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May 20, 2021
As the country opens up and more people get vaccinated, many people await for the last pillar of normalcy to fully return: travel and leisure. According to reporting from Axios, bookings for last month were up 11% from April 2019.
But as the travel sector returns, it faces the same worker shortages that many other industries currently bear. Last year, the country s travel sector lost $1.1 trillion, with jobs in the sector dropping by 5.6 million. While the industry is slowly recouping its losses, 17% of those jobs have yet to be filled according to data from the U.S. Travel Association.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines is further expanding in southern California by launching flights from Hollywood Burbank (BUR) and growing its presence at Ontario International (ONT).
Three daily routes are being launched from BUR on July 15, connecting the airport with Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS) and Phoenix (PHX). The addition of Burbank means the ULCC will now serve 10 destinations in California.
Frontier will face direct competition on all three sectors, with data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser revealing that Southwest Airlines will provide the sternest test.
During w/c July 19, 2021, Southwest intends to serve BUR-DEN 20X-weekly, BUR-LAS 45X-weekly, and BUR-PHX 34X-weekly. In addition, American Airlines will serve BUR-PHX 26X-weekly, Spirit Airlines will provide four flights per week to LAS, and United Airlines will offer daily service to DEN.
Breeze Airways, the US startup led by JetBlue founder David Neeleman, has received final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The carrier received its air operator’s certificate (AOC) on May 14, paving the way for the airline to begin commercial operations. The approval authorizes Breeze to engage in interstate scheduled air transportation of persons, property and mail.
Although the LCC has so far remained tight-lipped about its planned network, a recent interview with Neeleman revealed that Tampa (TPA)-Charleston (CHS) is likely to be Breeze’s first route. Nashville (BNA), New Orleans (MSY) and Pittsburgh (PIT) are among 15 cities also expected to receive service as part of the first phase of expansion.