The European network expansion of Asian carriers T’Way Air, Hainan Airlines and Air India are among the more eye-catching routes starting in August.
South Korean LCC T’Way will this month commence two of the four routes that it gained through the competition remedies applied to the proposed Korean Air-Asiana merger. As part of an agreement with the European Commission, Korean Air committed to providing launch support and airport slots to T'Way on routes to Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris, and Rome.
Flights from Seoul Incheon to Rome Fiumicino will be the first to launch, beginning on Aug. 8 and operating three times per week using Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The second will see a 4X-weekly service to Paris Charles de Gaulle from Aug. 28, rising to 5X-weekly from Oct. 6. The Barcelona and Frankfurt routes will start on Sept. 11 and Oct. 3, respectively.
China’s Hainan Airlines is also boosting its service to Europe in August, adding the first nonstop route connecting Shenzhen and Budapest. Operations between Shenzhen Bao’an Airport and Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) will be twice a week from Aug. 2 using Boeing 787-9 equipment.
The addition will mean there are 20 nonstop flights per week between Hungary and China. BUD says it expects traffic between the countries to total more than 400,000 passengers this year, compared with 220,000 in 2019.
Later in the month, Air India is increasing service to London by opening a new route linking Bengaluru and London Gatwick Airport (LGW). Flights will be 5X-weekly using 787-8s, making Bengaluru the Star Alliance member’s fifth destination from LGW, joining flights from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa and Kochi.
The UK expansion, effective from Aug. 18, means the airline will offer a total of 17X-weekly flights from LGW, alongside the existing 31X-weekly services from London Heathrow, and 6X-weekly flights from Birmingham.
Elsewhere, Taiwanese carrier Starlux Airlines is adding Seattle to its network, which becomes the airline’s third nonstop U.S. destination from Taipei, alongside Los Angeles and San Francisco. Flights will start on Aug. 16, operating three times per week using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
The service will offer onward connections via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to destinations served by Alaska Airlines, Starlux's first airline partner. Additionally, passengers will have access to 21 connecting destinations from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Starlux will be the fourth carrier to serve the TPE-SEA sector nonstop. EVA Airways currently offers a 10X -weekly service, Delta Air Lines operates daily flights and China Airlines provides five roundtrips per week.
Other notable new routes starting in August include Jetstar’s return to the Perth-Singapore market with a 3X-weekly A321neo service from Aug. 1; IndiGo’s plans to add four routes to Abu Dhabi from Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Mangalore and Tiruchchirappalli; and Flydubai’s decision to operate a 4X-weekly route to Euro Airport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg from Aug. 2.
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