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The Miramar, Fla.-based airline will begin offering one daily flight on April 14 and a second daily flight on May 1.

“‘This is terrific news for San Antonians,'” San Antonio Aviation Director Mark Webb says. “‘Spirit is not only connecting two vibrant cities with non-stop service, but they’re also bringing to the market an ultra-low cost business model that I think San Antonians are going to find very appealing’.”

Airport officials are hopeful that these two flights will form the basis of a larger partnership between the airport and the airline in the future.

source: San Antonio Business Journal

AirAsia X announced its latest international route from Kuala Lumpur to Hangzhou, China. AirAsia X will be the first airline to service the route from Kuala Lumpur with five weekly services beginning 04-Feb-08. The latest service is the airline’s second long-haul destination after Gold Coast, Australia, which was launched in Nov-07.

source: Peanuts.aero

Irish airline Aer Arann is to start flights from Galway and Waterford to Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Malaga, and Faro from May this year.

In a statement today the airline said it the four new destinations were being provided on the back of a franchise deal between Aer Arann and Nex Aviation.

Aer Arann said the route to Amsterdam Schiphol would give passengers to one of the best connected international airports.

source: ireland.com

British Airways, in a move that could heat up competition for transatlantic passengers, said Wednesday it would launch a new airline in June that would offer nonstop flights between New York and cities in the European mainland.

The London-based carrier said the new airline, which would cater to business and affluent leisure travelers, would be named OpenSkies and begin with service to either Brussels or Paris.

If British Air picks Paris, the route would come on the heels of a new nonstop service that its European archrival, Air France, is to begin in March between Los Angeles International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport, British Airways’ main hub.

source: LA Times

Southwest Airlines is adding new nonstop flights in a number of the carrier’s key markets, including San Antonio.

In May, Dallas-based Southwest is adding a San Antonio to Denver flight on May 10, its first nonstop flight from San Antonio International Airport to the Mile High City.

Southwest is conducting a “‘refining'” of its current flight schedule. It is eliminating 57 of its existing roundtrip flights from its May flight schedule and will add 40 roundtrip flights to key growth markets.

fuente: Business Journal

Skybus Airlines will add even more flights to its new hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport and now plans flights to airports near Philadelphia and Chicago.

Beginning today, Skybus will sell tickets to the Philadelphia area via Wilmington, Del., and to Chicago via Gary, Ind., beginning March 13.

The airline will continue its policy of issuing 10 seats for $10 on every flight as long as they last.

source: news-record.com

Three new low-cost airlines will be operating to Malta from March, amid ambitious targets of a four to five per cent increase in arrivals over a record 2007.

The news comes days after British Airways and Easyjet announced they will be operating between Malta and London from March, signalling a ten per cent increase in seat capacity on the all-important UK route.

“‘It’s not too soon to say we’re going to try and make 2008 an even better year,”‘ Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech told The Sunday Times.

Spanish budget airline Vueling will be servicing the Madrid to Malta route three times a week; Italian airline Volare four times weekly; and airline Norwegian.no will be flying from Malta to Oslo three times a week.

British Airways will operate a daily service to London Gatwick from March 30. GB Airways, which operated British Airways flights to Malta, has been sold to giant low-cost carrier Easyjet, which is also starting a 10-flights-a-week service to Malta from its base in Gatwick.

Though it is a budget airline, the minister confirmed that no subsidies will be provided to Easyjet since it has assumed the slots previously operated by GB Airways.

source: TimesOfMalta.com

American airliner US Airways was awarded a license to inaugurate its first US-China air service last week, becoming the sixth US carrier to be granted the permit.

The US Department of Transportation announced last Friday that it had granted the Arizona-headquartered US Airways a permit for US-China passenger flights.

Six American airlines already operate China-bound air services – the other five are American, Continental, Northwest, United and Delta Airlines.

The US Department of Transportation time also awarded additional US-China passenger flights to three other US carriers serving the China routes: American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

US Airways will fly between Philadelphia and Beijing, while American, Continental and Northwest each will use their new rights to add a daily flight to their existing US-China services.

American Airlines will begin a Chicago-Beijing service, while Continental will operate a new flight between Newark/New York and Shanghai, and Northwest will fly between Detroit and Shanghai.

All services must begin on or around March 25, 2009, according to the agreement.

source: People’s Daily Online

Ultra low cost carrier Spirit Airlines is launching new daily non-stop service from Orlando to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Located on the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Aguadilla is known for its beaches, crystal clear waters, and excellent surfing. This new service compliments Spirit‘s existing connecting service from Orlando and non-stop service from Fort Lauderdale to Aguadilla.

source: PR-USA.net

Lufthansa is continuing to extend its route network to growth markets in Africa. On 1 April 2008, following the introduction of the summer timetable, a new service will be launched between Frankfurt and the Angolan capital, Luanda. The non-stop route will be operated once a week by an Airbus 340-300 with 221 seats.

source: Boarding.no