Delta Air Lines expands international services from New York-JFK

Delta announced plans to offer increased choice on 14 new international routes from JFK, including nine transatlantic destinations not served by any other U.S. major airline — Edinburgh, Malaga, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Amman, Lagos, Dakar, Cape Town and Nairobi, the last two via Dakar. In addition, the Atlanta-based airline is introducing an improved schedule for summer 2008 that aims to meet the growing customer demand at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport while taking steps to reduce airport congestion and delays during peak hours.

Alaska Airlines to offer in-flight wireless internet

Alaska Airlines plans to launch in-flight wireless internet service next year. The airline announced at a conference in Toronto that it will test a Row 44’s broadband service on a Boeing 737 in the spring, and if it goes well, it will be installed on its entire fleet. The Row 44’s technology is designed to work over water and across international borders. That would allow the Seattle-based airline to offer the service throughout its entire network, which includes Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Passengers with wireless-enabled devices such as laptop computers and smart-phones will connect to the system through Wi-Fi hot spots in the aircraft cabin.

JetBlue to launch Charlotte-Ft Lauderdale flights

JetBlue Airways announced starting of seasonal nonstop flights between Charlotte Douglas International and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The once-a-day return service will begin January 10 and end April 30, 2008. Raleigh and Richmond, VA, also will get seasonal nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale. The low-cost airline will offer promotional rates starting at $69 one way, for tickets purchased by the end of August.

New York-based JetBlue Airways currently operates more than 700 daily services, including mainly internal low cost flights in the United States, as well as flights to the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Mexico.

Largest indoor ski resort planned near Atlanta

An Atlanta developer announced plans to build the longest and highest indoor ski dome in the world. The $1 billion Mount Pegasus project would cover 400 acres southeast of the intersection of Georgia 400 and Ga. 53 in Dawsonville. The ski park would have two indoor hockey rinks, five ski runs of varying difficulties, a half-pipe for snowboarding, a snowmobile track, four hotels, 30 restaurants and 800,000 sq. ft. of residential and retail space.

The first indoor ski facility in the United States, a $1.3 billion project called Meadowlands Xanadu, is due to open in 2008 off the New Jersey Turnpike, a few miles from Manhattan.

AirTran to start flights from Orlando to Raleigh/Durham

AirTran Airways is starting daily, non-stop service between Orlando International Airport and Raleigh/Durham, NC, from February 14. The new flight from Orlando will depart at 8:45 am and arrive in Raleigh/Durham at 10:20 am. The return flight from Raleigh/Durham will leave at 9:45 am and arrive in Orlando at 11:25 am. The low-fare carrier will also offer seasonal non-stop flights between Orlando and Minneapolis/St. Paul, as well as to Rochester, NY.

AirTran Airways operates over 750 daily flights throughout the eastern USA and the Midwest. The airline’s principal hub is at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and maintains a secondary hub at Orlando International Airport.

New low-cost terminal approved at Austin Airport

City of Austin, Texas has approved the construction of a low-cost terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The new terminal will serve no-frills carriers including a new Mexican airline Viva Aerobus, which has announced to fly between Austin and five Mexican destinations. Flights will be operated by Boeing 737-300 aircraft with fares starting as low as $5 one-way. The airline, which is part-owned by Ryanair, is aiming to begin operations from Austin by Thanksgiving.