Avianca Prepares for Cuban Launch
Colombian national carrier is making final preparations for the launch of its new Bogota – Havana connection. The airline will inaugurate flights on the route from March 30, 2012, increasing travel options for inbound and outbound tourism between Latin America and the Caribbean. The link will be operated twice weekly using an Airbus A319 with capacity for 120 passengers, 12 in Business Class and 108 in Economy. In the past year an estimated 30,000 O&D passengers travelled between Bogota and Havana on the weekly flights of Copa Airlines and Cubana. This market has seen steady growth over the past five years with traffic increasing by around 76.0 per cent during the period. The O&D demand has risen on a year-on-year basis with numbers up approximately 15.0 per cent in the last 12 months. “With the launch of the Bogota-Havana-Bogota route, Avianca aims to consolidate the connectivity options for the tourist market in Latin America, providing leisure and recreation destination alternatives in the Caribbean,” said Fabio Villegas Ramírez, President, Avianca. “We are delighted to offer our clients this new route to Havana, a destination renowned for its history and natural attractions.” Alongside the point-to-point traffic, the schedule of the new service has been devised to allow passengers from the Caribbean connections to the principal cities in Colombia, as well as the main capitals in the region, including Caracas, Quito, Panama, and Sao Paulo. There is an estimated demand of around 50,000 O&D passengers between Havana and the wider Colombian market
GOL Applies for US Traffic Rights
Brazilian low-cost carrier GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes has made a formal request to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) to operate regular flights between Brazil, Venezuela and the United States. The airline says this proposed expansion is based “on the results of internal feasibility studies”. It is seeking to offer a five times weekly link between São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport and Miami International, via Simon Bolivar International Airport in the Venezuelan capital Caracas. Earlier this month the airline, the largest budget carrier in Latin America, revealed it had opened a consultation with ANAC about the potential to offer up to 14 weekly flights to the US and up to seven to Venezuela. American Airlines and TAM Airlines already provide direct services between São Paulo and Miami; TAM also serves Caracas from the Brazilian city, while American Airlines, LAN Airlines and Santa Barbara Airlines fly between Caracas and Miami. An estimated 510,000 O&D passengers flew between São Paulo Guarulhos and Miami International in 2011, up 29.7 per cent on the previous year. The individual legs of GOL’s proposed new flight also have relatively strong traffic demand. An estimated 85,000 O&D passengers flew between São Paulo Guarulhos and Caracas last year, up 24.3 per cent on the previous year. GOL already offers a daily service on this route and has seen its share of the market grow by around a fifth to 49 per cent. The Caracas – Miami route, currently served more than 40 times weekly, generated around 687,000 O&D passengers in 2011, up 24.2 per cent on 2010. GOL currently offers around 900 daily flights to 63 destinations in Brazil and 13 more in South America and the Caribbean under the GOL and VARIG brands, using a fleet exclusively made up of Next-Generation Boeing 737 variants. It says the proposed international expansion into Venezuela and the US will not result in any changes to its fleet with the services expected to be operated using 737-800 equipment.
Emirates Increases Frequencies to Rome
United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier Emirates Airline has confirmed it will further expand its capacity in Europe during 2012 with the introduction of a third daily rotation between Dubai and Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino) from October 1, 2012. The new service will increase its flights in to Italy to 56 a week and will be operated by a three-class, 237-seat Airbus A330-200 with 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 183 Economy seats. Rome is currently served twice daily by Emirates with both flights operated using Boeing 777 variants. Coupled with the introduction of a triple daily service to Milan commencing from June 1, and a double daily flight to Venice beginning March 25, 2012, the increased weekly frequencies will contribute to a burgeoning trade relationship between Italy and the UAE worth $4.6 billion. “The third daily service to Rome represents another significant initiative that is part of Emirates’ partnership with Italy. Emirates is committed to offering more capacity to travellers in addition to giving customers more choice in seamlessly connecting to points across the Far and Middle East, Indian sub-continent and Africa all while experiencing the most comfortable and entertaining experience in the sky,” said Salem Obaidalla, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation, Emirates Airline. “We will continue to invest in Italy, empowering the local economy and helping it expand its business and tourism presence.” In the past year an estimated 397,000 O&D passengers travelled between Italy and UAE with around 65.0 per cent of this traffic making use of the direct flights of Emirates Airline to/from Milan, Rome and Venice. The O&D demand between Dubai and Rome was estimated at 134,000 passengers in 2011, with 158,000 people travelling between Dubai and Milan and 65,000 between Dubai and Venice.
Etihad Boosts Links to Dammam and Kuwait
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will substantially boost its Middle Eastern operations next month with the addition of new flights to both Kuwait and Dammam. From April 1, 2012 the carrier will increase the frequency of its Abu Dhabi – Kuwait route from 21 to 25 flights per week, and Abu Dhabi - Dammam service from 13 to 16 flights per week, subject to regulatory approval. The additional services will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration, and will increase capacity by approximately 20 per cent across both routes. The timing of the new services will provide greater access for business travellers to explore commercial opportunities in the two cities and passengers travelling between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait will now be able to take advantage of an evening departure. These flights will also enable greater network connectivity with enhanced transfer options at Abu Dhabi International Airport to other destinations in the rest of the Middle East, and across Asia, Europe and North America. “Kuwait and Dammam are important strategic destinations for us due to the established cultural and commercial ties between the UAE and both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways. “The additional flights will open new horizons for commercial activities in both cities and will further strengthen our Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) network. Etihad Airways launched services to Kuwait in July 2006 and an estimated 123,000 O&D passengers travelled between the city and Abu Dhabi in the past year, a route also served by Kuwait Airways on a weekly basis. This is around 9.3 per cent of the total O&D traffic between Kuwait and UAE, a market controlled by flydubai (26.2 per cent), Kuwait Airways (17.5 per cent), Jazeera Airways (17.2 per cent) and Emirates Airline (17.0 per cent). Dammam is one of three destinations that Etihad Airways serves in Saudi Arabia. It launched flights to the city in December 2004 and currently operates the route in partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines. In the past year an estimated 18,000 O&D passengers travelled between Abu Dhabi and Dammam, up 18.4 per cent on the previous year.
South African Airways Expands to Cotonou
South African Airways (SAA) is to further extend its network in the Continent with the introduction of flights to Cotonou, the capital of the West African republic of Benin. The airline will introduce a twice weekly connection to the city from May 17, 2012 as an extension of its Johannesburg – Pointe Noire service, a route it inaugurated on January 26 this year. The Cotonou route will be served using an Airbus A319 and SAA has secured traffic rights to the Point Noire – Cotonou sector to support the O&D demand to and from South Africa. Cotonou is the economic capital of Benin and the country’s largest city and houses several of its government and diplomatic services. “Adding even more new routes to our African route network demonstrates our commitment to growth on the continent. Our aim remains to continue exploring possibilities for our customers who travel between countries on the continent for business or tourism,” said Theunis Potgieter, General Manager Commercial, South African Airways. Cotonou will be the fifth new destination on the continent that the airline has introduced since October last year: Ndola (Zambia), Kigali (Rwanda), Bujumbura (Burundi) and Pointe Noire (Congo) were the other recent additions to its route network in Africa. There are currently no direct links between Johannesburg and Cotonou, although four other airlines provide service between the Benin capital and Point Noire – Air Mali, Inter Air, Trans Air Benin and Trans Air Congo. Around 2,000 O&D passengers are estimated to have flown between South Africa and Benin last year paying average fares of more than $750 each way. Meanwhile, the O&D demand between Point Noire and Cotonou is estimated to be around 2,800 passengers per year.
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