This past Friday MIA got welcomed news in the form of two new non-stop destinations, one of which will be the shortest non-stop flight from MIA and the other which will be the longest, and one of the 20 longest airline routes in the world.

Continental Airlines subisidary Continental Connection dba Gulfstream has, effective immediately, began daily non-stop service between Miami and Bimini. The distance is a mere 63 miles, and the plane is in the air for less than fifteen minutes. Gate-to-gate time is 25 minutes.

Starting 28 March 2006, El Al Israel Airlines will begin non-stop service between Miami and Tel Aviv, operating twice a week. The distance is 6,603 miles. The only non-stop passenger service between Miami and Asia, the Tel Aviv-Miami flight takes 14 hours and 10 minutes to complete. The Miami-Tel Aviv flight, thanks to tailwinds pushing the plane faster, is two hours quicker. El Al has been flying to Miami for over a decade, but with a stop in New York City or Montreal. They are finally elimating that inconvience, which shaves over 2 hours off flying time compared to a stop in New York City.

Sort of funny when you realize that the distances to both destinations start with 6 and end with 3.

Excellent news, I hate that EWR stop. Is the south terminal still opening mid-year with star alliance, and is there any progress on the north terminal since MIA took it over? Also, what happened to B6?

Great!

Here's the routes on a new site I've been playing with.

http://gc.kls2.com

http://gc.kls2.com/cgi-bin/gc?PATH=mia-tlv%0D%0Amia-bim%0D%0A&RANGE=&PATH-COLOR=red&PATH-UNITS=mi&SPEED-GROUND=&SPEED-UNITS=kts&MARKER=1&RANGE-STYLE=best&RANGE-COLOR=navy&MAP-STYLE=&MAP-CENTER=MIA
http://gc.kls2.com/cgi-bin/gcmap?PATH=mia-tlv,mia-bim&MAP-CENTER=MIA&PATH-COLOR=red&MARKER=1

Where is Bimini? Is it in FL?

bimini is the bahamas..

mileagemen,i dont think that the south terminal will be opened until late in the year,due to hurricane delays in construction.i love the way it turned out,concourse j looks very sleek.whats b6,and those anyone have news on the north terminal
http://mk31.image.pbase.com/u40/airlinerphotos/upload/40148139.3174_AP05_SoTermJ_3_500.jpg

bimini is the bahamas..

mileagemen,i dont think that the south terminal will be opened until late in the year,due to hurricane delays in construction.i love the way it turned out,concourse j looks very sleek.whats b6,and those anyone have news on the north terminal
http://mk31.image.pbase.com/u40/airlinerphotos/upload/40148139.3174_AP05_SoTermJ_3_500.jpg

B6 is jetBlue. Expect them to be landing in MIA by the end of 2006, and probably to more airports than just JFK. Before that, though, expect a likely announcement from Frontier Airlines that they will begin Miami-Denver service. 2006 is looking like a very bright year for MIA, thanks to the congestion at FLL and the waived landing fee program. We are only ten days into the year and so far:

-New Continental service to Bimini.
-New El Al non-stop service to Tel Aviv.
-New Delta Airlines service to LaGuardia and Salt Lake City.
-New Delta Connection service to New York City-JFK.
-Resumed Aeropostal service to Valencia, Venezuela after a two year period in which the flight made a stop in Maraciabo, Venezuela.

In 2005, MIA welcomed more new non-stop destinations than it has in a very, very long time: Manchester (UK), Montevideo, Salvador, Greensboro, Dayton, Norfolk, Lousiville, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Bermuda. Here's hoping 2006 is an even better year.

great news! world class city with a packed world class airport... bring more people in from all over! pack em in and theyll wanna stay forever

well I've heard that MIA is trying to get back that south africa flight they had and possibly add flights from other parts of africa. an airline from russia is in the process of establishing flights from moscow and maybe spain will get a couple more flights, MIA strength is in cargo but we need those passengers... :)

well I've heard that MIA is trying to get back that south africa flight they had and possibly add flights from other parts of africa. an airline from russia is in the process of establishing flights from moscow and maybe spain will get a couple more flights, MIA strength is in cargo but we need those passengers... :)

All are true.

