The briefing in brief: American Airlines wants to restore commercial flights to Naples, Florida. United Airlines adds two more Japan routes including the first mainland-to-Sapporo nonstop. Canadian carriers keep juggling transborder routes. JetBlue and United offer more reciprocal frequent flyer perks. Alaska Airlines returns to Long Beach. Ruidoso, New Mexico, gets on the national route map. Delta drops snacks and beverages on its shortest hauls. And more.

AMERICAN THINKS IT CAN OVERCOME NIMBY IN NAPLES
Naples Airport (APF), 31 miles south of Southwest Florida International (RSW), hasn't had traditional scheduled flights in almost 20 years. And the well-to-do locals like that just fine. Their NIMBY attitude has led the local airport authority to adopt stringent flight curfews and aircraft-weight restrictions. That's turned APF into an airport that almost exclusively serves private jets. (JSX, the upmarket scheduled-charter carrier, has run seasonal flights there.) Now American Airlines wants to change all that. It has informed the Naples Airport Authority that it intends to launch flights to its Charlotte hub beginning December 6. The most logical service: three daily roundtrips using using CRJs, commuter aircraft that can meet the airport's weight restrictions. Will it happen? Hard to tell. The airport authority has a scheduled meeting on Thursday (May 21) and will consider the matter. But the authority's executive director certainly sounded skeptical in comments to a local newspaper. When APF (then called Naples Municipal) did have scheduled commercial service, flights were usually intra-Florida affairs. The most successful Naples carrier over the years was Piedmont, which once operated a fleet of Fokkers specifically designed for intra-Florida service. Several commuter carriers tied to major airlines have tried Naples flights, too, but always dropped them due to low traffic.

CHANGES, GOOD AND BAD, IN THE FREQUENCY WORLD
What's new in frequency programs? Lots of small tweaks and changes that may be meaningful to you. Consider:
        American Airlines ConciergeKey members now have access to the PS private terminal at LAX. PS, which offers private-jet experiences to commercial flyers, expects to open locations at Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami, two other American hubs, by the summer.
        Air Canada has cut a deal with Hertz to allow Aeroplan members to access special perks and higher earnings for rentals. The higher your Aeroplan status, the better the perks. Details are here.
        United Airlines and JetBlue Airways have deepened their Blue Sky partnerships. Elites on both carriers now receive reciprocal priority boarding and extra-legroom seating. Details are here for United MileagePlus members and here for TrueBlue flyers. Separately, JetBlue says TrueBlue points now can be used for China Airlines redemptions.
        Citibank has devalued ThankYou points transfers to the Choice Hotels Choice Privileges and Preferred Hotels I Prefer plans. Meanwhile, Choice Privileges has ended its alliances with United and Alaska airlines.
        GHA Discovery, the hotel program, has paused the expiration of all D$ until September 30.

UNITED AIRLINES ADDS TWO MORE JAPAN ROUTES
United Airlines inherited most of its Japan routes as part of a long-ago deal to buy Pan Am's Pacific route network. But two runs introduced this month are newbies without previous pedigree. On December 11, United launches three weekly winter flights between its San Francisco hub and Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture. United says it'll use Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on the run, the first time any carrier has flown nonstop from the mainland to Sapporo. On October 24, United begins daily nonstops to Tokyo/Narita from its Chicago/O'Hare hub. Boeing 787-8s will operate on that route.
        Asiana will finally disappear on December 17. That's the day the one-time maverick Korean carrier will be fully integrated into Korean Air after the $2 billion merger in 2024. Asiana has been tied to the Star Alliance, but Korean is a SkyTeam partner.
        Delta Air Lines is moving its New York-Bermuda nonstops to New York/LaGuardia from New York/Kennedy. The last JFK flight will be October 5. Four weekly LGA-BDA flights using Airbus A319s begin on October 6.

ANOTHER AIRPORT DOT GETS ON THE NATIONAL ROUTE MAP
More than 150 airports have fallen off the U.S. route map since deregulation in 1979, so it's relatively happy news when a new airport gets connected. Effective June 25, Sierra Bianca Regional Airport (RUI) near Ruidoso, New Mexico, will have four weekly roundtrips to Denver. The commuter carrier Contour Airlines will provide the service using 30-seat Embraer EMB-135 aircraft.
        New York/Kennedy Airport has made more changes to terminal access as it reconstructs the facility. Flyers using ride-share apps after arriving into Terminal 5 or Terminal 7 now must first travel to the AirTrain Howard Beach station for their pickups. Departing flyers will continue to be able to use ride-share apps for drop-offs at the curb, however. More details are here.
        Oakland airport can use San Francisco in its name after a settlement was reached with SFO. The two-year trademark battle ended when Oakland agreed to call itself "Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport" and also agreed to certain marketing and branding restrictions.

CANADIAN CARRIERS JUGGLE TRANSBORDER ROUTES
The continued upheaval in transborder travel between the United States and Canada also continues to force shifts in airline routes. Air Canada is trimming three more routes and suspending a fourth. Flights between Vancouver and Raleigh-Durham end on July 29. AC also dumps flights from its Toronto/YYZ hub to Sacramento (from August 1) and Charleston (from September 6). Service between Montreal and Austin will be suspended between September 5 and October 19. On the flip side, Porter Airlines is adding three transborder runs, all to sun destinations in time for the winter. Porter will fly four times weekly between Halifax and Fort Lauderdale beginning December 17. A month earlier, it'll add four weekly nonstops between Edmonton and Las Vegas. A daily Edmonton-Phoenix route will launch of November 6. Meanwhile, WestJet is building domestically at its Calgary hub. It launched daily Q400 flights to Campbell River last week. Twice-weekly Boeing 737 routes to both Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay begin next month.
        Alaska Airlines returns to Long Beach (LGB) on September 8 with daily flights to its Seattle hub. Alaska hasn't flown that route in a decade and it's part of another targeted build-up in California. Sonoma/Santa Rosa (STS), for example, will get three routes starting November 1: to Boise, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
We don't exactly think of Los Angeles as a mass-transit-friendly city. But take note: The LA Metro Train Line has expanded by nearly four miles and three stations. The city's D (Purple) Line has opened stations under Wilshire Boulevard at LaBrea Avenue, Fairfax Avenue and LaCienega Boulevard. It's the first tranche of two more expansions that next will add five more miles and four more stops. The LA Metro System, which includes four light rail and two rapid transit lines, now covers 110 stops over about 125 miles. Separately, Cathay Pacific Airways is buying naming rights to the LAX/Metro Transit Station on Aviation Boulevard near the LAX terminals. It's a five-year/$10 million deal.
        Delta Air Lines short-hop travelers take note: Starting Tuesday (May 19), Delta eliminates all snack and beverage service on flights shorter than 350 miles. That covers about 450 flights each day, almost all of them operated by Delta commuter aircraft.