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San Antonio airport resumes nonstop service to top destinations this fall

United will take off to Newark and San Francisco in September.

Photo courtesy of United Airlines

Good news for Alamo City travelers: A number of nonstop flights that were put on hold due to the pandemic will once again be taking off from San Antonio International Airport.

The City of San Antonio Aviation Department announced Tuesday, August 31 that its September fight schedule will jump to 38 destinations served by 11 airlines.

"The pandemic forced several airlines to suspend service to some of its markets and as the demand for travel continues to pick up, some of those carriers are resuming service to San Antonio International Airport (SAT)," the department says.

Flights resuming this fall
In September, United Airlines will resume nonstop service to Newark Liberty International Airport (serving the New York metro area) and San Francisco International Airport. Daily service to Newark begins September 8 and will increase to twice daily by late October. Initially, San Francisco service will be available six days a week, increasing to seven days a week in October.

Also resuming service to NYC is Delta, whose nonstop service from SAT to John F. Kennedy International Airport starts up November 7.

Texas-based Southwest Airlines is also increasing the frequency of flights to El Paso, Dallas, and New Orleans, notes the release, and Sun Country will resume its seasonal service to Las Vegas.

New routes
San Antonio International Airport will also welcome exciting new routes from several airlines this fall.

JetBlue will make its anticipated debut in the San Antonio market with nonstop service to New York's JFK and Boston's Logan International Airport on October 31; Southwest will introduce seasonal service to Colorado Springs in November; and Delta is slated to add flights to Los Angeles and Minneapolis.

"The resumption of flights to these markets represent an important milestone in the recovery of travel throughout San Antonio's route map. Even more resumptions will be seen on the flight schedule in October and November, just in time for the holidays," says director of airports Jesus H. Saenz Jr.

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Turkey Day news

San Antonio eats up top-10 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving pumpkin pie at Kona Grill in San Antonio

Photo courtesy of Kona Grill

San Antonio is one of the best place to celebrate Thanksgiving in Texas in 2024.

San Antonio is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

San Antonio ranked No. 7 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a big leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 14, and remains the second highest-ranked city in Texas.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The categories that San Antonio ranked the highest in were the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 2), and affordability (No. 11), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 90). Other categories that determined San Antonio's overall ranking were the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 14), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 75).

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, San Antonio will be fully decked for the December holidays. San Antonians who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. The home of the Alamo certainly goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas ranked two spots above San Antonio as the fifth best city for Thanksgiving. Houston ranked No. 23, while Austin only came in at No. 39.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

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