This week Lufthansa's first A380 landed in Frankfurt amid celebrations; Delta got the go-ahead for Seattle-Beijing services; Afghanistan attracted a new carrier; Ethiopian is set to cash-in on a new Congo service and Iberia has a new Argentinian route.
Lufthansa is Fifth Carrier to Receive A380
Lufthansa has become the fifth carrier to take delivery of an A380 aircraft, which will begin serving Tokyo Narita from Frankfurt on June 11.
The aircraft will replace its B747-400s on the route and will operate the route three times a week (departing Frankfurt on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) with capacity for 526 passengers.
The schedule is expected to become daily once Lufthansa's second A380 is delivered. Three more aircraft will be added to the fleet this year - part of a 15-strong order.
Lufthansa will later expand the A380 service to Beijing and Johannesburg.
The Airbus handover ceremony took place at its Frankfurt Am hub on Wednesday. Watch the highlights here: http://www.a380delivery.com/lufthansa/
Delta's New Seattle-Beijing Service
Delta Air Lines has the seal of approval from the Chinese government to serve Beijing from Seattle, one of two new Asian destinations it will serve this summer.
There will be five non-stop flights a week from June 4 and Delta will compete on the route with Hainan Airlines.
Over 55,000 passengers flew between the city pairs between March 2009 and 2010, with Hainan Airlines carrying 77% of these passengers (IATA BSP data).
Delta also starts a Seattle-Osaka service on June 7. It will serve both Beijing and Osaka with a B767-300ER, with a seat capacity of 216.
Kabul Rolls Out the Red Carpet for flydubai
Flydubai has begun a five-times weekly service from Dubai to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, using a B737-800NG aircraft.
Demand for services between the city pairs looks promising: Afghanistan's Safi Airways also said this week that it will acquire two A320s this summer to serve its existing Dubai-Kabul route daily.
Competition also comes from Ariana Afghan Airlines (six-times weekly) and Kam Air (double daily). Between March 2009 and 2010, over 318,000 O&D passengers flew between the two cities.
Ethiopian Cashes in on the Congo
Ethiopian is to serve Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo from June 16 as part of it's African expansion. The oil producting region is the fourth 'energy centre' in Africa that the carrier has chosen to fly to from Addis Ababa after Luanda, Malabo and Libreville.
According to the airline, Pointe-Noire, which is also a major seaport, is the main provider of oil in central Africa and for the country. Pointe-Noire is a small market with just eight carriers and notably served by Air France from Paris four-times weekly.
Ethiopian will operate the route three times a week using a B767-300, giving passengers access to Ethiopian's 1,000 weekly flights to over 70 destinations from Addis Ababa.
New Argentinian Route for Iberia
Iberia will become the first European carrier to serve Córdoba in Argentina from Madrid, when the three times weekly route starts on October 1.
Spain's flag carrier currently holds a 26% market share of flights between Europe and Argentina and with the new service to Córdoba it expects this share to increase to 30%, Iberia said in a statement.
The carrier expects to carry around 70,000 passengers on the route in its first year.
Pictured above (from left): Manuel L. Aguilar, Iberia's vice president, commercial and customers, and Juan Schiaretti, governor of Cordoba shake on their new partnership.
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