CONDOR TO OFFER WINTER LINKS TO ANTALYA
German carrier Condor is to add winter flights to the Turkish city of Antalya from Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. The airline will offer four times weekly services in November but will then revert to two flights per week from December through to the end of the 2011/2012 schedule. Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey, is a popular tourist destination for German travellers and around 1.74 million O&D passengers travelled there on scheduled services from Germany in the past year. Condor already dominates the Antalya market from Dusseldorf, a route also served by Pegasus Airlines, SunExpress, TUIfly and Turkish Airlines (THY), with a 43 per cent share of the 295,000 O&D market. From Frankfurt it holds an approximate 46 per cent share of the 348,000 passengers, competing with Sun Express and TUIfly.
ICELANDAIR AND JETBLUE AIRWAYS AGREE INTERLINE PARTNERSHIP
European flag carrier Icelandair and US low-cost operator JetBlue Airways have launched a new interline partnership that will open up new travel opportunities for customers connecting between JetBlue's network in the United States and the Caribbean and Icelandair destinations throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and Continental Europe. Through this partnership, customers will now be able to book a single combined ticket for JetBlue and Icelandair-operated flights with one-stop check-in and baggage transfer between the two airlines. “Icelandair and JetBlue share many of the same philosophies and place the customer's experience in the highest regard,” said Helgi Mar Bjorgvinsson, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Icelandair. “Our harmonious networks from New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. and like-minded customer service make this a natural partnership.” Icelandair is in the process of ramping up its activities in the US and will expand service from Boston and New York/JFK to Keflavik with twice-daily flights on June 1 and will launch non-stop services from Washington/Dulles to Keflavik on May 17.
MONARCH AIRLINES LANDS IN BODRUM
UK carrier Monarch Airlines has inaugurated flights between Manchester and the popular Turkish resort city of Bodrum as it expands its presence in the Turkish and Greek markets this summer. The twice weekly schedule was introduced on May 2 and will be joined by twice weekly services from Birmingham and London Gatwick on May 23. At the same time the airline will introduce a three times weekly route between London Luton and Corfu. "We've listened to the feedback we've received from our customers and we're expanding as a result,” said Kevin George, Managing Director, Monarch Airlines. “Turkey and Greece are increasingly becoming the sunshine destinations of choice for discerning travellers and we're extremely happy to be able to extend our service to these destinations." An estimated 1.56 million O&D passengers travel between the UK and Turkey every year, with charter traffic adding to this figure. There are currently on a limited number of scheduled links to Bodrum. Monarch already has flights from London Luton, easyJet has seasonal services from Bristol, London Gatwick and Liverpool, while Jet2 has a connection from Manchester. These are all operated at frequencies of less than three flights per week. An estimated 103,301 O&D passengers travelled there from the UK in the past year, up 58.1 per cent on the previous 12 months, although these figures do not include the activities of Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways which offer links from 15 UK airports.
WIZZ AIR UKRAINE ADDS VALENCIA TO ITS NETWORK
Central and Eastern European low-cost carrier Wizz Air is to expand the operations of its Kiev Zhulyany-based division, Wizz Air Ukraine, with a new link to Spain. The twice weekly flight to Valencia Mainises will begin on September 6; and is a destination that it already serves from Bucharest Băneasa, Cluj-Napoca, Sofia and Timişoara in Bulgaria and Romania. The airline will mainly target Ukrainian holidaymakers as well as the expatriate community working or studying outside of the country. According to Sergey Dementiev, Director General, Wizz Air Ukraine the company is in the “final stage of obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals” to begin selling tickets. The airline currently serves ten markets from Kiev’s Zhulyany International Airport having moved its flights across from Borispol, the main gateway to the Ukrainian capital, earlier this year. These comprise Antalya, Cologne, Dortmund, Hamburg Lubeck, Katowice, London Luton, Memingen/Munich West, Oslo Sandefjord Torp, Stockholm Skavsta, Venice Treviso and a domestic route to Simferopol. Although it was only formed in July 2008, Wizz Air Ukraine already accounts for a 4.7 per cent share of the 7.78 million O&D passenger international traffic in and out of Ukraine.
EL AL INTRODUCES ZAGREB LINK
El Al Israel Airlines has inaugurated flights from Tel Aviv to the Croatian capital Zagreb following the closure of its leisure subsidiary Sun d’Or. The latter had provided service on its behalf in this market but El Al has now added its own branded flights. These are initially operating on an ad hoc charter basis until June 15 when a weekly schedule will be introduced. An estimated 26,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year with Sun d’Or accounting for around half of these. Croatia Airlines has also provided direct links between the two destinations, while Austrian Airlines carried a notable 20 per cent of traffic during the past 12 months via its Vienna hub.
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