New Ski Routes for 2026 - 2027

The fall air has finally shown up in Boston, which means two things.

One, I can stop complaining about the heat. Two, ski season is coming.

Every year around this time, our travel-obsessed outlook at Diamant has us scouring the web to find every new flight route US airlines have cooked up to satisfy our collective thirst for powder. And every year, it's our sworn duty to share them so you can plan your winter accordingly.

After all, how can we sell you a travel boot bag without giving you trips to take it on?

Airplanes + skiing = Diamant

So without further ado, here are our favorite new routes to ski hubs for the 2026–2027 season (as well as everything else that was announced).

1. United Airlines: Boston to Jackson Hole (Feb 13 – Mar 20, 2027)

Selfishly, this is my favorite one on the list. Even if it is only scheduled for a month. 

Boston has never had a nonstop to Jackson. Ever. If you wanted the Tetons, you connected through Denver or Chicago and prayed the weather held up. Six Saturdays isn't much, but it's the first crack in a wall that's been up forever.

What makes it more interesting is that United almost never flies routes that don't touch one of its hubs. Boston isn't a hub. Jackson isn't a hub. They ran the numbers on New England skiers anyway, which tells you something about how much money is leaving this region every winter.

The schedule is also genuinely good. Wheels up at 10:20 a.m., on the ground in Jackson at 1:45 p.m. You can ski the afternoon you land.

And if you book it, JH AIR negotiated a free lift ticket and a demo package (skis, boots, poles) at Jackson Hole Sports in Teton Village on your arrival day. Show your boarding pass. That's a few hundred dollars of value for doing nothing.

Six Saturdays. 126-seat 737-700. If it sells out, it comes back bigger. You know what to do.

2. Delta Air Lines: JFK to Bozeman goes daily (Dec 19, 2026 – Apr 4, 2027)

Let me quote myself from last year's version of this article, about Delta's Saturday-only New York to Bozeman service:

"My guess is that if demand holds, it could become a mainstay to compete with JetBlue and United's more consistent offerings."

It took exactly one season. And yes, I called my shot. 

On September 21st, Bozeman's airport announced that Delta is taking its JFK–Bozeman route from Saturday-only to daily, running December 19th through April 4th. Delta is also bringing daily JFK service back for the summer from late May.

Photo of the Delta plane I flew to Bozeman...on a CONNECTION

This is the single biggest practical upgrade on this entire list, and it's the one I'd bet most of you will actually use.

Saturday-only routes are a test. They force you into a rigid seven-day trip, they get crushed on price during holiday weeks, and if your Saturday flight cancels your whole vacation evaporates.

Daily service is a completely different product. You can do a Thursday-to-Monday. You can leave a day early to chase a storm. You have a rebooking option when things go sideways.

Big Sky is an hour from the airport, Bridger Bowl is under thirty minutes, and Delta loyalists in NYC now have a daily nonstop to both. 

Delta is also adding a second Bozeman–Atlanta frequency for summer 2027, which isn't a ski thing but does tell you where they think this market is heading.

3. United Airlines: San Francisco to Sapporo (Dec 11, 2026 – Mar 26, 2027)

This is the one.

For the first time ever, there is a nonstop flight from North America to Hokkaido. No Tokyo layover. No Osaka connection. No dragging your bags through Narita at 6 a.m. to catch a domestic hop north.

If you've ever tried to get to Niseko, Rusutsu, or Furano, you know exactly how much of a headache this eliminates.

Three times a week on a 787-9, and it runs almost exactly the length of the Hokkaido season. United is calling it their shortest transpacific route, which is a fun piece of trivia, but the real point is that a Japan ski trip just got meaningfully easier for anyone on the West Coast.

Day dreaming about Japan powder days

Air Canada is doing the same thing out of Vancouver a few days later. Two carriers deciding independently that Hokkaido deserves a nonstop is not a coincidence. 

Japan has been the destination everyone talks about and half as many people actually book, mostly because of the travel logistics.

That excuse is, now, gone. 

4. Alaska Airlines: Portland to Steamboat Springs (Feb 11 – Mar 28, 2027)

A small route with a nice story behind it.

Portland skiers have great mountains in their backyard, but the Cascades serve up a snow texture that locals have politely nicknamed "Cascade concrete." Steamboat has a trademark on the phrase Champagne Powder.

You can see the appeal.

Twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays, which is a genuine long-weekend schedule rather than a Saturday-only commitment. Out at 10:40 a.m., in Hayden at 2:05 p.m.

Alaska has also quietly become one of the best airlines for us. Skis and snowboards fly for the standard checked bag fee, and their board policy is one of the more generous in the industry. That matters more than most people account for when they're comparing fares.

This addition also pushes Steamboat to 18 nonstop airports, the most in the program's history.

Below is a list of all the new and expanded routes announced for the upcoming season.

