Five For Friday

Turkish Airlines to serve Winter Olympic Host City

Turkish Airlines has announced it is to launch services between Istanbul and Sochi in Russia from May 25. The carrier will operate the route three times a week with a B737 aircraft.

Turkish Airlines now operates six destinations in Russia (seven airports, with it serving both Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports in Moscow) including: Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov, Ekaterinburg and Ufa. The route is already served thrice weekly by Aeroflot-Don, operating B737-500 on the route.

Turkish Airlines will be seeking contributions to the overall network from Sochi passengers, as the O&D market was only 8,820, with 98% carried by Aeroflot-Don, according to IATA Airport IS data for 2009. The only other hub feeder operations into Sochi are Aeroflot (Moscow 21 weekly) and Austrian Airlines (Vienna 3 weekly).

Sochi's profile has been raised in recent years, with it being the venue for the 22nd Olympic Winter Games in 2014.

All scheduled data from Flightbase, May 3-9, 2010.

Aigle Azur Launches Lille-Tlemcen, Algeria

Aigle Azur is to launch flights between Lille in France and Tlemcen in Algeria from June 14. The carrier will operate the route five times a week, using an Airbus A320. Lille already has services to Algiers in Algeria, with both Air Algeria (twice weekly) and Aigle Azur (twice weekly).

The only other North African service from Lille is to Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc on a twice-weekly basis.

All scheduled data from Flightbase May 3-9, 2010.

Manx2 Expanding Outside the Isle of Man

Manx2 plans to take its award-winning company out of the Isle of Man with the launch of services between Cork and Galway in Ireland on July 1. The airline will operate two return flights every day of the week.

Launched in 2006, Manx2.com currently carries 100,000 passengers a year between the Isle of Man and Blackpool, Belfast, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Newcastle, Gloucester and Jersey. It operates a variety of leased aircraft including Let-410, Metroliner and Dornier 228s.

The carrier has been particularly successful at targeting sub 19-seat markets from the Isle of Man and by operating 19-seat aircraft it can avoid the UK's Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax.

Oman Air Targets UAE Destinations

Oman Air will launch its new daily service between Muscat, the capital of Oman, and Al Ain in the UAE on May 3, operating an ATR aircraft.

Al Ain is 150km inland from Abu Dhabi and only 115km from Abu Dhabi Airport and 125km from Dubai International Airport.

Currently there are both cargo and scheduled services operating from Al Ain, including low frequency services to Southern India, Northern Pakistan and Jordan. Oman Air's new service will provide connectivity to the airline's hub in Muscat.

The Al Ain service is in addition to Oman Air's recent announcement that it will launch daily flights between Muscat and Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will be launched just one day before the Al Ain service, on May 2.

Kingfisher on International Expansion Trail

Kingfisher Airlines has launched of a number of new services to Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Indian carrier launched new flights from New Delhi to Kathmandu, Bangkok, London Heathrow and Dubai and new service from Mumbai to Dubai and Bangkok, bringing the airline's international network to eight international destinations.

"I am delighted to announce the launch of three new international routes including the launch of Kingfisher Airlines' maiden service between New Delhi and Kathmandu," said Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and CEO of Kingfisher Airlines.

The new routes are part of Kingfisher's extensive international expansion strategy, which began with the launch of New Delhi-Hong Kong on April 7.

Kingfisher's domestic network connects 61 cities in India.

New Kingfisher Services