SFGATE contributor Jim Glab rounds up air travel and airport news for our weekly column Routes
In this week’s news, Alaska Airlines announced the merger of its loyalty program with Hawaiian Airlines’ HawaiianMiles and is rolling out new credit cards; Alaska also said it will install Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet over the next two years; Delta Air Lines asks customers to vote on its next new European destination; Clear and the Transportation Security Administration introduce new “eGates” at three key airports to speed up security processing; a Frontier Airlines promotion offers elite status to customers of four other airlines for $69; Southwest Airlines starts selling complete vacation packages through a new subsidiary; Google Flights uses AI to let users search for deals with plain-English requests; Southwest plans to slash dozens of routes in March, including some from the Bay Area, but plans to revive a Texas route from San Francisco International Airport; Alaska trims its Mexico schedule; Norse Atlantic Airways scales back U.S. operations; and American Airlines opens a grab-and-go lounge at its hub in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since Alaska acquired Hawaiian last year, the company has been working to combine the two carriers’ loyalty programs — Alaska’s Mileage Plan and Hawaiian’s HawaiianMiles. And this week it announced the result: a new program called Atmos Rewards. Mileage Plan members have become Atmos members effective immediately, keeping their existing account numbers. HawaiianMiles members and their miles are slated to become Atmos members on Oct. 1, with a new account number unless they previously linked their account to a Mileage Plan account. Under the new Atmos program, “miles” become “points,” Alaska said in its announcement Wednesday, and elite-qualifying miles become “status points.”
Most airlines in recent years modified their loyalty programs from earnings based on miles/segments flown to points based on money spent, but Alaska said it will give its Atmos members “ultimate flexibility.” Starting “later in 2026,” it said, members can select one of three earnings options: distance traveled (1 point per mile), price paid (5 points per dollar spent on airfare and upgrades in premium cabins); or segments flown (500 points per segment). “One Mileage Plan or HawaiianMiles mile = one Atmos Rewards point,” the company said. “The value of points does not change, and points do not expire.”
Points can be redeemed for travel to destinations on Alaska, Hawaiian, and more than 30 partner airlines including members of the Oneworld alliance. Members can also earn and redeem points at hotels and vacation rentals worldwide and earn 2 to 3 points per dollar spent on Lyft rides. They can also earn points for spending using affiliated credit cards. Alaska Airlines Visa cards are being rebranded as Atmos Rewards Visa cards with the same account numbers and benefits; current cardholders will get a new Atmos card when their card expires. The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard “continues unchanged,” Alaska said. “… Eligible Atmos Rewards Visa cardholders have access to select benefits across both airlines, including a free checked bag, the $99 Companion Fare, and 3x points on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases.”
The two airlines and Bank of America are also introducing an Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite card at an annual fee of $395. It comes with an array of benefits, including earnings of 3 points per dollar spent on Alaska and Hawaiian purchases, and on dining and other eligible purchases; eight passes annually for Alaska’s airport lounges; accelerated earning of status points; discounts on companion reward travel; baggage fee waivers for cardholders and up to six others on the same reservation; waiver of same-day confirmed flight change fees, and other perks.
That’s not the only news from Alaska Airlines this week. The company also announced it will follow the lead of Hawaiian Airlines in deploying SpaceX’s Starlink Wi-Fi on all its flights. Installation is scheduled to start next year and should be completed in 2027 on all Alaska aircraft, including regional flights. The Starlink service will be offered free to members of Atmos Rewards, Alaska said. Alaska plans to continue its existing partnership with T-Mobile as it transitions to Starlink. “T-Mobile customers will enjoy exclusive benefits to enhance their inflight experience, including a seamless, ad-free Wi-Fi log-on — with more to be announced later this year,” the company said.
Airlines normally go through a data-intensive market analysis in deciding which routes to add, but Delta is trying a new tactic: Just ask your customers where they’d like to go. The airline said next week it will let members of its SkyMiles loyalty program cast ballots on which of three new transatlantic destinations they’d like to see in 2026, and they’re all islands in the Mediterranean: Italy’s Sardinia, Spain’s Ibiza or the independent nation of Malta. The airline didn’t say where it would fly from to the winning destination but odds are it would be New York or maybe Atlanta. SkyMiles members can cast votes from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29 through the Delta app. “Simply navigate to the Explore and Trip pages within the app, confirm your SkyMiles credentials and cast your vote,” the airline said, promising to announce results in about 30 days after voting ends.
The biometric identity company Clear, which claims 33 million members, said this week it is launching an eGate pilot program in cooperation with the TSA to speed up passenger processing. The eGates are slated to debut this month at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Washington Reagan National and Seattle-Tacoma, and Clear plans to add them to other airports in its U.S. network in time for the World Cup in 2026. The big advantage of the Clear eGates is that once a member’s identity is confirmed, they can go right into TSA screening without stopping at the agency’s ID-checking podiums. The eGate matches the traveler’s “facial image” with their identity document and boarding pass. “TSA retains complete operational control: triggering gate access, conducting security vetting, and enforcing government security requirements,” Clear said in a news release Tuesday. The company gives TSA “only limited data (live photo, boarding pass, ID photo used for enrollment and identity information),” it added. A post on the Points Guy site Tuesday that Clear has been testing the technology this year in the Oakland, Oklahoma City and Greenville-Spartanburg airports, and said those gates will remain available there. Clear and TSA will have staff on hand to guide members through the new process, according to the Points Guy.
