Saudia is launching one of the more eye-catching routes during February 2025, offering a new connection between Neom Bay Airport and London Gatwick Airport (LGW).
The airline has scheduled weekly flights on the route, starting Feb. 2, operated by a 110-seat Airbus A320. This service replaces the current weekly Neom Bay-London Heathrow (LHR) route, which was served a 298-seat Boeing 787-9.
Neom is a planned city being built in the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia. Several developments are planned, including a floating industrial complex, an international trade hub, luxury tourist resorts and a sustainable linear city powered entirely by renewable energy.
Saudia’s shift to LGW will allow the airline to optimize operational efficiency by better aligning aircraft capacity with passenger demand on such a thin route, as well as freeing up a valuable slot at LHR.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is also making changes to its European network this month with the launch of a new route to Istanbul Airport (IST). Flights from Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) will be offered three times per week using 787-8 equipment.
Istanbul becomes ANA’s third new European addition in as many months following the launch of flights to Milan and Stockholm. In the Tokyo-Istanbul market, ANA will join fellow Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines in connecting the cities nonstop.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Turkish Airlines currently offers daily service from IST to both HND and Tokyo Narita International Airport, operated using 777-300ERs and 787-9s, respectively.
In the U.S., Southwest Airlines is adding a new long-distance route from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Feb. 13, introducing daily flights to Las Vegas. Southwest is one of five carriers—alongside Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines—to have been awarded slots at DCA to add service beyond the airport’s 1,250-mi. perimeter rule.
Other new routes starting in February include Aegean Airlines’ new service to Iraq, with flights from Athens to Erbil commencing on Feb. 23; Aeromexico’s decision to add a third destination in Colombia, opening a route between Mexico City and Cartagena; and the introduction of Arkia Israel Airlines’ inaugural flights to the U.S.
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