Fox Cities business and leisure travelers will see expanded opportunities to fly nonstop out of Appleton International Airport, including to the Los Angeles area.
The four airlines that serve the airport in Greenville plan to launch new routes, add flights to existing schedules and use bigger jets on existing flights beginning May 20, airport officials announced.
Airport Director Abe Weber said the highlight of the upgrades was the May 20 departure of the first-ever nonstop flight from Appleton to the Los Angeles area. The flight, an Allegiant Airlines Airbus A320, took off at 7:30 a.m. for John Wayne Airport in the Orange County area of L.A. and close to major attractions like Disneyland.
“We’re excited to kick off the summer travel season with this new nonstop route between Appleton and Southern California,” said Drew Wells, Allegiant’s chief commercial officer, in a news release. “Whether you’re attending a special event, planning a dream vacation, or visiting family and friends, our goal is to connect more travelers to their favorite destinations with Allegiant’s award-winning customer service at unbeatable value.”
Allegiant plans to fly the seasonal route twice a week.
“That’s the first time northeast Wisconsin has had a direct flight into the Los Angeles area,” Weber said. He later added: “This opens up a new gateway to the West Coast” for northeastern Wisconsin travelers.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines all plan to implement expansions in May and June that will amount to more opportunities to reach key travel hubs to the east, south and west.
“Every one of our carriers is upgrading capacity whether that’s seats or additional flights. Very good things going on here,” he said.
Weber said the community’s investment in airport expansion enabled some of the pending changes that will increase flight capacity and frequency out of the Fox Cities. Weber noted the new concourse completed last spring is higher so larger jets can access the gates. Weber said the airlines are responding to the community’s investments with their own.
“These are really meaningful investments. Airlines make decisions like these based on long-term performance, demand and confidence in the market,” Weber said. “This demonstrates the strong confidence they have in the Appleton market.”
United will nearly double capacity to Denver
United Airlines beginning May 21 will almost double the number of seats available on its daily nonstop flight from Appleton to Denver International Airport.
United will swap out the 70-seat jet it has used on the route in favor of a larger jet with 126 seats and additional space to allow cargo service. Weber said an added bonus of the larger jet is the variety of seating options it includes.
“They bring more premium seats, larger overhead bins, more cargo capacity,” Weber said. “It’s strengthening the connection between Appleton, the Mountain West and beyond.”
American adds another nonstop flight to Dallas
American Airlines on May 21 will add a second daily flight between Appleton and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The airline currently operates a daily flight that takes off from Appleton airport at 6 a.m. American will add an early afternoon flight that takes off at 12:39 p.m., according to its online schedule.
Weber expects the additional daily flight will prove popular because of the many Fox Cities-area companies with business connections to Dallas and other Texas business hubs.
Delta adds fourth flight to Detroit, more seats to Atlanta and Detroit
Delta Air Lines will add a flight to its schedule and increase the number of seats available to two destinations, all in June.
By early June, Delta will add a fourth daily flight to Detroit Metro Airport. The three current flights depart around 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. daily. The fourth flight will depart Appleton after 2 p.m. each day, according to Delta’s schedule.
Delta also plans to increase seat capacity on its flights to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by 10% and its flights to Detroit Metro by 30%.
Weber said the added seats to key hub airports in Detroit and Atlanta show “how strong our economy is.”
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton airport upgrades include new Los Angeles route, bigger jets
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
