This spring, the Icelandic airline Play began flying between the United States and Iceland. Service has already started between Baltimore and Boston to Reykjavík, with continued flights to Dublin, Prague and nearly two dozen European cities. Flights to and from New York Stewart International Airport, an hour’s drive from Manhattan in New Windsor, N.Y., are expected to start this month. If you want to check out how much baggage fees or seat assignments might cost — or even pay for your ticket — you’ll need to register for an account with an email address.
Other new international carriers include Zipair, a Tokyo-based airline offering daily nonstop flights to Tokyo from Los Angeles and Honolulu (once daily after July 16). But unlike many other low-cost carriers, Zipair has a separate business class cabin on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet with lie-flat seats. These seats can start as low as $900 one-way, compared to the business-class tickets on established carriers that can easily top $3,000 each way.
And Arajet, a low-cost carrier in the Dominican Republic, plans to begin operations in July with a fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets. With a base in Santo Domingo, the airline expects to serve destinations in the United States, Brazil and Colombia, but a route map has not yet been announced.
New domestic options throughout the country
Avelo Airlines began service last April, with nonstop flights to more than 30 U.S. destinations from hubs in Burbank, Calif., New Haven, Conn., and Orlando. As with many other low-cost carriers, Avelo’s flights are not scheduled daily. Tickets on its newest routes, including Baltimore to Orlando and Burbank to Denver, start at $29 each way.
Breeze Airways, founded by the former chief executive of JetBlue, David Neeleman, began operations in May 2021. The Utah-based airline serves more than 30 U.S. destinations, including airports in Westchester County in New York, Louisville, Ky., and Charleston, S.C., and stresses its “point-to-point” single-route system — instead of the traditional hub-and-spoke model — as a traveler benefit.
In May, the airline also announced that it would begin nonstop service between Jacksonville, Fla., and eight cities, including New Orleans and Las Vegas. Fares start at $49 each way. If you’re accustomed to calling customer service to purchase, change or cancel flights, you’re out of luck; the airline only responds to requests by email, text or through Facebook.
Aha! — which stands for air, hotel and adventure — is a brand operated by the regional airline ExpressJet Airlines. It offers nonstop flights from its Reno, Nev., hub to 10 West Coast destinations, including Palm Springs, Calif., and Spokane, Wash.