The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
June 7
Jetstar will launch flights between Brisbane and Thailand’s capital Bangkok from Dec. 13, marking the LCC’s 20th route from the Australian airport. Flights to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport will operate three times per week using Boeing 787 aircraft. The route will be the only nonstop service between Brisbane and Bangkok and is expected to carry more than 100,000 passengers per year. The service is being supported by the Queensland government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund and Brisbane Airport. “Compared to pre-COVID figures, we have recently seen record numbers of visitors from Thailand to Queensland, so it was vital for us to open up a direct route to Bangkok,” Queensland government Tourism Minister Michael Healy says. He adds that air freight from Brisbane to Thailand hit a record A$46.5 million ($31 million) last year. Meanwhile, Jetstar Asia has inaugurated flights linking Singapore Changi Airport and Krabi, Thailand. The carrier will provide six return flights per week using Airbus A320 aircraft.
Emirates will launch flights to Madagascar from Sept. 3, connecting Dubai International Airport and Antananarivo’s Ivato International Airport. The route will four times per week via a linked service with the Seychelles. “Madagascar has historically been underserved, despite growing appetite from travelers for authentic ecotourism experiences,” says Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer.
Hong Kong Airlines is adding a new daily route to Da Nang, Vietnam. The first flights from Hong Kong International Airport will take off on June 19. “The introduction of the new Da Nang route not only expands the company's overall network coverage in the Southeast Asia region, but also reinforces its support for the Belt and Road Initiative,” a statement from the carrier says.
Canada’s Porter Airlines has launched a daily Ottawa-St John's service using Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. The airline is the only operator of the route. “St John's is an underserved market in eastern Canada,” Porter Airlines President Kevin Jackson says. “This route also complements our growing presence in Ottawa, where we expect to see more than two million passengers traveling on Porter through the capital in 2024.”
June 6
Cathay Pacific has outlined plans to return to the Saudi Arabian market after an absence of more than seven years. Flights connecting Hong Kong and Riyadh will start on Oct. 28, operating three times per week using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, the carrier last served the route until March 2017. “With direct flights between Hong Kong and Riyadh with Cathay Pacific, air connectivity to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will further strengthen from our key source markets to grow inbound tourism,” says Majid Khan, Saudi Air Connectivity Program CEO.
AirAsia Indonesia is adding a new route to its network, offering its first-ever flights to Cairns, Australia. Service between Bali-Denpasar and Cairns in north Queensland will begin on Aug. 14, operating three times per week. “In 2023, Indonesia welcomed approximately 1.37 million Australian tourists, showcasing the strong interest of Australian travelers in Indonesia and the appeal of Bali as their primary destination,” says Vedi Kurnia Buana, Indonesian consul general in Sydney. “With this new route, we are confident that the relationship between Indonesia and Australia will be strengthened, and it will also provide opportunities for tourists from Cairns to explore other destinations beyond Bali.”
AirAsia Malaysia will introduce a new route from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, to Manado, Indonesia, starting Sept. 1, with flights three times per week. Thai AirAsia is adding flights from Bangkok Don Mueang to Tiruchirappalli, India, which will also operate three times weekly starting Sept. 21.
Lufthansa has opened a new U.S. service connecting Frankfurt and Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Flights will operate 5X-weekly using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. “The launch of this route serves as a main bedrock of our summer expansion plan in the U.S., the most important market outside of the group's home markets,” says Dirk Janzen, vice president of passenger sales for the Americas at Lufthansa. Lufthansa is also launching a new route to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, on June 6.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has granted authorization to allow unilateral codesharing arrangements between Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand on trans-Tasman routes. The final approval follows a draft determination to grant authorization issued in May. Virgin Australia can now place its airline code on trans-Tasman routes operated by Air New Zealand, which are sold in Australia and originate in Australia. The codeshare rights are provided on the condition that Air New Zealand specifies the fares that Virgin Australia may market and resupply those itineraries. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia is this week launching two routes to Uluru. Flights from Melbourne started on June 6, operating up to four times per week. A second service from Brisbane starts on June 7, with three roundtrips per week.
Frontier Airlines has opened a new crew base at San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), Puerto Rico. The base is expected to employ up to 90 pilots and 200 flight attendants within its first year of operation. The opening coincides with the launch of 11 new routes from SJU this month, plus routes to Barbados and Trinidad starting in July. With these routes, Frontier will serve a total of 28 destinations from San Juan.
The first phase of a joint venture between Canadian carriers Air Transat and Porter Airlines has commenced. Passengers will be able to use each partner's distribution channels to book nonstop and connecting services with either Air Transat or Porter. Air Transat will offer a range of destinations operated by Porter from St Johns to Victoria, and select U.S. destinations including Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Tampa and Washington. Porter will offer nonstop services operated by Air Transat from Toronto Pearson, Montréal and Québec City to Europe, as well as connecting services to Europe from anywhere in Canada.
Emirates has started its first passenger flights to the Colombian capital of Bogotá, expanding the airline’s South American network to four destinations and reaching 19 points across the Americas. The airline will operate the daily route from Dubai via Miami using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
June 5
Norwegian will increase connectivity between Stockholm Arlanda Airport and the northern part of Norway by launching a new route to Tromsø. Starting on Oct. 31, the LCC will operate the route twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. Tromsø is the largest city in northern Norway and is located 350 km (215 mi.) north of the Arctic Circle.
