Officials at the signing ceremony between China Southern and Air Serbia.
The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
Jan. 14
Air Serbia and China Southern Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement to enhance connectivity between Serbia and China. Air Serbia’s JU code will be added to China Southern’s Belgrade-Guangzhou flights, offering access to 20 destinations across Asia-Pacific, including Sydney, Bangkok, and Singapore. Meanwhile, China Southern has added its code to Air Serbia’s Belgrade-Guangzhou and newly launched Belgrade-Shanghai flights, enabling connections via Belgrade to 21 European cities, such as Berlin, Milan and Zurich. “We will continue to search for opportunities to strengthen and expand our cooperation, with the goal of offering our passengers new travel options and enabling them to reach far-away destinations quicker and easier,” Air Serbia CEO Jiří Marek says.
American Airlines plans to offer a weekly service between New York LaGuardia Airport and Calgary International Airport (YYC), Canada, from June 7. The route will be served through Aug. 30. YYC says the addition brings the total number of routes flown from the airport to 100. “This is a significant benchmark for YYC," says Chris Dinsdale, president and CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority. "We continue to build momentum for Calgary as a destination, and kicking off 2025 with 100 non-stop routes shows the confidence that our partners have in the city and the region's growth potential.” There were 94 nonstop routes from YYC in 2024 and 82 in 2019. Meanwhile, WestJet has also confirmed the addition of a route from YYC to Mexico City. Operations will commence on May 14 with five flights per week.
Australian LCC Jetstar is adding more capacity between Melbourne and Sunshine Coast. The airline plans to use Airbus A321 aircraft on the route between March and June, boosting capacity by 34,000 seats. “An additional 34,000 seats will improve connectivity with more flights and flexibility for thousands of travelers every week,” Sunshine Coast Airport CEO Chris Mills says.
United Airlines has scheduled the launch of a route between Los Angeles International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Flights will start on May 22, operating seasonally through Sept. 24 using Boeing 737-8 aircraft. The carrier is set to face competition on the route from Air Canada, Porter Airlines and WestJet.
Virgin Australia has scheduled the launch of flights between Melbourne and Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH). Service is set to begin on Dec. 1, operating daily using Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Australia’s competition regulator in late November 2024 granted interim authorization for Qatar Airways to wet-lease aircraft to Virgin Australia for long-haul flights as part of a new partnership between the airlines. Virgin Australia will also serve DOH from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, starting in June.
Jan. 13
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed service between Islamabad and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The move comes after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November 2024 lifted a four-year ban on the carrier from flying to the European Union. PIA will serve the route to Paris twice a week using Boeing 777-22ER aircraft. The airline will be the sole operator of nonstop flights between the destinations, OAG Schedules Analyser data shows. Overall O&D traffic between Pakistan and Europe totaled 3 million two-way passengers in 2023, marking a rise of 17% on 2019 levels. Dubai, Doha and Istanbul were the largest one-stop markets.
Finnair is increasing its codeshare cooperation with Oneworld alliance partner American Airlines to 12 Mexican destinations. From Jan. 23, the partnership includes American Airlines’ flights from its Dallas-Fort Worth hub to Guanajuato, Monterrey, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Cancún, Cozumel, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Mérida, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Querétaro and San José del Cabo airports. “The cooperation opens up a comprehensive choice of destinations for our customers to Mexico, which is a popular travel destination from Finland and elsewhere in Northern Europe, especially during the winter,” says Fredrik Wildtgrube, Finnair's senior vice president for alliances and airline partnerships.
ITA Airways has restarted flights to Libya, connecting Rome Fiumicino Airport to Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport (MJI). Service will be twice a week using Airbus A319s. As previously reported, the launch of the route comes despite a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin issued by EASA on Oct. 31, which remains in effect until April 2025. The advisory urges airlines to avoid Libyan airspace. However, exceptions are allowed for flights to coastal airports, like MJI. Pierluigi Di Palma, President of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority, says the launch of the route is the “result of almost two years of political and institutional teamwork.”
UK regional carrier Eastern Airways is adding a second London service from Newquay Cornwall Airport to London Southend Airport, complimenting the London Gatwick Airport service operated since 2021. Flights will start on April 3, operating daily. “Adding London Southend for 2025 as our second London airport connection to Newquay Cornwall follows the success the team in Southend have shown in the increasing strength of the easyJet product,” says Roger Hage, commercial director at Eastern Airways.
Air Serbia has commenced a 2X-weekly Belgrade-Shanghai service. Flights between Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport will use Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The launch comes less than four months after the carrier opened a route to Guangzhou, located in China’s Guangdong province. However, Air Serbia suspended flights to Tianjin in November—almost two years after first introducing the route. “Shanghai is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and an important business and cultural centre,” Air Serbia CEO Jiri Marek says.
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