AIR ARABIA TO OFFER FLIGHTS TO YANBU
United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier Air Arabia is to further expand its network coverage in Saudi Arabia with a new three times weekly connection to the western city of Yanbu; its sixth destination in the country. The flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from November 1. Yanbu, or Yanbu' al Bahr to give it is full name, is a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 350 kilometers north of Jeddah and has a population of around 200,000, a large number of which are foreign expatriates, mostly from Asia, but also from the Middle East and Europe. The Saudi city is currently linked domestically to Jeddah and Riydah; flydubai offers a three times weekly service to Dubai, while Almasria Universal Airlines offers a daily schedule to Cairo. An estimated 1.78 million O&D passengers travelled between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the past year, up 39.0 per cent on the previous 12 month period. Air Arabia currently accounts for a 9.8 per cent share of this traffic, up from 9.5 per cent in the previous period. "In July this year, Air Arabia started its flights to the City of Gassim in Saudi Arabia and today, we are extremely pleased to introduce our new service between Sharjah and Yanbu, which marks the sixth destination in Saudi Arabia reachable via Air Arabia," AK Nizar, Head of Commercial Department, Air Arabia, confirmed in a statement.
AEROFLOT TO INTRODUCE SECOND UZBEKISTAN ROUTE
Aeroflot Russian Airlines is set to introduce a second link into the CIS Republic of Uzbekistan, adding to its existing flights to the capital Tashkent. For the first time as a ‘Russian’ carrier, Aeroflot plans to offer regular flights Samarkand, one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world made famous for its central position on the famous Silk Road between China and the West. It plans to introduce a six times weekly service from its Moscow Sheremetyevo hub from November using Airbus A320 equipment. Samarkand is the second largest city in Uzbekistan and is already linked to four cities in Russia, including the capital Moscow, with flights to Moscow Domodedovo offered by Uzbekistan Airways and Russian carriers Moscovkia Airlines and Vim Airlines. Uzbekistan Airways also flies to Kazan and St Petersburg, the latter destination also served by Rossiya Airlines, while Ural Airlines flies from Samarkand to Ekaterinburg. An estimated 1.3 million O&D passengers travelled between Russia and Uzbekistan in the past year with around 100,000 making the journey between Moscow and Samarkand. Uzbekistan Airways currently dominates this market with a 59 per cent share of the total traffic, although Aeroflot Russian Airlines would expect to secure a significant share of this demand, as well as stimulating the market through its wider domestic and international network from the Russian capital, when it launches its planned flights in November.
VIKING HELLAS BOOSTS IRAQI OFFERING
Greek carrier Viking Hellas Airlines is to increase its flight offering between Western Europe and Iraq with new links from Frankfurt and Hamburg to the city of Erbil, via its Athens base. The airline’s revised schedule from October 22 includes the two German cities, its first destinations in the country, alongside its existing connecting flights from Manchester. Viking Hellas will also offer weekly or twice weekly schedules to Erbil from Amsterdam and Stockholm; to Sulaimanyiah from Stockholm; and to Baghdad from Malmo and Stockholm. It will also offer a fortnightly service to Erbil from Gothenburg and Malmo. An estimated 39,000 O&D passengers travelled between Germany and Iraq in the past year with the largest traffic flows from Munich, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Lufthansa already offers regular flights between Frankfurt and Erbil with a four times weekly service, while airberlin currently has a weekly link to the Iraqi city from Dusseldorf.
VLADIVOSTOK AIR TO FLY TO HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE
Vladivostok Air is to open new links to South East Asia from Russia’s Far East. Following a number of exploratory meetings with representatives of tour operators across the region, the airline has confirmed its intention to introduce a range of new flights into Asia, initially launching a link from Vladivostok to Singapore, via Hong Kong. The route will be operated by an Airbus A320 on a twice weekly basis from September 23. There are currently no links from Vladivostok to the two destinations, although a reported 1,300 and 1,400 O&D passengers travelled between the city and Hong Kong and Singapore respectively in the past year, the majority flying with Korean Air via Seoul Incheon. Further expansion from Vladivostok Air this winter will see the introduction of direct flights from Vladivostok to Denpasar and Ho Chi Minh City, the later destinations replacing the airline’s current flights to Cam Ranh Bay, which cannot be served using its widebodied A330 equipment due to airport restrictions. According to Vladivostok Air the new offering will “give a larger flow of tourists from Russia” and will improve access to many of the southern Vietnamese resorts. Away from Vladivostok, the airline will offer flights from Khabarovsk to Bangkok, Cam Ranh Bay and Denpasar and will restore links to the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent. It is also planning to offer direct flights from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Anchorage “from the middle of next summer till the second decade (sic) of September 2012,” according to a statement.
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