RDU Regains Non-Stop Flight Access to West Coast

It's the first time non-stop flights to the West Coast have been available at RDU since Midway Airlines went bankrupt in 2001.

"From what I understand, advance bookings are going very well," said Jill Denning, marketing communications manager for the airport. "I just talked with the Delta folks. They are expecting 100 or so people tonight, and that's the lowest number for the next week."

Delta is launching the service in response to demands from both business and pleasure travelers. "It was definitely a mix," Denning said.

Flights will leave RDU at 6:55 p.m. Sunday through Friday with an arrival time of 9:10 p.m. Los Angeles time. Flight time is 5 hours, 15 minutes.

A seven-day roundtrip advance fare was $797.99 plus taxes and fees, according to Delta's web site.

A return flight will leave Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m. local time and arrive at RDU at 6 a.m. local time.

Delta will operate a 150-seat Boeing 737-800 on the route.

More service will be coming to RDU later this summer. On July 20, Jet Blue will launch four daily flights to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Denning said.