Turkish Airlines and new Maltese flag-carrier KM Malta Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement. KM Malta Airlines will place its marketing code on Turkish Airlines flights between Istanbul and Malta, and vice versa. “Not only does this partnership enable Maltese travelers to benefit from the wide network of Turkish Airlines on a global scale, but also promotes more visitors from Malta to visit our unique country,” Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi says.
WestJet plans to expand Edmonton capacity 20% year-on-year in winter 2024-25. Edmonton will have access to 16 nonstop destinations in Canada, nine transborder routes, including Hawaii, and five services to Mexico. The winter schedule will see new routes to Ottawa and Montréal, operating 11X-weekly and 5X-weekly, respectively, and a daily service to Atlanta. Canadian cities including Abbotsford, Winnipeg and Vancouver will also receive added frequencies compared with winter 2023-34.
Vietnamese LCC VietJet has commenced flights between Hanoi and Melbourne, Australia. Service will be 2X-weekly using Airbus A330 aircraft. “At Melbourne Airport, Vietnam sits in our top 10 export market with almost 3 million [metric tons] of local products being loaded onto aircraft during the last 12 months,” Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos says. "VietJet's Hanoi service will complement its current five-times-a-week service to Ho Chi Minh City and will give Victorians new connections into countries like India as well as other Asian destinations.”
UK-based carrier easyJet has added an 18th aircraft to its base at Bristol Airport, England. The airline plans to offer 4.7 million seats to and from the airport during the summer 2024 season, including launching a new 2X-weekly service to Tivat in Montenegro from June 24. The route follows the start of a new service to Skiathos, Greece, on May 1.
June 4
GOL Linhas Aéreas is launching a new route to Aruba. Flights from São Paulo-Guarulhos will commence on Dec. 18, operating three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. “GOL currently serves 12 international destinations throughout the Americas and is increasing its presence outside the country,” says Mateus Pongeluppi, GOL vice president of strategy. “Aruba will be an exclusive destination, operated with nonstop flights from Brazil solely by GOL.”
Etihad Airways and Royal Air Maroc have signed a memorandum of understanding that could lead to an expanded codeshare partnership. Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves says the agreement covers a wide range of activities, including the potential to codeshare on more domestic routes in Morocco and Africa in general, further cooperating on loyalty programs and enhancing ground handling, maintenance and engineering cooperation.
Qatar Airways has opened up a new gateway in Africa, operating flights to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The airline will serve Kinshasa four times per week. Flights will operate from Doha to Kinshasa twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays, with a stop in Luanda, Angola, on the return leg. A 2X-weekly Doha-Luanda-Kinshasa-Doha service will also be available on Thursdays and Fridays. Additionally, Qatar Airways has started flights to Tashkent International Airport, Uzbekistan. Service will be four times per week.
Delta Air Lines will resume flights between New York John F. Kennedy and Tel Aviv on June 7. The route, which has been suspended since October 2023 due to the Israel-Hamas war, will operate daily using Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. The airline said the dicision to restart service “follows an extensive security risk assessment.” A statement added, “Delta continues to closely monitor the situation in Israel in conjunction with government and private-sector partners.”
Air Canada is to increase Montréal-New Delhi flying to daily as part of an expansion of service to India. The increase will take effect from Nov. 2. Additionally, the airline will launch a seasonal daily Calgary-London Heathrow-New Delhi service using Boeing 787s from Oct. 27. The New Delhi leg will be offered until March 29, 2025. “India is an important market for Air Canada, reflecting longstanding and growing family and trade ties between our two countries,” says Mark Galardo, Air Canada executive vice president of revenue and network planning.
June 3
Japan Airlines (JAL) and IndiGo have signed a codeshare agreement designed to boost connectivity between Japan and India. Under the partnership, JAL will commence codeshares on India domestic routes which connect to JAL-operated flights from/to New Delhi and Bengaluru. Currently, JAL operates daily services between Tokyo Haneda and New Delhi, and 3X-weekly services between Tokyo Narita and Bengaluru. “Japan has been increasing in popularity among Indian travelers, as both countries are working to strengthen bilateral relationships and ease the visa norms,” says Abhijit DasGupta, IndiGo’s senior vice president for network planning and revenue management.
UK-based easyJet is launching a new year-round route between Liverpool, England, and Malta. Flights will take off for the first time on Dec. 10 and operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Sundays. The new route will be the fourth the LCC has added to its Liverpool Airport (LPL) network in the past 12 months, following the introduction of Enfida in Tunisia, Hurghada in Egypt and the Greek island of Corfu. “With just 9% of all flights to Malta from the northwest [of England] currently served from Liverpool, this route has significant opportunity to grow,” LPL Aviation Director Paul Winfield says.
Canadian carrier Flair Airlines has commenced the first nonstop flights between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Guadalajara, Mexico. Flights will be offered up to three times per week. YVR says the route generated C$4 million ($2.9 million) in total economic output for Canada and created 26 jobs. The city of Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Last year, Jalisco welcomed 500,000 Canadian tourists.
Air China has resumed Beijing-London Gatwick service. The airline will operate the route 4X-weekly using Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Frequencies are scheduled to increase to daily from June 18.
Virgin Atlantic has inaugurated a new service from Manchester, England, to Las Vegas. The summer-season route will operate three times per week on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays using Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The flights complement the airline’s existing daily operation to Las Vegas from London Heathrow.
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