Though we wish we could report the launch of Southwest flights to Hawaii, there were still many exciting new routes launched in December 2018!

Air Italy

Air Italy announced some exciting new routes in December 2018!

Air Italy announced new routes to North American destinations from Milan

Since receiving financial backing from Qatar Airways, Air Italy has rebranded itself and expanded using A330s leased from Qatar Airways.

From their hub in Milan, Air Italy will be launching four new routes to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Toronto using their current A330s. However, this expansion has ruffled the feathers of dominant carriers in the U.S.  

Air italys new routes

Air Italy has launched four new North American routes for next yearAs 2019 rolls in, Air Italy will begin to take delivery of 787s. These 787s will replace A330s and help Air Italy expand their long-haul airline routes.

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United Airlines

United has been on a roll with new route announcements. In addition, United also launched their 787-10 into service ahead of schedule.

United Airlines 787-9
The jet involved in the incident was one of United's 787-9 Dreamliners.

In December, United announced a major route expansion out of their hub in San Francisco.

The following are all the new routes United added from San Francisco:

  • San Francisco-Melbourne starting from October 29, 2019. Three weekly flights are planned using 787-9 aircraft
  • San Francisco-New Delhi starting from December 5, 2019. One daily flight is planned using 787-9 aircraft. This will complement Air India's flight from New Delhi-San Francisco using a 777.
  • San Francisco-Seoul (Incheon) starting from April 1, 2019. Four additional weekly flights are planned using 777-200ERs.
  • San Francisco-Toronto (Pearson) starting from March 31, 2019. Twice daily service will commence using 737-800s.
  • San Francisco-Amsterdam starting on March 30, 2019. Daily service using 787-9s.
  • San Francisco-Auckland starting on April 1, 2019. Seasonal service will now be operated year-rounded using 777-200ERs.
  • San Francisco- Papeete (Tahiti) starting on March 31, 2019. Seasonal service will now be operated year-round using 787-8s.
United's new routes out of San Francisco

In addition to these new routes, United also announced new domestic routes out of their hub at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

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El Al

This was a very interesting announcement. Starting in June 2019, El Al will fly once weekly flights to Las Vegas from Tel Aviv on board a 787.

El Al Oman
El Al will operate a once-weekly 787 flight to Las Vegas from Tel Aviv.

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American Airlines

American Airlines announced expansions from Dallas. The carrier will increase flights to Paris and Madrid using 787s. In addition, Dallas, New York- LaGuardia, and Chicago O'Hare will receive new domestic routes.

American Airlines Airplane
American Airlines will be operating new domestic routes in 2019.

American will also be introducing their A321neo on domestic flights in 2019. Starting on April 2, the A321neo will operate daily service between Los Angeles and Orlando, Phoenix and Orlando, and Phoenix to Los Angeles.

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Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines has recently been building up their presence in Boston. In December, Delta announced new routes to Chicago O'Hare, Newark, and Washington- Reagan set to commence in 2019. As United announced an end to their service between Cleveland and Boston, Delta picked up the route.

Delta's joint venture with Aeromexico has been a success. This December, Delta announced a new route from their hub in Minneapolis to Mexico City on board A319s.

Delta operated an A319 on this flight. Photo: Wikimedia/Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland

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TAP Air Portugal

TAP Air Portugal will be flying to three new destinations in the United States from their hub in Lisbon.

After taking delivery of the new and stunning A330neo, TAP will deploy them on flights to San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington D.C. All routes will be operated 5 times per week.

TAP Portugal's brand new A330neo
TAP Portugal's brand new A330neo

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Overall

We're excited by these new additions and hope to review many of these flights soon!

Are you going to be on any of these new routes? Are you looking forward to a specific new route? Let us know in the comments below!