American Airlines announced Friday that it will launch daily nonstop service from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on April 2.

Tickets will go on sale, and flight times will be posted, beginning Sunday.

American will be the second airline to offer direct flights from RDU to LAX. Delta Airlines has offered seasonal flights between the two cities since 2006.

About 150,000 people travel to and from the Triangle and the Los Angeles area each year, according to RDU.
 

Raleigh-Durham International Airport is raising its daily parking rates on Jan. 16.

The maximum daily rate will increase from $10 to $12. The increase was approved at the RDU Airport Authority's most recent board meeting.

Rates for the park-and-ride lots remain the same: $6 for each 24-hour period.

The increase is part of RDU's plan to pay for the $570 million it spend on Terminal 2, plus debt service and renovations planned for Terminal 1.

The increase was originally scheduled to take place in 2008. Better than expected revenues caused the authority to delay implementing it.

Passenger traffic at Raleigh-Durham International Airport rose slightly during the first half of the year but cargo traffic was down.

A total of 4.4 million passengers traveled through the airport, up 1.6 percent from the same period a year ago, the Airport Authority reported.

The number of passengers traveling nonstop outside the country from RDU increased 12.9 percent.

Air cargo traffic declined 4.7 percent to 46,170 tons during the first six months of the year.

The Airport Authority also announced that Vision Airlines will begin offering twice-weekly nonstop service to Grand Bahama Island in November.

It's the fourth nonstop flight to a Caribbean airport from RDU.

At this time, approximately 100 of Raleigh-Durham International Airport's 400 daily flights have been canceled for today.

In anticipation of Hurricane Irene, some airlines at Raleigh-Durham International Airport have begun canceling flights. American Airlines and American Eagle have canceled all flights scheduled for Saturday, August 27. American Airlines will resume operations on Sunday at 10 a.m. Here's more information:

Delta Air Lines said today that it would resume non-stop flights from Raleigh-Durham International to Los Angeles in June.

The airline also plans to add three daily non-stop flights to Baltimore (BWI) beginning Sept. 7.

Delta will resume its seasonal service to Los Angeles on June 9. The flights will operate five days a week, departing RDU at 7:50 p.m. and arriving at LAX at 10:07 p.m.

The return flight departs LAX at 11 p.m. and arrives at RDU at 6:52 a.m.
 
Delta also said today that it would discontinue service to Albany and Providence on Sept. 8.

Delta launched once daily non-stop service to those cities earlier this spring.
 
With the changes, Delta will offer 57 flights from RDU to 16 cities on its peak operating days.

Continental Airlines will start offering direct flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Cancun this Saturday, marking the first time two airlines fly to the Mexican resort town from RDU airport.

Continental will fly to and from Cancun every Saturday, mirroring the schedule in place for Delta Airlines. Continental will celebrate its inaugural flight to Cancun with a live mariachi band playing at the Continental ticket counter in Terminal 2.

Airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin said Continental's new flight is an economic decision.

"If they have confidence in the market they will add service," said RDU spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin.

RDU officials also said today that they saw an increase in passengers in January and a 1.5 percent boost in passengers in 2010 over 2009.

If the cost of air travel has you grounded you might be interested in AirTran's 48 hour sale.

The airline has put tickets from RDU to Atlanta and Baltimore/Washington on sale until 11:59 p.m. Friday.

Travel from RDU to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will cost you $74 one way. Meanwhile a flight from RDU to Atlanta is $53 one way.

Travel is valid from Dec. 1 through Feb. 9.

The sale comes as airline prices have been steadily increasing. Holiday air fares are expected to be 7 percent to 18 percent higher this season over last. Of course, AirTran's sale will not help you there. The cheaper fares are blacked out around the holidays.

The tickets to Atlanta are good on nonstop flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Blackout dates are Dec. 17 through Jan. 4.

The tickets to Baltimore/Washington are good for travel on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Blackout dates for those flights are Dec. 20, 2010 through Jan. 3.

You can buy the tickets online at airtran.com or by calling 1-800-247-8726.
 

Reality show wannabes, American Idol hopefuls, Lakers fanatics and movie moguls now have a faster way to La-La land.

Delta Air Lines' nonstop service between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Los Angeles resumes tonight.

Economic developers and RDU officials have said that direct flights to the West Coast are important in attracting new businesses to this region. More than 250,000 passengers a year travel between RDU and Los Angeles.

Southwest Airlines, one of the busiest carriers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, plans to fill a gap in its service area and begin flights to South Carolina.

The discount carrier announced today that it will add Charleston and Greenville-Spartanburg to the 68 U.S. cities it now serves. Southwest plans to release details such as start dates, destinations and fares later.

It's not clear whether Southwest will consider RDU for South Carolina flights. No airline currently flies nonstop between RDU and Charleston or Greenville-Spartanburg, both about 250 miles away.

But Southwest is expanding its service at RDU.