BNA

Hello from your ever lurking, Belmont/Hillsboro native/United flight attendant. I’ve been scrolling back and I don’t think this has been discussed yet (apologies if it has). This summer United is scheduling 3 of our four flights to Newark as mainline (think large full size domestic planes) vs. express. A few years ago all four were express. In late August we go up to 5 daily, 4 of which are mainline. In September we go to 6 daily flights, 4 being mainline. October and beyond will see 7 daily BNA-EWR flights with again 4 being mainline. In a recent company email Nashville was singled out as a shining success of our new commitment to beef up domestic service. As I’ve said before, as a flight attendant, on each and every flight I’m asked by colleagues and passengers alike where I live. When I say Nashville, people’s eyes light up. Everyone says they either love our city or they’ve heard it’s amazing. Among United flight attendants and pilots it’s one of the most sought after domestic layovers. Hundreds of my colleagues have said things like “I was there on a Monday night. It was so alive!” We really have something special.

Thanks for the warm welcomes! I am passionate about aviation and also about urban living and architecture. Most of all I'm proud of my home town. As far as official announcements, I think we'll see some at the end of summer. The first of these new A319 jets come online in early 2016 and we'll have 2 dozen or so by Spring. We usually announce new routes at least 6 months out but there are exceptions. While I don't have "official" information, I can tell you that Nashville is one of our most oversold destinations and is just begging for larger planes on virtually every existing route (Chicago, Denver, Houston, Newark, Washington). In addition, United dominates at San Francisco and is expanding rapidly. Given easy connections to all of Asia, 4 Hawaiian islands, Australia, and the Pacific Northwest, PLUS sizeable local demand on both sides, SFO is a no-brainer.

Hello everyone! I've lurked here for years and am very glad to be officially joining you. I'm a Nashville native (Germantown before it was hot) and a United Airlines flight attendant based in New York. I'm thrilled that we are resuming mainline operations here and am also confident that there is much more to come. United employees were just told that we're leasing up to 25 Airbus 319 mainline jets in order to shift flying away from smaller regional jets between our hubs and "medium sized" cities. In addition to the previously announced Houston and Chicago upgauges, rumor has it here at United that SFO-BNA and EWR-BNA will be in the first round of this mainline expansion. Our airline is finally getting traction here and I think it's a testiment to Nashville. I can tell you that the most frequently asked question both amongst flight attendants and from passengers is always "where do you live?" When I say Nashville, peoples' eyes light up. Yesterday I flew from London to Newark and had a group of around 10 British passengers huddled around me asking question after question about our city. This is absolutely typical. The same happened last month on a flight to Zurich. People had heard from friends how fun and exciting our city is and especially our restaurant scene. Perhaps most encouraging is the response I get from my colleagues. We are in a unique position to talk up destinations to travellers and almost without exception, my fellow flight attendants are raving about Nashville. I'll keep doing my small part as an ambassador of sorts and I thank all of you for making this a must read forum for me and many others.