Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and airport officials announced Wednesday that American Airlines will once again start offering nonstop service from Bradley International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport later this year.
The announcement came with less fanfare than the announcement of the same BDL to LAX route back in 2013, which included balloons, banners, and refreshments.
The short-lived nonstop flight to Los Angeles ended in 2014 after American Airlines merged with U.S. Airways.
Mary Ellen Jones, chairwoman of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said it wasn’t because they weren’t selling enough tickets. It was related to the merger and the priorities of the newly formed airline.
In the last three months of the flight the planes were 90 percent full, Malloy said.
“When two airlines came together, some routes were canceled,” Malloy said, adding that there were docking space issues as well, and he said Connecticut lost for a period of time in that analysis by the airline. But he said the route was one of the first to be added back.
Malloy said they wanted to restore the route and they let the airlines know.
In exchange for restoring the route, Malloy said the state is going to help promote the flight and waived the landing fees for two years.
Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said landing fees are about $676 per flight. So if there’s one plane per day then the total for two years is about $246,740.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, Jan. 23, and service will commence on June 2. The flight will utilize a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a 150-seat configuration. The daily departure from Bradley is scheduled at 7 a.m. with an arrival in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. The inbound flight is scheduled to depart Los Angeles at 9 p.m. and arrive at Bradley at 5:20 a.m.
Malloy said the direct flight to LAX opens up the West Coast, where there are direct flights to Asia and the Pacific Rim. Malloy said he expects the pricing to be competitive and similar to what’s being offered out of airports like Logan in Boston.
According to American Airlines, nonstop roundtrip flights from Boston to LAX in February range from $341 to $1,625.
The announcement comes just weeks after United Airlines announced a nonstop flight to Denver.
Service to Denver will commence on May 5, utilizing an Airbus 319 aircraft with 128 seats.
Aer Lingus will begin offering daily service to Ireland in September 2016. It’s the first transatlantic service offered at the airport since 2009.