A note on this list: airlines announce ski routes all the way into January, and schedules shift. We're treating this as a living page and updating it every time something new drops. If you're planning a trip, bookmark it and check back. If we've missed something, tell us and we'll add it.

Last updated: September 23, 2026.

Airline	Route	Dates	Days of Operation	Aircraft
United Airlines	Boston → Jackson Hole, Wyoming	Feb 13 – Mar 20, 2027	Saturday only	B737-700
Delta Air Lines	New York JFK → Bozeman, Montana	Dec 19, 2026 – Apr 4, 2027	Daily (up from Saturday only)	Mainline narrowbody
United Airlines	San Francisco → Sapporo, Japan	Dec 11, 2026 – Mar 26, 2027	3x weekly	B787-9
United Airlines	Chicago O'Hare → Tokyo Narita	From Oct 2026 (year-round)	Daily	B787-8
United Airlines	Houston → Durango, Colorado	Dec 19, 2026 – Mar 27, 2027	Wed & Sat	E175
United Airlines	Houston → Steamboat Springs/Hayden	Winter 2026–27 (upgauge to mainline)	Unconfirmed	B737 family
Alaska Airlines	Portland → Steamboat Springs/Hayden	Feb 11 – Mar 28, 2027	Thu & Sat	E175
Alaska Airlines	Santa Rosa → Salt Lake City, Utah	Nov 1, 2026 – Apr 21, 2027	Up to daily	E175
Alaska Airlines	Santa Rosa → Boise, Idaho	Nov 1, 2026 – Apr 19, 2027	Up to daily	E175
Delta Air Lines	Austin → Bozeman, Montana	Dec 19, 2026 – Mar 28, 2027	Daily	E175
Frontier Airlines	Fort Lauderdale → Denver, Colorado	Winter 2026–27	Daily	A320 family
Southwest Airlines	Austin → Steamboat Springs/Hayden	Winter 2026–27 (expanded)	Saturday	B737 family
Breeze Airways	Baltimore → Burlington, Vermont	From Oct 4, 2026	Tue, Thu, Sun	A220-300
Breeze Airways	Vero Beach → Burlington, Vermont	From Oct 4, 2026 (BreezeThru)	Tue, Thu, Sun	A220-300
Breeze Airways	Raleigh-Durham → Provo, Utah	From Oct 2, 2026	Mon & Fri	A220-300
Breeze Airways	Vero Beach → Provo, Utah	From Oct 2, 2026 (BreezeThru)	Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat	A220-300
Air Canada	Vancouver → Sapporo, Japan	From Dec 2026	Seasonal	Widebody

 

To re-iterate, these are net new routes. The old ones you know and love are still kicking. 

Now some personal thoughts on all of these routes and what they might mean. 

The first is that United is still running away with this. They fly around 60 routes from seven cities into 15 mountain destinations in January and February, and they're sitting on roughly 43 percent of the seats flying into the country's major ski airports. Every other carrier is fighting over the rest.

I have mixed feelings about that. More United ski flying is good for access. It is not good for pricing. Competition is what brings fares down, and outside of Bozeman nobody is seriously challenging them in the mountains. 

The second thing, and the reason I like the Delta news so much, is that Bozeman is the exception. Seven airline brands now fly there nonstop to 20 destinations. Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska, American, Southwest, and Allegiant are all fighting over the same valley, and the result is exactly what you'd hope: Saturday-only experiments turning into daily service inside of one season.

That's the model. I'd love to see it happen somewhere in Utah next. Which brings me to my annual complaint. Last year I said I wanted someone to take a real run at Delta in Salt Lake City so fares came back to earth. Alaska adding Santa Rosa to SLC is technically progress. It is also one regional jet from wine country. Not exactly the cavalry.

The third thing is Breeze. Baltimore to Burlington starting at $49 is a legitimately absurd fare for a ski weekend, and Burlington puts you within an hour of Stowe, Sugarbush, and Mad River Glen. Provo is the same story on the other side of the country; it's right there at the base of the Wasatch, and the crowds all funnel through Salt Lake instead.

TSA approved and ready for your adventures. 

Budget carriers finally figuring out ski markets is a genuinely good development for anyone who doesn't want to spend $600 to get to a mountain.

And TSA approved boot bags (yes, the ones we make) will help you avoid the baggage fees budget airliners tend to carry.

Airlines have added roughly 60 percent more capacity into mountain airports since 2019. That trend hasn't stopped, and a Saturday-only route going daily in one season is the clearest proof of it. If your dream route isn't flying yet, there's a decent chance it's coming.

And by the way, I personally really do not understand that Saturday only route testing. Maybe the airlines know something I don't, but I just can't imagine this is the best way to understand if a route has potential or not. 

Anyways, we'll keep updating this page all season. I have a feeling there's more coming.

Happy exploring this winter and, as always...

See you on the slopes.

-Shai