Another long-distance airline route is coming to Fresno. See who’s flying, and where to
American Airlines will become the second air carrier to provide nonstop passenger flights between Fresno and Chicago, launching a daily round trip starting in June.
Gianna Urgo, a spokesperson for the airline, confirmed to The Bee on Friday that American’s flights will commence June 3 and operate on a seasonal basis through Sept. 7.
Passengers will be able to begin booking seats on the flights starting Monday on the airline’s reservation system at aa.com.
Flights from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Fresno are scheduled to take off at 8:20 p.m. Central time and arrive in Fresno at 10:47 Pacific time, a flight time of about 4 1/2 hours. The return flights from Fresno to Chicago will take off from Fresno Yosemite International Airport at 6:35 a.m. and arrive in Chicago at 12:32 p.m., a flight of about four hours.
Urgo said American plans to use 128-seat Airbus A319 two-engine jets for the service.
In a post Friday on his “View from the Wing” blog, airline-travel expert Gary Leff shared what he described as “an internal employee update” from American Airlines to its employees about additions and changes to its schedule of service at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. That notice includes Fresno Yosemite International Airport for flights to start in the late spring or summer of 2021.
Leff’s blog post was later reposted on a local Reddit string.
American Airlines will join United Airlines in providing nonstop flights between Fresno and Chicago.
United added Chicago to its menu of daily flights from Fresno’s city-owned airport in mid-2018 as a seasonal service that summer. In 2019, the flights began in March and were ultimately extended into 2020 before the global coronavirus pandemic forced many airlines to scale back their schedules.
United’s reservations site now shows its Fresno-Chicago service resuming on April 1 for a year-round schedule, said Kevin Meikle, director of aviation for the city of Fresno.
Meikle said that while American is starting with seasonal service this summer, he is confident that, like United, it will soon grow into a year-round schedule of flights.
Competition ramps up
“Having two airlines going to O’Hare, that’s competition,” Meikle said Friday. “Anytime you can foster competition, that makes them better. Airfares will be competitive between the two, and that’s what it’s really all about.”
For American, the Chicago flights represent an expansion of the airline’s service in the Fresno market. American Airlines also flies multiple daily nonstop flights from Fresno to both Dallas and Phoenix.
Before the pandemic struck last year, American also flew to Los Angeles. In American’s absence from the Fresno-Los Angeles route, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines stepped in with flights, and United Airlines continues to offer flights between Fresno and Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines announced that it is entering the Fresno market as well starting in late April, with one daily round trip to Denver and three daily round trips between Fresno and Las Vegas. United Airlines also flies the Fresno-Denver route, while Allegiant Air has long offered Fresno-Las Vegas flights.
“I think it’s really great news for our Fresno airport,” said Craig Mungary, president of Elite Global Journeys, a Fresno travel agency. “It adds possibilities for more connections to the East Coast.”
“It’s not that so many people in Fresno want to go to Chicago, but once you’re there you can get to anywhere on the East Coast,” he added. “That’s where people are really going to increase their usage of the Fresno airport.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 1:21 PM.