South African Airways said this past July that they intend to return to Miami in late 2006/early 2007, but it is still in the perliminary discussion stage.

Domodedevo Airlines plans on starting Miami-Moscow service this spring pending government approval.

Iberia Airlines begins an additional four flights per week on the Miami-Madrid route this summer.

didn't Iberia used to have their hub or one of their hubs here in MIA but moved it recently?

I believe Iberia was frustrated with the US customs process, and it just going to have more flights direct to Central America instead of using the now dehubbed MIA.

Why did South African stop flying to Miami (and start flying to Atlanta)?

didn't Iberia used to have their hub or one of their hubs here in MIA but moved it recently?

They did not move the hub, they just closed it. They fed flights to Cancun and Central America from MIA, but new US government laws that required visas for passengers that were simply transiting made the hub uneconomical, so the services were replaced by non-stops from Madrid to select markets, but other markets lost all service.

South African Airways moved to Atlanta in 2000 because they ended their partnership with MIA-hubbed American and switched to ATL-hubbed Delta. However, now they are ending their partnership with Delta in favour of United. So the seven weekly frequencies that they use to Atlanta will be transferred to Washington, D.C. and Miami.

Posted on Fri, Jan. 13, 2006
New flights begin at MIASeveral new flights and carriers have begun or are scheduled to begin service at Miami International Airport.
Delta Air Lines begins non-stop flights between Salt Lake City and Miami on Feb. 16, as the only airline from MIA currently providing flights to that city. Delta will also add service to New York City's LaGuardia the same day.
Skyservice Airlines, a charter carrier, began service for the first time at MIA on Jan. 8, with flights to Ottawa and Montreal. In November, Thomas Cook Airlines began service to London's Gatwick Airport and Manchester, England, and Finnair resumed seasonal service to Helsinki.

MAH,

Wasn't there talk of AF doing MIA-Lagos? I believe that any flight between MIA and Nigeria would be profitable. Also, what is the progress of the North Terminal? The recent growth last year (3.3%) has been encouraging!

Believe it or not, the new long-range Boeing 777 can actually fly from Miami to Sydney nonstop. The only remaining obstacle is economic... more people would probably make the trip if it were only 15-18 hours instead of the 19-36 hour marathon (via L.A., Honolulu, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, or some other city) it currently is... but Qantas would probably have to double or triple their current passenger counts just to break even if they were flying jets that big, just because the 777 is so huge.

Of course, Qantas' ultimate fantasy would be a series of ultra long-range "just the right size" 717s... then they could have nonstop flights to just about everywhere in the world and not lose their shirts in the process...

another carrier, air lingus, from ireland is in the final process of starting service at MIA. The North Terminal should resume work this month. What bothers me is the slow pace, you see all the workers start around 7 am and leave at 3 pm. They should have at least 2 shifts, the faster the work is finished the more money is saved by everyone...I work at MIA by the way, for customs, so the more international flights the better....job security :)

what are they doing on le jeune road,is it related to airport expansion???

Miami Herald: (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/14042205.htm)
Posted on Wed, Mar. 08, 2006
MIA
Terminal completion up in the air
Construction changes have jeopardized the expected fall opening of Miami International Airport's South Terminal.
BY STEVE HARRISON
sharrison@MiamiHerald.com

The already-delayed South Terminal at Miami International Airport might not be finished until February 2007 because the airport and its contractor are haggling over who should pay for construction changes.

what are they doing on le jeune road,is it related to airport expansion???

theyre building so that u can exit directly from the dolphin to the airport... instead of the retarded system where you had to get off on lejeune and then back on to the road that takes you to the airport... im pretty sure thats what it is...

http://www.micdot.com/
go there... and click on 'projects', then click the lower left pane that says "roadways projects"

Since the inaugural nonstop flight some six weeks ago, Miami-based El Al sales representative, Bob Kirshbaum, reports that of the some 200 seats per flight, only two or three have not been sold.

“This is quite an achievement and we are very optimistic that if these kind of sales continue, we can add one or two more flights per week in 2007,” Kirshbaum said.

text (http://floridajewishnews.com/articles/content/view/402/52/)

score... it seems every time i drive by the airport now i see the plane with the huge star of david on its back fin... i guess their gate happens to be visible right from the dolphin..