With New Ways to Get to Palm Springs, Vail, the Caribbean, and More — Here Are the Airline Routes We're Most Excited About in December

‘Tis the season for holiday escapes. Airlines are lining up new flights for sun and snow lovers alike just in time for Christmas.

In Travel + Leisure’s latest highlights of the most exciting new routes, December has carriers big and small kicking off dozens of new routes to the Caribbean, the South Pacific, desert abodes, and snowy mountains.

Brisbane Gets Another Major Airline, and a Texas Connection for Fiji

Delta Air Lines and Fiji Airways are debuting two new nonstop options to the South Pacific and Australia. Delta is the latest U.S. airline (after American Airlines in October) to land in Brisbane, the sunny capital of Queensland. The SkyTeam Alliance member will connect Los Angeles and Brisbane on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with its flagship Airbus A350 beginning Dec. 4. The nearly 15-hour flight departs Los Angeles at 11:05 p.m. and lands in Brisbane just before 8 a.m. two days later. Economy fares start at around $1,000 one way.

Fiji Airways, a new member of the Oneworld airline confab, will connect the alliance’s largest hub, Dallas-Fort Worth, to the airline’s namesake island beginning Dec. 10. That gives anyone flying American’s broad domestic network easy access to the South Pacific island — and some of the best resorts in the region. The nearly 14-hour flight departs DFW at 9:55 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and lands in Fiji at 5:20 a.m. two days later. Economy fares start at $529 one way.

Sun Runs for Beach Lovers

American, Delta, and United Airlines are adding multiple new routes for beachgoers this holiday season. Some highlights include American’s expansion to Saint Vincent in the Caribbean with new Saturday-only nonstops from its Charlotte and New York JFK hubs beginning Dec. 7. Flights depart Charlotte around 9 a.m. and New York around 8 a.m. for the several-hour trip to the Caribbean island. Economy fares on the New York route begin at $198 one way.

And that’s not all from American. The airline will connect La Romana in the Dominican Republic to its Miami hub with daily flights from Dec. 5. Flights depart Miami around 10:30 a.m. and land on the island two-hours-and-forty-minutes later. Economy fares start as low as $129 one way.

Delta returns to the Mexican beach town of Mazatlan after an extended pandemic hiatus. The airline will connect the Pacific-coast city with Minneapolis-St. Paul on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Dec. 19, and with Los Angeles on Saturdays from Dec. 21. Flights depart Minneapolis a little after 10 a.m. and land in Mazatlan just over four hours later; and Los Angeles at 11:05 a.m. and land nearly three hours later.

And United will link Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago to its Newark hub beginning Dec. 19. The daily flights will depart Newark at 7 p.m. and land in Port of Spain five hours later just after 1 a.m.

Everybody Wants to Fly to Palm Springs

For sun seekers keen for desert abodes, Delta, Frontier Airlines, Porter Airlines, and United all have new options to Palm Springs starting this month. Delta will connect the desert city to New York JFK; Frontier to Denver and San Francisco; Porter to Toronto Pearson; and United to Washington Dulles.

Delta joins Alaska on the New York-Palm Springs route on Dec. 21 with a Saturday-only flight that departs JFK at 9:40 a.m. and lands in the desert a little over six hours later. While fares over the holidays are pricey, economy seats are available for as little as $149 one way in January.

Frontier will bring some competition to Palm Springs, at least from Denver and San Francisco, with its bargain fares beginning Dec. 13. The discounter will fly both routes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays with flights departing San Francisco around 9 a.m. and Denver after 5 p.m. Airfares start at $49 one way from San Francisco, and $130 from Denver.

Porter’s new Toronto-Palm Springs flight departs the Canadian city at 9:25 a.m. and lands just over six hours later beginning Dec. 12. The Canadian airline will operate its new Embraer E2 jets on the route with economy airfares beginning at $67 one way.

And United’s first-ever nonstop between Washington, D.C., and Palm Springs takes off on Dec. 19 with a 9 a.m. departure from the nation’s capital that lands just in time for lunch. Economy airfares after the holidays start as low as $274 one way.

More Snowy Escapes for Winter Sports Enthusiasts

For snow lovers, there are a lot of new flights launching for ski season. Kelowna, Salt Lake City, and Vail will all see additions this December. Alaska will complement its existing Kelowna-Seattle flight with a new daily nonstop from Los Angeles beginning Dec. 19. Flights depart Los Angeles around 10:30 a.m. and land in the Canadian city just over three hours later. Economy fares start as low as $128 one way.

Alaska and Frontier are going big in Vail, the de facto hub of Colorado’s winter sports. The former will connect Vail to San Diego and Seattle with flights on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Dec. 20. Economy fares on both routes start as low as $199 one way.

Frontier will link Vail to Dallas-Fort Worth on Thursdays and Sundays from Dec. 16; Denver on Mondays and Fridays from Dec. 15; and San Francisco on Sundays from Dec. 21. Fares, excluding any extras, from Dallas-Fort Worth start at $79 one way, Denver at $25, and San Francisco at $84.

And United will take on Delta with a daily flight between Washington Dulles and Salt Lake City, a short drive from Park City and many of Utah’s other major ski resorts, beginning Dec. 19. The nearly five-hour flights will depart Washington at 5:30 p.m. and land in Salt Lake at 8:20 p.m. daily. Economy fares for the new route start as low as $309 one way.

Semi-private Flying Expands to Colorado and New Mexico

Travelers looking for a more exclusive, semi-private flying experience have two new options to the slopes this winter. Aero, a semi-private operator that targets resort areas, will add flights from its Van Nuys, Calif, base in the Los Angeles area to Rifle, Colo., an hour away from Aspen on Dec. 18. Flight times vary by day but the trip takes two-hours-and-10-minutes on Aero’s 16-seat Embraer ERJ-135 planes. Fares for the posh service start at $1,950 one way.

And in New Mexico, Advanced Air will link Angel Fire, about a 40 minute drive from Taos, with Albuquerque almost daily beginning Dec. 8. Advanced Air will fly a nine-seat Beechcraft King Air on the roughly 45-minute flights. Fares start at $85 one way.

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