Nonstop flights from Appleton International Airport to Denver, Dallas, Chicago, and Orange County, California will increase the number of routes and offer more seating capacity.
“Larger metro airports are seeing some decreases in air travel due to rising fuel costs, but those trends have not hit Appleton,” said Appleton Airport Director Abe Weber.
Milwaukee airport saw a 7 percent decrease in traffic in 2025 attributed in part to carrier decisions and Delta Airlines reported on an earnings call in April that it would need to raise fees and prices as well as cut unprofitable routes. In Appleton, the opposite is happening as traffic continues to grow and Delta, as well as other carriers, announced route and capacity expansions.
“The increases in service announced today are based on long-term customer demand and continued investment in ATW from our airline partners,” Weber says.
The addition of a non-stop West Coast Flight led the announcements Wednesday. The inaugural Allegiant flight from ATW to Orange County, California (John Wayne Airport) took off May 20. It is the 23rd nonstop route featured out of ATW. Allegiant will serve the route with an Airbus A320 plane with 180 seats.
“Consumer demand for Allegiant’s nonstop flights continues to be strong,” says Weber.
Additional service enhancements are:
- United Airlines will service a year-round, nonstop flight to Denver featuring a larger 126 seat plane with more Economy Plus seating. The previous flight had 70 seats. This flight also will offer cargo service on the same plane.
- Allegiant will restart a seasonal flight to Denver starting May 22.
- American Airlines will increase the nonstop Dallas route to two times daily.
- ATW now offers 10 daily nonstop flights to Chicago O’Hare, including three daily flights on American Airlines and seven daily flights on United Airlines.
- Delta Airlines currently offers three daily nonstop flights to Detroit; this will increase to four daily nonstop flights in June.
- Delta Air Lines will increase seat capacity on its nonstop service from Appleton by an average of 20%, including a 10% increase on flights to Atlanta and a 30% increase on flights to Detroit.
- Allegiant Airlines offers two weekly nonstop flights to New York/Newark.
Some of the growth, particularly for capacity, are a direct result of the gate expansion that took place last year.
“It was the foresight several years ago, that we were growing, that we would no longer be a regional airport, that we would an international airport and most recently a hub for Allegiant,” says Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. “In order for that to be realized, we needed to expand — expand not just for more gates, but also for larger aircraft.”
The new terminal is accessed via a gently sloping ramp that puts gates at the level needed for boarding larger aircraft.
The new terminal has been in use for one year and existing gates will be remodeled over the next four months. Upgrades include design enhancements to visually link the old gates with the new terminal, restroom remodels, building and opening the new Grain & Grind Coffee & Deli, and linking the two concourses via an indoor atrium with water features and large windows.
Other expansions include opening two express marts: North River Express will be located before security, and North River Trading Co. will be located after security on the new concourse. SSP America, a nationwide firm providing food, beverage, and retail options to airports, will operate the express marts and the new deli.
