ATX Says Adios to Ferry Flights

The Return/Ferry flights program has been discontinued.

Coast to Coast

I discovered this routing today while searching for flights with the new flight check page. This routing is currently available to all members, just be sure to verify through the flight check page to see if there have been any changes.

Ottawa Added to Regular Schedule

This afternoon, AeroTexas authorized flights between Austin and Ottawa as well as flights between Detroit and Ottawa. That ought to be some interesting flying this winter. Have fun!

Route Verification Returns

Although not widely known, for the past year AeroTexas route verification was suspended in an effort to collect information about where our members preferred to fly. After carefully analyzing the data, the AeroTexas flight system was extensively revised, and route verification has now been re-instituted. With route verification now back in place, you should check the website to see what flights are available before you begin your flight, otherwise it may not count!

Now don't look so glum...it should be noted that even with route verification you should still be able to log most, if not all, of your flights - no matter where you go or what aircraft you use. So cross-logging, exploration flights, and personal non-system flights can still be logged as long as you use ATAVS. However, and this is effective today, Non System Flights (NSF) will not count toward official promotions, achievements, or awards.

What flights are valid?
1. All flights on the routes page, including flights for Trans Texas Airways.
2. All cargo flights.
3. Return flights (see below).
4. Special events flights, when specified.

Return Flights
Return flights include any flight that when completed would result in the return of an aircraft to its original point of departure. Basically it's flying a stranded aircraft back where it belongs. Credit for these flights is granted only when flown with the specified aircraft equipment type. For example, if you flew a 737-400 from Austin to Houston, and then to Cancun, the return flight from Cancun to Austin would be considered a valid flight, even though it is not published on the website.
Another example would be the return leg of a cargo flight, just remember to use the same type of aircraft to get credit. You may only fly your own return flights and you view the status of these flights from your Members Only page.

Special Event Flights
Occasionally AeroTexas will hold special events with flights to places that are not part of our regular flight table. These flights will be always announced in advance and will count towards promotions and awards unless otherwise specified.

Tour the North Atlantic This Winter

Our Alaska tour was such a hit this year that we've decided to extend our visit to the north with a tour of the North Atlantic Ocean. Visiting eleven different countries, this tour visits Greenland and Iceland as you make your way to the Faroes and then it's a visit to coastal towns in England, France, Spain and Portugal. You get to cross the Atlantic again on your way back to the states, with stops on the Azores.

Begin your North Atlantic Tour by clicking here

RouteFinder Updated

The AeroTexas RouteFinder now supports trans-Atlantic routes using North Atlantic Tracks (NATs). This route network stretches across the Atlantic Ocean from northeast North America and Canada to western Europe.

Also new - Two additional options have been added (really just made operational, finally) to help with flight planning:

1. Preferred Routes from the National Flight Data Center

and

2. Coded Departure Routes from the FAA's Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) program.

This flight planner can be accessed from the Members Only area (don't confuse it with the VOR-only routefinder that is available to the public).

Four Flights

Effective today, members can now log flights to destinations on the fourflights.com website. The way that site is set up one destination for each of the four flight rules are displayed: VFR, MVFR, IFR, and LIFR. Additionally, the 20 closest airports to each of the destinations are also displayed. Members can choose any route pair and log time flown on that route.

For example, currently the following four destinations have been identified by fourflights.com:

KMCN - Middle Georgia Regional Airport LIFR
KAEX - Alexandria International Airport IFR
KMTO - Coles County Memorial Airport MVFR
KPMD - Palmdale Flight-Test Airport VFR

Each of these has 20 nearest airports identified as well. So if you wanted to fly to Middle Georgia Regional Airport, which has a 2200 foot broken ceiling, visibility 3/4 miles in thunderstorms and rain, you could start your flight from Columbus Metropolitan Airport at 66 NM away, Birmingham International Airport at 166 NM away, or any of the other 18 airports listed there.

Please note that some of the fourflights.com airports may be regional airports and small municipal fields - please choose your aircraft wisely.

Service to Rio

This month we begin a new journey to far away places. AeroTexas opens international service to South America with a direct return flight from our headquarters in Austin, Texas to beautiful Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. From Rio, our newest flight dispatcher, Sill (ATX47), has scheduled a round robin to Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, La Paz and return to Rio. This international service plan starts August 1, 2008.

New International Routes

Flights to Asia will end soon - but we have some new destinatons for the Summer. A new slate of international flights has been developed and will be released soon with segments to Rio, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and others!

Connecting Flights

If you logged a flight recently you may have noticed some new information about connecting flights. Connecting flights allow active members to fly from point-to-point anywhere there is a connection. Connections may include airports in the regular schedule, as well as temporary segments created by dispatchers. This feature should really open up a lot of new places for active members. Each month our cargo and charter dispatchers issue literally hundreds of new routes that are listed only for a short amount of time - for example, new cargo routes are typically issued on an hourly basis, and new round-trip charter segments pop up daily. You can only see connections after you log a flight, so file those reports and look for new places to fly every day.

AeroTexas Visits Greece

Each month AeroTexas brings members international flights with local connections to those far-flung points of interest. Last month you'll remember it was the United Kingdom. This month our international dispatcher is Partner Ben Holzer, who introduces us to Greece with trans-atlantic flights from Austin to Athens, Greece. Members with local and regional ratings can also participate as Ben has included flights to popular vacation destinations across the beautiful Grecian Isles.

International Service Returns

AeroTexas re-introduces international flights with the first of a series of international flights with regional connecting segments. We start this new series with non-stop flights from our new headquarters at Austin, Texas to London's Gatwick airport, with connections to Manchester, Spain, and northern France. Each month ATX INTL plans to bring you new international destinations and plenty of adventurous flights for turboprops, regional and large jets. Members are reminded that the INTL authorization is required for international flights where designated (currently this applies only to the Austin-Gatwick route); international service flights not so designated are considered open to all pilots.

Stampedes and Networks

The First Annual Lone Star Stampede, sponsored by ZFW ARTCC and American Airlines Virtual, will be held this Saturday, May 12, 2007 from 2:PM - 5:PM CDT (1900Z-2200Z). With our new slate of Lone Star flights in and between the two centers, AeroTexas members are encouraged to jump online, and show the ZFW and ZHU controllers that we can be stampede too. Be ready for rapid-fire clearances, crossing restrictions, and holding patterns.

AeroTexas Interflight service has been renamed, Network Flight Service, and has been expanded with a few new segments in Oakland and Jacksonville airspace.

Route Expansion

Many new routes have been added to Lone Star Service, including a saddlebag full of local flights into Mexico. Local flights into Mexico originate at Austin, Corpus Christi, and El Paso. REgional service has also been expanded and includes some good Mexico Service routings as well. Look for some changes to international service in the future, where we'll focus on long-hal routes to then interior of Mexico, Central and South America. Have any suggestions for international desinations? Post your ideas to the AeroTexas message board (contact Richard S. for access details).

Route Exploration

AeroTexas now allows all members to explore and report potential new routes. Members who have logged 10 or more flights in the current month will automatically receive a status upgrade to
participate in Route Exploration. This upgrade is good until the end of each month, and
offers dedicated members the opportunity to fly favorite segments and routes that are not
established at AeroTexas. This is your chance to tell us where you want AeroTexas to establish
its next fixed schedule service, or international offering. Route explorations will be considered charter flights, and may be added to the permanent schedule in the future.

New National Charters

AeroTexas offers a selection of routes between more than 500 airports throughout the continental USA every day. These flights represent contingency charters flown for other carriers through temporary codeshares, as well as charter flights for our valuable clients. National service routes are now updated daily.