corporate and individual customers. Delta said that the partnership will create one of the world’s largest owned and managed fleets of private aircraft.
The companies have reached a definitive agreement for Delta Private Jets, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta, to combine with Wheels Up. The transaction will pair Wheels Up’s membership programs, digital platform and lifestyle experiences with Delta Private Jets’ service and scale. When the transaction closes, Wheels Up will have a fleet of more than 190 private aircraft and over 8,000 members and customers. Delta will also hold an equity position in Wheels Up.
The transaction will provide an array of new products and features for existing and prospective customers of Wheels Up, Delta Private Jets and Delta. Details will be announced when the transaction closes, the airline said.
In other new partnerships, Hertz and Air France teamed up to offer passengers of the French flag carrier new transfer service with private driver Hertz DriveU at more than 300 airports globally. Air France customers and Flying Blue members traveling onboard partner airlines’ flights can pre-book Hertz DriveU from airfrance.hertzdriveu.com up to three hours before the transfer, seeing the final price before they pay. They will then receive an email confirming the booking, and a text message just before pick-up with the driver’s full details, including contact numbers, pick-up location and vehicle information.
For airport pickups, a Hertz DriveU professional driver, equipped with a digital board displaying the passenger’s name, will be waiting at arrivals up to 90 minutes, depending on the vehicle’s category at no extra cost. As part of the service, the customer’s flight is tracked at all times to ensure that the driver is at the airport when the customer arrives, even if there has been a last-minute change. Customers can also cancel the service for free up to one hour before the booked pickup time.
In addition, for every euro spent, members of the Flying Blue loyalty program using Hertz DriveU will earn 3 miles per dollar, euro or pound spent. Air France customers traveling in La Première can currently enjoy complimentary Hertz DriveU transfers at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, with more airports to come.
Finally, this week American Airlines released another update on the grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft, pushing back the airline’s anticipated return date to April 7, 2020.
Related Stories
Bequia Air Debuts Today Exclusively to Bequia Beach Hotel Guests
AAA: 2019 Another Record-Setter for Holiday Travel