For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

United Airlines adds new service from Denver to The Bahamas in 2020

by

Denver residents can now escape to The Bahamas with weekly nonstop flights to Nassau

For the first time ever, travelers from the Denver area can take advantage of non-stop flights to Nassau, The Bahamas, just in time for spring 2020 travel. Beginning March 7, 2020, United Airlines will launch a Saturday-only nonstop service between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in Nassau.

The new service, operated by a B737-800, offers 166 seats each week with the following flight times:

  • Departing Denver at 9:56 AM and arriving into Nassau at 4:00 PM
  • Departing Nassau at 11:37 AM and arriving into Denver at 2:43 PM

“We are thrilled that our partners at United Airlines are increasing service, giving Denver and surrounding-area residents a more accessible way of traveling to our beautiful country,” said Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar.

The service also allows for enhanced connectivity to the island nation’s capital city of Nassau for travelers departing from cities in the U.S. West Coast and Northwest region including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland; Boise, Idaho and Seattle, Washington.

The flight will suspend during the off-peak travel season beginning in August 2020 and commence again on October 21, 2020 on an annual basis.

Those wishing to fly away to the Out Islands from Nassau, including The Exumas, Eleuthera, Andros and more, can then take a local 20-minute hopper flight from Nassau to their final destination.

Travelers can now book flights to experience just why it’s “Better in The Bahamas” on United Airlines’ website. For more information, visit www.united.com.

For more news about The Bahama, please click here.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Anita Johnson-Patty

General Manager, Global Communications

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation

ajohnson@bahamas.com

FAA provides aviation careers to people with disabilities

by

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced a pilot program to help prepare people with disabilities for careers in air traffic operations.

A key focus for the FAA’s Office of Civil Rights is to identify specific opportunities for people with targeted disabilities, empower them and facilitate their entry into a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

The FAA will enroll up to 20 people in the Aviation Development Program. They will train for up to one year at 10 Air Route Traffic Control Centers throughout the U.S. The following facilities will participate in the pilot: Minneapolis, Minn., Cleveland, Ohio, Boston, Mass., Denver, Colo., Fort Worth, Texas, Jacksonville, Fla., Seattle, Wash., Memphis, Tenn., Kansas City, Kan., and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The candidates in this program will receive the same rigorous consideration in terms of aptitude, medical and security qualifications as those individuals considered for a standard public opening for air traffic controller jobs. The training will prepare them for an opportunity to be appointed to a temporary air traffic control specialist position at the FAA Academy.

Candidates for the Aviation Development Program must meet the following criteria:

• United States citizenship
• The qualification for Schedule A Direct Hiring Authority (PDF)
• Meet Office of Personnel Management ATC qualification standards
• Pass Air Traffic Skills Assessment (AT-SA) Aptitude test
• No more than 30 years of age
• Pass a medical/security review
• Be proficient in English
• Education and/or work experience:
– three years of progressively responsible work experience or,
– a bachelor’s degree or
– a combination of post-secondary education and work experience that totals three years.

Travel News | eTurboNews

United Airlines announces new Florida service

by

United Airlines today announced more flights and more opportunities for customers to connect between Washington, D.C., and Florida. Beginning October 29, United will begin new twice-daily, year-round service between Washington Dulles and Fort Myers and Sarasota in Florida. Additionally, United will begin operating extended seasonal winter service between Miami and Washington Dulles starting two months earlier than originally planned in October 2019.
United’s new service to Fort Myers and Sarasota complements the airline’s growing Florida network of more than 50 routes served from Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

“These new routes offer our customers many more opportunities to conveniently travel year-round between Florida and our Washington hub,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of Domestic Network Planning. “Our schedule offers customers from Fort Myers and Sarasota easy connections to more than 130 flights across the United States and 11 European destinations with just one stop.”

United in Florida

In addition to its new service between Washington Dulles and Fort Myers and Sarasota, United operates more than 140 daily flights to 12 Florida cities. Effective October 27, United will offer the following service from its U.S. hubs to Florida.

City Destination

Chicago Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Panama City, Pensacola, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa

Cleveland Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa

Denver Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Fort Myers, Tampa, Miami, West Palm Beach, Pensacola, Sarasota, Destin/Fort Walton Beach

Houston Panama City, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Pensacola, Fort Myers, Tampa, Destin/Fort Walton Beach

Los Angeles Orlando

New York/Newark Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa

San Francisco Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami, Tampa

Washington Dulles Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Fort Myers, Sarasota

Travel News | eTurboNews

Summer Schedule 2019: Frankfurt Airport puts spring in its step

by

New flight schedule to take effect on March 31 – Total flights expanding moderately

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) continues to strengthen its status as Germany’s leading international aviation hub. Starting on March 31, travelers will be able to fly from Frankfurt to a total of 306 destinations in 98 countries.

