WATCH ABOVE: Edmontonians now have another option when flying to L.A. Morning News reporter Erin Chalmers was live at the Edmonton International Airport, where the inaugural flight took off Thursday morning.
EDMONTON – Escaping the impending turn of the weather has become a little easier for Albertans, thanks to a new non-stop American Airlines flight between Edmonton and Los Angeles.
The inaugural flight took off Thursday morning. The Edmonton International Airport says the new route is great news for passengers.
“Our goal is always to do more flights to more places, that’s what passengers want,” said Heather Hamilton, Director of Marketing and Communications at EIA.
“This is going to be a really great option, and give people some more choices on how to get where they want to go.”
Flights will depart Edmonton around 7:25 a.m. each morning, arriving in L.A. just before 10 a.m.
Return flights take off at 5:45 p.m., landing back in Edmonton at 10 p.m.
Hamilton believes the timing will benefit business travellers.
“It means you can get up, have breakfast, go do your business day in L.A., get on that flight and be at home in time to sleep in your own bed that night,” she said.
The route introduces a first class option that Hamilton believes will be especially popular with Hollywood actors filming in Alberta.
The new American Airlines route doubles the number of direct flights to L.A. WestJet also operates daily round trips to the City of Angels.
EIA is the fastest growing airport in Canada, and has been for the past 10 years, according to Hamilton. The airport says it’s seeing growth of over 11 per cent on U.S. travel this year.
“That’s at a time where three to four per cent is kind of respectable in the industry, so we’re way above that,” said Hamilton.
READ MORE: Edmonton International Airport reports record year
This is the second route American Airlines has added in Edmonton this year. In April, the airline launched a daily, direct flight to Dallas/Fort Worth.
This spring also saw the addition of Icelandair at EIA, connecting our city to Reykjavik and the rest of Europe.
While there is growth in some areas, there have been cuts in others. In August, United Airlines pulled the plug on direct flights between Edmonton and Newark (located just outside New York City), saying the flights didn’t meet expectations.
Last fall, Air Canada also suspended direct flights to London during the winter, citing revenue challenges during the off-season. A letter obtained by the Edmonton Journal suggested the move was also in response Icelandair moving into the airport.
BELOW: Fact sheet on flights to L.A. from the Edmonton International Airport.
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