Alerts Sign-up
Word broke yesterday that United Airlines was putting bigger regional jets – Embraer 175s – on its Aspen routes. This was surprising since the airport doesn’t support these planes and has blocked attempts to require that they make very modest changes in order to do so. How did United make this happen?
United Airlines plans to begin flying its E175 from Aspen (ASE) to several cities:
• Denver (DEN) starting Dec. 3
• Los Angeles (LAX) starting Dec. 19
• San Francisco (SFO) starting Jan. 7
• Houston (IAH) Dec. 3 to 18
This made no sense because the airport has been fighting the FAA to keep out bigger planes, and no word of any progress forcing them to make changes to support Embraer E-175s had come out.
Precisely because of that battle, United scheduling these regional jets with twice as many first-class seats and an overall better passenger experience was big news. They’d somehow gotten permission!
Except they hadn’t! United says that the new flights are "subject to FAA approval." Normally what aircraft you fly on a domestic route isn’t subject to FAA approval. This means "subject to the FAA prevailing and making the airport accept these planes."
Put another way, announcing the bigger planes is just a way to signal that United wants to fly them – meant as ammunition in the ongoing fight over whether the airport has to be an airport at all (much like Santa Monica; Naples; Westchester; Boulder et al – local NIMBYs in wealthy neighborhoods who don’t want the noise or the outside people).
And once approval finally comes there will be a lag in starting the service because special pilot training is required for Aspen airport operations.
Aspen may eventually get larger regional jets with more first-class seats but United’s announcement was likely both premature and strategic.
Long Beach Airport has announced a new daily nonstop service to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) through Southwest Airlines.
Lidl workers in Belgium initiated a strike and blockades on June 5, following similar actions in France and Italy.
Delta Air Lines is expanding its flight offerings for the 2025 pro football season, introducing new routes and increasing capacity to accommodate fans traveling to major games.
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen addressed the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee, emphasizing the urgent need to reform the nation's air traffic control (ATC) infrastructure.
Last month, over 130 volunteers from Delta Air Lines and several partner organizations collaborated to construct a new playground in College Park, Georgia.
Walking together on Omaha Beach, 19-year-old college student Caleb Walker and 101-year-old WWII veteran Jack Myers reflected on the sacrifices made during the D-Day invasion.
Alerts Sign-up
Alerts Sign-up