In this year’s summer season, the number of flights will increase moderately (by more than one percent) compared to last year. Seat capacity will also grow by between one and two percent.

European, domestic German and especially intercontinental flight offerings will all expand. A rise of between 1.5 and two percent of aircraft movements is expected in the intercontinental category, with seat capacity increasing by 1.5 to 2.5 percent.

 New long-haul destinations

United Airlines will introduce daily services to Denver (DEN) in early May. Lufthansa will also offer a once-daily flight to DEN, while adding Austin (AUS), Texas as a new destination in North America. Cathay Pacific is increasing the frequency on its Frankfurt-Hong Kong (HKG) route, thus bringing the total to three services a week. Qatar Airways will offer more seats on one of its two daily flights to Doha (DOH), which will now be operated by an Airbus A380.

The intercontinental connections available from Frankfurt are marked by an impressive diversity, serving a total of 137 destinations. Lufthansa is continuing the new services introduced last winter to Cancún (CUN) in Mexico and Agadir (AGA) in Morocco. Condor will retain its flights to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia while stepping up the frequency to Phoenix (PHX) in the U.S., Calgary (YYC) in Canada, and Mombasa (MBA) in Kenya. Air India will also maintain its Frankfurt-Mumbai (BOM) route.

More connections to Turkey from FRA

Holidaymakers who wish to spend their vacation in Turkey have quite a few options to choose from: 11 airlines will now fly from FRA to a total of 15 destinations in that country, 15 percent more than before. They include a new service to Bodrum (BJV) by Lufthansa, which is also adding two other European holiday destinations: Heraklion (HER) in Greece and Tivat (TIV) in Montenegro.

Lufthansa will also continue flying to the new destinations it inaugurated last winter. Among them are Thessaloniki (SKG) in Greece, Trieste (TRS) in Italy, and Tromsø (TOS) in Norway. The airline is also adding more frequencies to Tirana (TIA) in Albania and Sofia (SOF) in Bulgaria, as well as Palma de Majorca (PMI) and Pamplona (PNA) in Spain. German leisure carrier TUIfly is strengthening its services from Frankfurt to Lamezia Terme (SUF) in Italy, Larnaca (LCA) in Cyprus, and Djerba-Zarzis (DJE) in Tunisia. In late March, Ryanair will add more services to Dublin (DUB), the Irish capital, bringing the total to 12 a week. Altogether, the total number of European destinations served from FRA will climb to 154, and within Germany to 15.

The impact on Frankfurt Airport of recent airline insolvencies is negligible. Flybmi will no longer be serving Bristol (BRS) in the United Kingdom and Jönköping (JKG) and Karlstad (KSD) in Sweden but because the aircraft used on those routes had only limited passenger seating their cancellation is only minimally affecting FRA’s total capacity. Nor are the failures of two other airlines, Germania and Small Planet Germany, having more than a very slight effect on total traffic. 

Good preparation for a positive travel experience

The moderate growth in flight movements is fully in line with the expectations of Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport. To handle the increase, Fraport has been hiring more staff and allotting more space for additional security checks during the summer season. Nevertheless, passengers may still experience processing delays on peak days. They are therefore advised to check in online before leaving home, arrive at the airport at least two and a half hours before departure, and then head immediately for the security checkpoint. Travelers intending to drive to the airport and leave their vehicles there can book parking spaces online in advance. Passengers are also advised to observe the airlines’ rules on cabin luggage. Fraport recommends taking as few carry-on items as possible. Information and pointers on travel and carry-on luggage can be found at www.frankfurt-airport.com.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Hilton Denver City Center collects socks for Denver’s homeless

by

Downtown Denver’s only full-service Hilton hotel steps up to help the city’s underprivileged residents. Hilton Denver City Center is collaborating with Denver-based non-profit, Sock It To Em’ to collect new socks for those in need. According to organization’s founder, Sue Lee, socks are the most-frequently-requested item at homeless shelters. To help those most in need, the hotel set a goal of collecting 1,000 pairs of socks.

The donation drive will run through December 22, 2018. Hilton Denver City Center will accept new socks in their lobby, as well as at various group meetings and event functions hosted at the hotel.

“We are very excited to partner with ‘Sock It To Em’ and give back to our local community,” said Eric Walters, General Manager of Hilton Denver City Center. “Recently, Hilton announced a global commitment to doubling our social impact and reducing our environmental footprint in half by 2030, as part of our Travel With Purpose corporate responsibility platform. By partnering with local non-profits, Hilton Denver City Center is directly contributing to our company’s ambitious corporate responsibility goals and giving back to a great cause.”

As an added incentive to participate in the drive, the property’s catering team is offering a 10 percent discount on new meeting and event functions for on-site groups of 20+ who participate in this charitable giveback opportunity. Contact the hotel for more information at 303-263-1767.