Holiday Cheer by Laura Jackson

This week’s air service review travels around the world in search of holiday-inspired airport codes. You’ll notice this includes a birthday wish, too… this is because my birthday falls on Christmas Day!
MRY XMS = Merry Christmas
MRY – Monterey Peninsula Airport in Monterey, California, USA
Monterey enjoys service by three legacy carriers – American, United and US Airways – that provide links to their respective western U.S. hubs. In addition, low-cost carrier Allegiant provides nonstop service from Monterey to Las Vegas.
XMS – Edmundo Carvajal Airport in Macas, Ecuador
Macas is served by one carrier – TAME – a commercial branch of the Ecuadorian Air Force. TAME links Macas with Ecuador’s capital, Quito, with twice-weekly service.
HAA-PEE BIR-TTT-HHH-DAY = Happy Birthday
HAA – Hasvik Airport in Hasvik, Finnmark, Norway
Passengers at Hasvik Airport will arrive and depart on Wideroe, a Norwegian carrier operating the largest fleet of Dash 8 turboprop aircraft in Europe. Wideroe links Hasvik with two nearby cities: Tromso, the largest city in northern Norway; and Hammerfest, one of the northern most cities in the world.
PEE – Bolshoye Savino Airport in Perm, Russian Federation
Perm is linked with all three airports in Russia’s capital Moscow – four Russia-based carriers provide this service (Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, SkyExpress and UTair). In addition, Nordavia – the northern regional subsidiary of Aeroflot – provides service from Perm to St. Petersburg, and Tatarstan Airlines flies between Perm and Armenia’s capital Yerevan.
BIR – Biratnagar Airport in Biratnagar, Nepal
Biratnagar is the second-largest city in Nepal, and is linked by air to the largest city and capital – Kathmandu. Nepalese carrier Yeti Airlines provides 18 daily flights between the two cities using Jetstream 41 turboprop aircraft.
TTT – Taitung Airport in Taitung, Taiwan
Taiwan’s UNI Airways links Taitung and Taipei’s Songshan Airport with six daily flights.
HHH – Hilton Head Airport on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA
Like Taitung, Hilton Head is served by just one carrier. US Airways provides 12 daily flights between the island and Charlotte, and once-weekly service to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
DAY – Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio, USA
Last but not least is Dayton, the city with the most diverse air service of any of the airports analyzed. Nine airlines provide nonstop links from Dayton to nearly 20 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
Happy holidays – and safe travels – to one and all!
Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes for scheduled commercial service in December 2009, unless otherwise noted; Flights include both departures and arrivals, unless otherwise noted; Air Transport Intelligence.