In a bid to lure loyalty program members from its competitors, Frontier’s newest promotion provides Elite Gold status in its Frontier Miles program to individuals who apply online and pay a $69 fee, but the offer is only available through Sept. 9. Frontier said in a news release Tuesday that it’s open to customers who currently hold “any level of loyalty program membership” with Southwest, Alaska, Spirit Airlines or JetBlue Airways, and if they are accepted, their Frontier Elite Gold status will remain in effect through December 2026. Elite Gold status entitles members to a free carry-on bag, priority boarding and customer care, free preferred seat selection, and free upgrades to premium seating at check-in and UpFront Plus seats four hours before departure. Members who want to apply can visit Frontier’s website by Sept. 9 to provide their information and pay the fee.
Instead of just buying a plane ticket, Southwest customers can now book a complete travel package through the carrier’s newly launched Getaways by Southwest operation. The company offers bundled vacation packages that include air, hotel, rental car and ground transportation at destinations served by Southwest. “Customers who book a vacation package through Getaways by Southwest will be able to check two bags for free (weight and size limits apply) and earn five Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent on bookings,” Southwest said in a news release Tuesday. “If plans change, Customers can cancel their packages and receive vacation travel credit, valid for 18 months, that can be applied toward a future Getaway, and Customers have the flexibility to make changes to their Getaway package without paying a change fee.” The fine print: Southwest noted that bookings canceled or changed 72 hours before the first flight’s departure “may be subject to variable, increasing supplier penalties and may include forfeiture of non-air funds.” The airline set up a web page for the new operation and said it will offer special promotions through @Getaways on Instagram.
Google Flights has enhanced its search options with a new AI-powered Flight Deals search tool that promises to let users employ plain-English commands to find the best deals on airline tickets that meet their needs — assuming they can be flexible not only on dates but even on destinations. Customers who go to the Fight Deals page on Google Flights can try out the beta version of the new tool by asking it to search “for something like ‘week-long trip this winter to a city with great food, nonstop only’ or ’10 day ski trip to a world class resort with fresh powder,'” the company said in a blog post Aug. 14. The post claims that Google’s AI will understand the “nuances” of your request and find appropriate destinations. “Then, it’ll tap into real-time Google Flights data to quickly show you relevant, up-to-date options from hundreds of airlines and booking sites.”
In domestic route news, Southwest plans to eliminate more than two dozen routes next March as it overhauls its network with a greater focus on connecting traffic and less on point-to-point service, according to a post on the Points Guy. In the Bay Area, Southwest plans to end flights from Oakland to Eugene, Oregon — hometown of the University of Oregon, which has many students from California — on March 4, along with Sacramento-Kansas City and San Jose Mineta-Nashville routes, effective March 2. In southern California, Southwest’s Burbank-Boise, Burbank-St. Louis and Burbank-Salt Lake City routes are also slated to get the axe on March 2. Elsewhere in the West, Las Vegas is slated to lose Southwest service to Albany and Rochester, New York, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, on March 2, while route cuts at Denver during the first week of March include Albany and Buffalo, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; and Providence, Rhode Island.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News said Aug. 14 that Southwest plans to revive its route between San Francisco and Dallas Love Field on March 5 with one flight a day. Simple Flying reported Wednesday that American plans to introduce seasonal service between Palm Springs and its Charlotte hub Dec. 20-April 18, but only with one flight a week. And according to AirlineGeeks, Alaska Airlines this winter does not plan to bring back its seasonal service between Sacramento and Orlando airports.
On the international side, Alaska Airlines is cutting some Mexico routes, according to Airline Geeks. That includes Los Angeles to Monterrey, effective Oct. 3 – a route the airline just introduced earlier this year. And Alaska’s seasonal Fresno-Guadalajara route will not return this winter, the site said. Transatlantic discount carrier Norse Atlantic decided to lease some of its 787s to another carrier and as a result, it will sharply reduce its U.S. operations, Simple Flying reported Wednesday. Routes being dropped from its summer schedule, and two that were already slated to be cut in October, include Los Angeles-Athens, Los Angeles-Paris, Miami-London, and New York JFK to Berlin, Paris and Oslo, Norway, Simple Flying reported.
In airport news, American has joined the trend toward grab-and-go facilities by cutting the ribbon on the first Provisions by Admirals Club lounge at its Charlotte hub. The new lounge, “designed for speed, simplicity and convenience,” American said in an announcement Tuesday, is in Concourse A next to Gate A1. It offers breakfast selections from 6:15 a.m. to 11 a.m., then shifts to all-day options through 10:45 p.m. It’s open to travelers with an Admirals Club membership, qualifying Oneworld status or a Citi/AAdvantage Executive credit card as well as AAdvantage elites on international flights.
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