Windsor Locks — Connecticut is waiving landing fees and helping with promotion in return for American Airlines resuming daily non-stop service between Bradley International Airport and Los Angeles, beginning June 2.
Based on an average landing fee of $676, the subsidy will cost about $238,000 annually, said Kevin Dillon, the executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the daily flights in a press conference at the airport, saying the service will be a boon to business travelers. Flights will depart Bradley at 7 a.m. Eastern and arrive in Los Angeles as 10 a.m. Pacific time, allowing nearly a full day of business. Flights to Bradley will be a red eye, leaving at 9 p.m. and arriving at 5:20 a.m.
“This is an important link for us,” Malloy said, noting it opens flights to nearly anywhere in Asia with one stop in Los Angeles.
The new flight is one in a series recently announced by the airport authority. Aer Lingus is beginning non-stop flights from Bradley to Dublin in September, and United is offering direct service to Denver, beginning in May.
Malloy said the previous non-stop flights to Los Angeles were 90 percent full when they were discontinued in 2014 after the merger of American Airlines and U.S Airways. Tickets for the L.A. flights go on sale Saturday.