Yup, it’s that time of year again, where we see how things are going for US Airways flights to the mountain and Pacific time zones. The basics: the airline has for many years flown nonstop year-round from Charlotte to seven destinations out west: Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. US Airways and Delta Air Lines are both starting daily flight to Salt Lake City in March with Delta essentially trying to force US Airways off the route as Delta is quite content with the status quo of no nonstops.

Which brings us to Portland, Oregon (PDX) and Sacramento, California (SMF), the cities referenced in the title of this post. US Airways has offered summer seasonal service to these cities for the past several years (Portland since 2007, Sacramento since 2008). If we are going to see more service to the western U.S., the existing service has to do well. And I can say that things are looking good this year:

• Portland: Like last year, the nonstops to PDX began the earliest they ever had, with daily flights from May 2. This year daily flights again begin on May 2nd. However, from April 18 through May 1, US Airways will operate the route four days a week (all but Monday, Tuesdays, and Saturdays), so that is progress.

• Sacramento: This is a smaller market that Portland, so the season is shorter. Last year, it began on June 2. This year, service start on May 3 and the flight goes daily on May 24. So again, this is a positive development.

So what next? Ordinarily, I’d put up a big chart showing the amount of money that people spend flying between various cities and Charlotte. Unfortunately, the federal data I use now combines the various Los Angeles (LAX, SNA, ONT, BUR, LGB) as one. Same for the three San Francisco bay area airports (SFO, SJC, OAK). Here’s a link to last’s year’s chart. Suffice it to say though, that the next largest market remains Orange County (SNA), but it both has a short runway and is slot restricted (NIMBYs), making service unlikely. Beyond that, it’s a big drop to Ontario and San Jose. Albuquerque and Tuscon are also possibilities, but again, while the trend is definitely in the right direct, we’re not there yet.