Hallo, Amsterdam!

Austin airport adds city's first nonstop flight to Amsterdam

Starting in 2020, Austinites can fly nonstop to Amsterdam.

Next year, Austinites will be saying, "Hallo, vrienden!" thanks to a new nonstop from KLM Dutch Royal Airlines. On September 23, the Netherlands-based carrier announced it's flying into the Austin market with the city's first nonstop to Amsterdam.

Beginning May 4, 2020, KLM will offer thrice weekly flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The new nonstop — the city's only one to Amsterdam — departs on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

The flight will take off from Schiphol at 12:40 pm local time, landing in Austin at 4:10 pm. Return flights will depart Austin-Bergstrom at 6 pm local time on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, landing at Schiphol the following day at 10:25 am.

The flight's Airbus A330-300 will offer 30 business class seats, 40 economy comfort seats, and 222 economy class seats, and will operate in conjunction with Delta Airlines and Air France.

"We have built up a robust transatlantic network, thanks to our joint ventures with Air France and Delta Air Lines, [and] we will continue to optimize this network," says KLM CEO and president Pieter Elbers in a release. "As part of this, we launched services to Boston and Las Vegas in the summer and are now adding Austin to our North American destinations."

Indeed, Austin becomes KLM's 19th North American market as part of the airline's expansion.

Austin-Bergstrom (that's what we're supposed to call it now, btw), is making a push of its own, expanding its international nonstop service options as well as making upgrades to the current facilities.

vacation transportation

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Austin heats up as 4th best warm destination for U.S. winter travel

Trail of Lights Austin

Austinites love visiting the Trail of Lights every year during the winter holidays.

Mariah Carey isn't the only one defrosting in preparation for the winter season: Austin has warmed up as one of WalletHub's top five best warm weather travel destinations for 2024.

Every year, WalletHub's analysts divide nearly 70 of the biggest U.S. metropolitan areas into two categories: the top "warm" and "cold" weather destinations. The study evaluated every metro based on 37 factors, including travel costs, local costs, weather predictions, and safety.

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown earned a score of 67.84 out of 100 possible points to claim the sunny No. 4 spot nationally in 2024. The metro slipped one spot from its previous 2023 ranking, allowing Dallas-Fort Worth to move into the No. 3 spot this year. Austin previously ranked No. 1 in 2021 and No. 2 in 2022.

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada (No. 1), San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California (No. 2), and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona rounded out the top five best warm-weather winter destinations.

The Central Texas metro ranked No. 3 in the national "travel costs and hassles" categories, showing major favorability towards the busy yet efficient Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Austin's near year-round sunshine earned it No. 6 in the "weather" ranking out of all 69 U.S. metros.

Here's how Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown performed in the remaining four categories:

No. 10 – Attractions rank
No. 12 – Warm weather activities rank
No. 19 – Local costs rank
No. 25 – Safety rank

As in previous years, the highest concentration of top warm weather destinations was in Florida (10 metros), followed by Texas (nine metros), then California (eight metros).

Besides DFW and Austin, the only other Texas metro to earn a spot in the top 10 in 2024 was Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (No. 6). San Antonio-New Braunfels slipped from No. 5 in 2023 to No. 11 this year.

Atlanta, Georgia ranked No. 1 once again on the list of best cold weather destinations for winter vacations, outdoing New York City, New York (No. 2), Washington, D.C. (No. 3), and Chicago, Illinois (No. 4).

"Whether you love to have a chill in your bones during the winter travel season or prefer to escape to somewhere sunny, the top travel destinations can cost as little as $200-$300 to reach by plane from major U.S. cities, with no connections," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "In addition to being affordable, the top cities also have an abundance of attractions that fit their weather patterns, along with high-quality restaurants and relatively low crime rates."

The top 10 best warm weather destinations for winter vacations are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada
No. 2 – San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California
No. 3 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
No. 4 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
No. 5 – Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
No. 6 – Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California
No. 8 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
No. 9 – Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina
No. 10 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida

For the purpose of the study, "cold" weather was determined to be less than or equal to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, while "warm" weather was greater than or equal to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Both guidelines were analyzed based on the 50-year average December temperatures.

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

reports wallethub vacations destinations austin round rock georgetown

Hallo, Amsterdam!

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