The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
Dec. 12
Transavia France is increasing its network from Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport to 30 destinations next summer. The carrier will launch three new routes to Fez, Morocco; Tirana, Albania; and Yerevan, Armenia. Additionally, the airline will expand frequencies to five points in Algeria, four in Morocco, four in Greece and three in Portugal, Spain and Tunisia. “The openings in Yerevan, Tirana and Fez meet the demand of our customers wishing to join family and friends,” says Nicolas Hénin, deputy general director of sales and marketing at Transavia France.
Spain’s Iberia has commenced its first flight to Qatar’s capital Doha. Service from Madrid will be offered daily using Airbus A330-200 aircraft, equipped with 288 seats in a two-class configuration. This new route is the result of the agreement between Madrid Turismo by IFEMA Madrid and Iberia, which in turn opens up 49 new connections to Asia, 17 to Africa, 18 to the Middle East and 6 to Oceania, with a stopover in Doha. It is estimated to generate an economic impact for the Madrid region of €55 million ($59.4 million) in the first year.
Turkish Airlines is boosting frequencies to Birmingham Airport (BHX), England, during the northern summer 2024 season. Service from Istanbul Airport will rise from double-daily to 18X-weekly from next June, with a third daily flight operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. “Customer demand from BHX to Istanbul is strong and growing stronger, so we’re pleased to be able to meet this demand with additional flights,” says Eren Ozturk, Turkish Airlines sales manager.
Indian LCC IndiGo is increasing the number of flights to Thailand with more frequencies on Mumbai-Phuket and the resumption of Bengaluru-Phuket. Flights from Mumbai will rise from daily to 13X-weekly from Jan. 5, 2024, while operations from Bengaluru will be 6X-weekly from Feb. 28. “With the addition of these flights, IndiGo will connect India to Thailand 56 times a week,” says Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales.
Norse Atlantic Airways has operated its first Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Miami service. The route will operate up to four times a week using Boeing 787s. The airline began serving CDG in March 2023 with flights to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Delta Air Lines is this winter season increasing the number of seats out of Miami by 27% compared with a year ago. More frequencies are being added on routes to Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York John F. Kennedy, New York LaGuardia and Orlando, Florida, as it builds to 37 peak-day departures from Miami to 12 destinations.
Dec. 11
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi has inaugurated a route connecting Abu Dhabi and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Flights to Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport will be offered three times per week. “We recently relocated our Abu Dhabi operations to Terminal A, a state-of-the-art new facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport, and this launch further demonstrates our commitment to delivering smooth travel experiences for passengers and contributing to the growth of the travel and tourism sectors in both countries,” says Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Al Ali. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi serves 28 destinations with a fleet of 10 Airbus A320 aircraft.
Vietnam’s Vietjet has opened two new international routes: between Hanoi and Jakarta, Indonesia, and Phu Quoc and Busan, South Korea. Service to Jakarta will operate four times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, while the route to Busan will be daily.
EasyJet has launched its autumn 2024 schedule, putting more than 133,000 flights on sale between Sept. 2 and Nov. 30. The LCC will provide over 68,000 flights on 485 routes between 21 airports in the UK and 137 destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. EasyJet last month launched 12 new summer routes, including London Luton and Manchester to Reus; Bristol to Malta; Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast to Enfidha, and Belfast and Glasgow to Larnaca.
Finnair has announced plans to increase frequencies on several routes during the northern summer 2024 season. Helsinki-Dallas will rise from four to six flights per week; Helsinki-Shanghai will grow from 2X to 3X-weekly; and Helsinki-Alicante, Spain, will restart with three flights per week from April 4. From March 31, Finnair will also add five weekly Airbus A350 flights on its Helsinki to Munich route, Helsinki-London Heathrow will be double-daily using A350s and Helsinki-Amsterdam will see up to 10 weekly A330/A350 rotations.
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