CONDOR LINK FROM FRANKFURT LANDS IN SEATTLE
German operator Condor Airlines has inaugurated a new link between Frankfurt and Seattle, its fifth destination in the US. The carrier specialises in providing service to predominantly leisure-based markets and currently has flights to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas. It is offering twice weekly rotation to Seattle, a market that has seen strong growth during the first half of this year. The flight is operated by a Boeing 767-300ER configured in a three class arrangement: 18 seats in Comfort Class, 35 seats in Premium Economy and 217 in economy. “This new airline service will generate local jobs, provide more choices for travelers from Seattle to Europe, and provides capacity for air cargo between Seattle and Europe,” said Mike Ehl, Director of Operations, Seattle Tacoma International Airport. “We welcome Condor Airlines as part of our growth in international traffic.” Fellow German carrier Lufthansa already provides a daily Airbus A330-300 service on the route, carrying a 59 per cent share of the 82,000 estimated O&D passengers in the past year, holding a relatively strong yield on the route.
NORWEGIAN CONFIRMS ROUTE ADDITIONS
Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian is to further expand its European network with new routes between Copenhagen and Trondheim and between Oslo and Manchester. The new flights will commence from October 30 at the start of the Northern Winter schedule. Norwegian will offer five flights a week from the Danish capital Copenhagen to the Central Norwegian city of Trondheim, the third most populous area in the country and located on the south shore of the Trondheimsfjord at the mouth of the River Nidelva. The route is already served with high frequency flights of regional carrier and SAS Scandinavian Airlines affiliate Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS. The Norwegian airline offers up to 25 flights per week on route travelled by around 93,000 O&D passengers in the past year, up 5.0 per cent on the previous 12 months. On the route between the Norwegian capital Oslo and the UK city of Manchester, the low-cost carrier will offer a three times weekly schedule. It will go head-to-head with SAS on the route; the latter offering five flights per week with a mix of Classic and Next-Generation Boeing 737 models. An estimated 45,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year and their remains a lot of slippage with 39 per cent of travellers flying on indirect services during the period.
FINNAIR TO MAKE FREQUENCY CUTS TO ASIAN NETWORK
Finnair is to slightly reduce its capacity on flights into Asia this winter compared to the 2010/2011 season. According to its preliminary GDS schedule, the Nordic carrier will operate one less flight per week between Helsinki and Delhi, Osaka and Seoul Incheon, while smaller A330-300s will replace A340-300s on two rotations per week to Beijing. From October 30, the Delhi route will now be served six times weekly, while Osaka and Seoul Incheon will have five flights per week. Finnair has a hub-and-spoke system at Helsinki to feed traffic onto its Asian flights. According to statistics only a quarter of its passengers from Asia begin or end their journeys in the Finnish capital, the main markets outside of the country being Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Manchester and Paris CDG.
JET2.COM ADDS TO BARCELONA LINKS FROM MANCHESTER
UK low-fare airline Jet2.com is to introduce a fifth weekly flight on the Manchester – Barcelona route during summer 2012 following strong ticket sales on the route. The carrier will also offer a link from the North West UK airport to Reus, situated just south of Barcelona on the Costa Daurada and an ideal choice for those seeking a ‘sea and sand’ break but maybe also a day trip to the bright lights of Barcelona. The company is offering its own direct seat only sales as well as package holiday via its sister company Jet2holidays. “Since we launched our 2012 flights to Barcelona, we’ve had strong demand,” explained Ian Doubtfire, Managing Director, Jet2.com. “Meanwhile, our flights to Reus give people even more flexibility, to explore the surrounding area of the Costa Daurada and the popular PortAventura theme park, as well as enabling them to get to their final holiday destination as speedily as possible.” Jet2.com is not the only airline currently offering flights to this region of Spain from Manchester Airport; Monarch Airlines also has a daily service to Barcelona. In the past year an estimated 102,000 O&D passengers travelled between Manchester and Barcelona.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC TO DROP KINGSTON LINK
Virgin Atlantic Airways is to suspend its twice weekly service between London Gatwick and Kingston from the start of the 2012 Northern Summer season but will continue to serve Montego Bay on a twice weekly basis. The UK carrier is no longer offering capacity to Kingston from March 25, 2012, a route that is also flown by British Airways and is expected to be operated by Air Jamaica when it returns to the long-haul market. Around 243,000 O&D passengers travelled between the UK and Jamaica on scheduled flights last year, a market that is much larger when you also incorporate the charter traffic. Virgin Atlantic handled 60.1 per cent of these passengers with its main rival British Airways flying 35.2 per cent. An analysis of this traffic data by destination shows that the London Gatwick – Kingston market is actually more popular than London Gatwick – Montego Bay. An estimated 114,000 O&D passengers travelled to or from Kingston with slightly less, 112,000, making the journey to or from Montego Bay, although the yield to the latter is slightly stronger.
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