Air Canada has picked up the connection between Toronto and Belgium’s capital Brussels after fellow Star Alliance carrier Brussels Airlines dropped the route in favour of serving Montreal.
Primera Air attempted to ride the low-cost transatlantic wave but was dragged under amid fierce competition, aircraft delays and spiralling costs. Routesonline offers exclusive analysis on the reasons behind the demise of the budget leisure carrier.
Routesonline analyses the North American aviation industry, taking a monthly look at the top routes served and revealing the airlines that are dominating the market. We also rank the top ten airports by available departure seats.
This week: Air France returns to the Nairobi market; the first service by a Chinese carrier from Qingdao to Western Europe; and Interjet’s first Canadian services from the famous Mexican leisure destination Cancun.
The new Montreal – Tel Aviv route will operate twice weekly from June 22, 2017 to October 16, 2017 and flown with a 292-seat Airbus A330-300. It is part of Air Canada’s strategy to strengthen its hub at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and follows last month’s announcement by leisure carrier Air Transat of its own plans to serve the Montreal – Tel Aviv market.
Air Canada provided an insight into its future thinking following the simultaneous unveiling of its new corporate livery at ceremonies in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver on February 9, 2017 as the carrier prepares to enter its 80th anniversary year. The brand refresh continues a recent evolution at the Canadian flag carrier that has helped better position in the global market serving both business and leisure demands through its mainline and Air Canada rouge operations.
Philippine Airlines will configure its A350-900s with a premium three class layout and plans to operate the aircraft on non-stop flights from Manila to the US west coast and New York, as well as on services to new destinations in Europe. The aircraft will enable the carrier to operate non-stop service on the 8,000 nautical mile Manila – New York route all year round with a full passenger load.
Star Alliance partners Brussels Airlines and United Airlines have moved quickly to partly fill the void left following Jet Airways’ decision to close its scissor hub at Brussels Airport from spring next year. The main gateway to the Belgian capital city is a key European gateway for the airline grouping and accounts for around 52 per cent of the departure capacity.
The revised Amsterdam operation and agreement with KLM will enable Jet Airways to increase its coverage of the European market, albeit on a codeshare basis. Alongside its existing Brussels services the carrier currently only serves two other European points: London Heathrow (daily from Delhi and twice daily from Mumbai) and Paris Charles De Gaulle (daily from Mumbai).
Air Canada continues to strategically grow its international network at Vancouver. This new seasonal route follows the recent announcement of several enhancements at the airline's Vancouver International Airport hub for 2016, including new Transborder services to Chicago, San Jose and San Diego, double daily flights to London Heathrow, and the only flights linking Canada to Brisbane, Australia.
