U.S. lawmakers are racing to nail down a Covid relief bill after months of negotiating, as a Friday deadline to fund the government approaches and key aid measures are set to expire. Leaders from each side of the aisle met Tuesday afternoon and appeared to make progress. A final deal could include extended unemployment benefits, temporary student loan relief, a continued eviction moratorium and additional funding for small businesses. It s unclear whether a bill would send a second round of checks to Americans, but any combination of those efforts would help millions of people during a period of historic unemployment.
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Southwest Airlines to begin service to Santa Barbara, Fresno
December 16, 2020 GMT
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) Southwest Airlines plans to begin serving Santa Barbara Airport and Fresno Yosemite International Airport next year.
The airline said Wednesday it expects to begin flying in and out of the Central Coast and Central Valley airports in the second quarter of 2021.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. flew its first flight into Palm Springs last month, and the addition of Santa Barbara and Fresno will give the airline a presence at 13 California airports.
“For our residents, our partnership with Southwest will energize the economic rebound to come in 2021,” Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo said in a statement.
Southwest Airlines to offer flights at Fresno Yosemite International Airport in spring 2021
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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) It s wheels up for Southwest Airlines at Fresno Yosemite international.
The airline announced the Valley s airport would be one of their two new destinations in California. The timing is part of a bigger plan for Southwest.
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand says this is their strategy for a post-pandemic economy, adding that this is a move decades in the making, but it wasn t until November that airline officials sat down with the city and airport to discuss flights to Fresno.
In a statement, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President Andrew Watterson says they re dedicated to serving California, while other airlines seem to fall in and out of love with the state, we re focused on increasing the reach of our low fares and flexible policies in places where we expect them to make a difference.
Travelers didn t have to wait long.
On Wednesday, Southwest said it will add flights to Santa Barbara and Fresno, California, next spring. The nation s largest domestic airline is already a dominant player in California, and with the new cities, it will serve 13 airports there. The most recent addition: Palm Springs, in November.
“Our arrival in the heart of California, both on the Central Coast and in the Central Valley, will round out nearly four decades of investment in our California customers and communities,” Southwest Airlines Chief Commercial Officer & Executive Vice President Andrew Watterson said in a statement.
Southwest did not announce routes or start dates for the new cities beyond saying service will begin in the second quarter of 2021. The airline will have competition in Santa Barbara and Fresno, the extent of which won t be known until it announces routes. Alaska, American, and United are among the airlines serving Santa Barbara Airport , with Frontier and