United Airlines joins American, Delta and Southwest with new direct flights from Spokane

Once upon a time, back when airlines like Northwest Orient and West Coast flew out of Spartan quarters on the east side of Geiger Field - and smoking on flights was the norm - the joke was "You can't get there from here."

No longer is that the case as over the past few months three major carriers have begun nonstop service out of Spokane International Airport to notable hub destinations.

American is the most recent airline to announce future direct connections out of Spokane.

According to a news release from Spokane International Airport, they will launch nonstop service to Dallas-Fort Worth effective July 5, 2017. This will be the first time Spokane has had nonstop service DFW or any destination in the state of Texas. American also serves Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Both the Dallas Fort Worth and Phoenix service will be operated with the 124-seat Airbus A-319.

On February 27, SIA announced that United Airlines will offer two new nonstop to San Francisco and Chicago, commencing June 8.

Delta Airlines has been offering direct flights to Los Angeles International Airport since 2013, but has just begun to market that service,

The new routes will provide one-stop connections to a wide variety of domestic cities throughout the Western, Central and Eastern United States, as well as the international destinations in the Pacific, including Australia, Canada and Europe.

United currently provides twice daily nonstop service to Denver, another major hub to both domestic and foreign destinations,

The San Francisco service will be operated with a 76-seat Embraer E-175, which offers first and economy service.  The once daily Chicago flight will be flown on the 150-seat Airbus A-320. Spokane had a direct flight to Chicago until 2008.

"The decision by United Airlines to serve San Francisco and Chicago represents an important investment in the connectivity of the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene region to the global economy, which will bring substantial benefits to business and leisure travelers," Collins Sprague, chairman of the Spokane Airport Board said in the release.

Sprague went on to add, "San Francisco and Chicago are two of nation's most important air transportation hubs for domestic and international travel and the ability to access Spokane on a one-stop basis from many international and domestic cities will further contribute to the economic vitality of our region."   

With Delta, it was a defined uptick in business that prompted their launch of service.

"There are over 300 travelers per day each way to the LA Basin, which is a significant market," SIA spokesman Todd Woodward wrote in an email. "We worked with Delta on a first quarter 2017 marketing campaign. Promoting the market helps makes the case for additional frequencies or larger gauge of aircraft."

One experiment that did not work were once-a-week flights in the summer from Spokane to Anchorage, Alaska. 

"The route did not perform as well as we or Alaska would have liked and it will not return this summer," Woodward said.

Southwest will also offer nonstop summer service to San Diego, Woodward said.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].