Puddle Jumping: Hopping the Pond to New Adventures

Photo credit Joe Pries

Back in the olden, golden days of flying, to get to anywhere remotely off the beaten path in Europe you had to get on a flight from your local airport, to (usually) New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where depending on the airline, you were hoarded into a cavernous cabin of a Boeing 747 of either International icons of TWA, one of the myriad International carriers that berthed at the International Arrivals Building, or even the much forsaken Pan Am, then off to a European Capitol, where you would connect yet again to exotic locales like Zagreb, Athens, or Naples.  In those days, it was simply inconceivable to ask for nonstop access to cities like these from any point in North America.

Fast forward 30 years or so.  With the advent of aircraft such as the Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and longer ranges on the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families, airlines are now taking advantage of routes previously not considered, or routes that used to operate, but were never profitable for any variety of reasons.  Let's take a look at 3 of them.

Route 1:  Chicago/O'Hare - Athens, Greece

This route is near and dear to my heart, for a few reasons, not just because I am a proud Greek.  The history of service from North America to Greece goes back to March 31, 1946, when TWA began service from Washington, DC to Athens, with stops in New York, Gander, Shannon, Paris, and Rome.  Nonstop service from New York followed in 1966 with Boeing 707's, and Olympic Airways joined the fray with their own 707 (and later Boeing 747) services from Athens to New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, and Chicago...which is where this tale starts.

American Airlines recently announced a boat load of new European services for Summer 2019, and finally, after a LONG time waiting, and an online campaign that sparked an entire group on social media (Chicago-Athens Nonstop) and led to a petition signed by over 1,700 people clamoring for such service (spearheaded by yours truly,  Chicago-Athens Petition), new service to Athens will commence from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

What makes this route work is not just the size and economics of the plane used, but also the immense connecting opportunities American Airlines has in and out of Chicago, as well as the local O&D (Origin & Destination) travelers, Chicago being 2nd largest Greek community outside the New York City area.  With a departure time of 5:10PM and arrival the next morning at 11:30AM, the flight is perfectly time for those folks making connections from smaller communities in the Western US, thereby eliminating making a double connection to get to Athens.  On the Greek side, this arrival time makes for quite a few more convenient connections to other Greek destinations.

The return flight is also well timed for those coming from the islands, with an afternoon departure of 1:30PM, arriving into Chicago by 5:25PM, right in the middle of the evening rush of International departures, and rush hour traffic.  With American's powerful hub, dozens of connecting opportunities exist as well, especially to places on the West Coast such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Billings, Reno, Las Vegas, and Seattle.


Route 2:  Newark, NJ - Naples, Italy

Photo Credit Joe Pries

This flight looks incredibly interesting to me, as up to now, there really hasn't been much for travel from North America to Italy, aside from the typical arrival points of Rome, Milan, and Venice.  For a travel agent like me, with as many bookings as I get for Southern Italy and Naples, this flight makes all the sense in the world, even if it is operated by aging Boeing 767 aircraft.  United is definitely trying to reclaim the title of New York's #1 Airline that was held by predecessor Continental Airlines for decades before.



The beauty of this flight is the arrival time in Naples of 8:05AM.  Now, there's a few options for connections out of Naples, but the majority of folks coming off the United flight will be heading south to the Amalfi Coast, or Sicily.  Plenty of time to catch their bus, taxi or private ride down.  I predict this flight will see more than its fair share of people on holiday packages like those provided by Perillo Tours or Homeric Tours from the USA, checking out the beauty of Southern Italy.

I for one, would love to try this flight out, and maybe I will this coming Summer.


Route 3:  Philadelphia - Dubrovnik, Croatia

Photo credit Joe Pries

It amazes me how this offering took so long to come to fruition.  Back in the 80's and 90's the old JAT Yugoslav Airlines used to fly to New York's JFK from Zagreb with DC-10's off and on.  Now with Croatia's tourism exploding higher and higher these last few years, this should've been a no-brainer from the start.  As with United's flight to Naples, I fully expect to see American fill their 767 to the brim with packaged tourists making the most out of their unforgettable trips to Croatia.

You might be pondering why American would start such a flight from Philadelphia, and not from New York or even Chicago.  Well, Since it's merger with US Airways, American inherited the massive hub in Philadelphia, full of connections from all over the US.  Yes, American has a very large focus city in New York at JFK Airport, however, that they use for the higher yielding business traffic that is covered by corporate contracts to London, the West Coast, and other select destinations.  AA tries hard not to send the leisure tourists through their JFK terminal, and instead routes the majority of all seasonal European services through Philadelphia and Charlotte.


Well, that is my look at 3 of the new routes coming out for Summer 2019.  I'd love to hear any feedback from my followers and fans!

Photo credit Joe Pries