Welcome to my 157th weekly routes article! I have analyzed some subjectively exciting services that took off between February 11 and 17 (unless stated).
United's 22nd Caribbean destination
On February 15, United Airlines began its first flight to Dominica, its 22nd Caribbean airport. This followed Dominica's renovations, upgrades, and runway extension, although it remains a short 6,352 feet.
United runs on Saturdays from Newark on the 126-seat 737-700, its joint-smallest mainline equipment. UA2849 departs from New Jersey at 09:10 and arrives at 14:39 local time. Returning, UA2848 leaves at 15:45 and gets back at 19:51.
It is the first time Newark has had Dominica flights, and JFK has not had them at all. That is unsurprising: Greater NYC only had ~9,000 Dominica passengers last year.
It is also the first time two American carriers have operated from the US mainland, with United joining American. As such, there are now flights from two US mainland destinations, with Newark coexisting with Miami.
All Nippon starts 1st Türkiye flights
When it is daily, All Nippon and Turkish Airlines will have a triple-daily Istanbul-Tokyo service: two to Haneda and one to Narita. Their combined Haneda schedule is quite different to help with connectivity and traffic.
The launch of Istanbul flights brings All Nippon's European network to nine routes. Istanbul was the final of three inaugurations in three months, following Milan Malpensa (December 2024) and Stockholm Arlanda (January 2025).
Southwest begins 1st red-eye flights
While this article focuses on notable new and returning routes, other topics—such as a big route anniversary or something else noteworthy—are occasionally covered.
This week, Southwest's inaugurated its first red-eye services. The evolving carrier has avoided them in its 54-year history because its old reservation system could not handle them. That changed in 2017, but it took eight years to get to this point.
Southwest revealed its first red-eye flights in July 2024. They began on February 13 from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix to Baltimore, Los Angeles to Nashville, and Las Vegas to Orlando, arriving early the next day.
The carrier plans 30 routes with overnight flights this year, although more will be added. (Southwest started new daytime routes this week, such as Washington Reagan-Las Vegas and Albany-Sarasota.)
Delta begins 94th Salt Lake City route
Delta Connection has resumed Salt Lake City-Northwest Arkansas/Fayetteville flights after an 18-year absence. It deploys SkyWest E175s daily.
DL3501 leaves Utah at 09:40 and arrives in Arkansas at 13:25 local time. Returning, DL3501 (the same flight number) leaves at 14:10 and gets back at 16:22.
The market, 872 nautical miles (1,615 km) apart, was unserved between 2008 and 2024. Delta Connection previously served it between 2005 and 2007 using the single-class, 50-seat CRJ200.
While the point-to-point demand is pretty good at 20,000 roundtrip passengers, it will mainly be about connections over Delta's Utah hub.
Aegean's longest-ever route
Greece's flag carrier, Aegean, has a new route, and it is its longest-ever non-stop scheduled service.
On February 13, it began flying between Athens and Gran Canaria, covering 2,058 nautical miles (3,811 km) each way. This appears to be the first time Greece has had non-stop flights to any of the Canary Islands.
It runs twice-weekly until March 10, with all flights on the 180-seat A320neo. A3740 leaves the Greek capital at 13:00 and gets to the Canary Islands at 16:50 local time (Flightradar24 shows the first flight took 5h 07m). Returning, A3741 departs at 17:45 and gets back at 00:50+1.
Allegiant's 9 brand-new routes in 2 days
The ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air began nine routes on February 13/14. As usual, all are served twice weekly. In keeping with its network creation, none had ever had non-stop flights until its first flight took off.
Most revolved around Sarasota: Albany, Elmira, Greenville/Spartanburg, Moline, Omaha, and Roanoke. Elsewhere, Punta Gorda-Chattanooga, Colorado Springs-Tampa St Pete, and Colorado Springs-Orange County all began.
Allegiant will face another carrier on just one link: Albany-Sarasota. Southwest's first flight was on February 15, a day after Allegiant's.
Ignoring simple resumptions after a month or a season, Allegiant also returned two routes to its network: Phoenix-Mesa to Colorado Springs (on February 12; last served in 2017) and Sarasota-Knoxville (on February 14; last served in 2023).
American serves 16 Californian airports
Number 16 materialized because flights between Phoenix and Carlsbad, north of San Diego, have started. American last served Carlsbad in 1999 when it flew from Los Angeles. Phoenix last had flights to Carlsbad in 2008 with US Airways and, before that, with America West until 2007.
Regional partner American Eagle has introduced a double-daily Envoy Air-operated E175 service. Flights leave Arizona at 11:24 and 17:58 and depart California at 06:15 and 12:45.
Carlsbad is the only California airport in American's network to receive its regional jets exclusively. Its entry means that Carlsbad again has a network airline, with all the connectivity that means—in this instance, 60+ cities via Phoenix.
Alaska Airlines' 10th Mexican airport
Alaska Airlines has started its next route using the E175. It is from Los Angeles to Monterrey, Mexico, and served daily year-round on SkyWest's 76-seat equipment. It stands out for various reasons:
- It is the first time Alaska Airlines has served the Mexican city
- It has never flown to 10 Mexican airports before
- The carrier's entry means the airport pair has three airlines again (joining Volaris and Viva Aerobus)
- It is the second time a US operator has served it (Delta pulled out in 2017)
- It is Alaska Airlines' new eighth-longest E175-operated link
