American, Delta adding flights to Augusta during Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The two carriers that serve Augusta are adding nonstop flights to and from several cities across the country during the Masters Tournament in April.

While the new flights will accommodate Masters traffic, airport officials urge local residents to take advantage of them, as well.

American Airlines already offers service between Augusta and Charlotte, N.C., as well as Washington, D.C., and Dallas-Fort Worth. But starting April 2, American Airlines is adding capacity to Augusta from DFW and adding flights between Augusta and several other cities.

Highlights include:

• One daily round-trip flight from Austin to Augusta with an Embraer E175 on April 2, 6 and 10.
• One daily round-trip flight from Boston to Augusta will be added April 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 on an Embraer E175.
• Additional round-trip frequencies will be added from Dallas-Fort Worth to Augusta with a Boeing 737 aircraft operating twice daily April 2-5 and 8-9 and three times daily on April 6, 7 and 10.
• One daily round-trip flight from New York LaGuardia Airport to Augusta will be added April 2-10, with an additional second flight on April 6, 7, 9 and 10. Most of these flights will be operated on an Embraer E175.
• One daily round-trip flight from Miami International Airport to Augusta will be added April 2-10 on an Embraer E175, with an additional second flight on April 6, 7 and 10.
• One daily round-trip flight from Chicago O’Hare Airport to Augusta will be added April 2-10 on an Embraer E175, with an additional second flight on April 6, 7 and 10.
• One daily round-trip flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Augusta will be added April 2-10 on an Embraer E175, with an additional second flight April 5-7 and 9 -10.
• American will operate a Boeing 737 from Phoenix to Augusta on April 2, a round-trip flight between the airports on April 6 and a return flight to Phoenix on April 10.

The airport’s other carrier, Delta, already offers service between Augusta and Atlanta, the carrier’s major hub. But during Masters week, the carrier will add service to and from Detroit as well as New York LaGuardia.

Masters week will be April 2-9, with the tournament itself taking place April 6-9 at Augusta National Golf Club.

“As things begin to normalize, it is great to see the expansion and growth of the Masters week airline flight offerings,” said Herbert L. Judon Jr., airport executive director. “We are privileged to provide one of the main gateways for thousands of visitors traveling to and from our city.”

Lauren Smith, assistant director of public relations, says, “The airlines provide those flights based on the booking numbers. So if they have strong numbers of those cities, they’ll provide that direct flight that week. We still see double or triple the number we do a normal week, out that week. So we anticipate the same numbers.”

Smith says one Masters week destination they see strong numbers for is New York, and last week airport leaders met with airlines there to discuss the possibility of adding it full-time.

She says there is no specific plan for that right now, but they’re hopeful an airline will select Augusta for a permanent route in the future.

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