The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
May 24
Australia’s Rex Airlines plans to launch a new Boeing 737 service connecting Melbourne Airport (MEL) and Perth Airport (PER), the host destination for Routes Asia 2025. Flights will begin on June 28, operating five times per week. Warrick Lodge, Rex general manager network strategy, says the new service will add close to 90,000 seats to one of the country’s busiest routes. “When more airlines compete on a particular route, consumers benefit and our record in the domestic markets speaks for itself,” Lodge adds. The route will be the airline’s 11th domestic service with 737 aircraft. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that MEL-PER is currently served up to 8X-daily by Qantas, up to 7X-daily by Virgin Australia and 2X-daily by Jetstar.
Lufthansa is adding flights to Rovaniemi in northern Finland for the first time. Service from Frankfurt will start on Nov. 30, operating twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland which is known for being the hometown of Santa Claus and for viewing the Northern Lights, becomes the sixth destination served by the airline in Finland alongside Helsinki, Oulu, Kittilä, Ivalou and Kuusamo. Additionally, Lufthansa plans to extend its summer-season flights between Frankfurt and Chișinău, Moldova, and Munich and Nantes, France, during the winter season.
Tromsø in Norway will become British Airways’ most northernly destination from Dec. 1. The airline is launching a route from London Heathrow Airport that will operate twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays using Airbus A320neo aircraft through March 27, 2025. “We are excited to welcome Tromsø to our route network—it is a growing winter leisure market thanks to its abundance of cold-weather activities,” says Neil Chernoff, British Airways chief planning and strategy officer.
SWISS plans to serve 93 destinations from Zurich and Geneva in winter 2024-25. From Zurich, the airline will extend its new summer Washington Dulles route through the winter season, along with service to London Gatwick; Cluj, Romania; and Kosice, Slovakia. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Shanghai will also increase to daily, while Miami will receive 2X-daily flights. From Geneva, summer season operations to Oslo will be continued, while Copenhagen, Malaga and Valencia will see increased frequencies.
UK leisure carrier Jet2.com has placed its winter sun schedule for 2025-26 on sale. The program, which includes flights from its new base in Bournemouth Airport due to open next spring, includes a “significant expansion” to Morocco in response to strong demand. Jet2 says that flights to 14 winter-sun destinations are on sale, representing 4.2 million seats and a capacity increase of 5% when compared with the forthcoming winter 2024-25.
May 23
United Airlines plans to open nonstop service between Palm Springs International Airport, California, and Washington Dulles International Airport. The seasonal daily route will start on Dec. 19 and operate through April 30, 2025. “This service will be the first connection ever between Washington, DC, and Palm Springs and create unparalleled access to Palm Springs from the East Coast and Europe through one of United's fastest-growing hubs,” says Patrick Quayle, United's senior vice president of global network planning and alliances. United will serve six cities with 14 daily flights from Palm Springs this winter.
JetSmart plans to launch a new route connecting Chile’s capital Santiago and Asuncion, Paraguay, operating via Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newbery Airport. Service will start on May 23 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “The incorporation of this destination to the offer we have in Paraguay is another example of how at JetSmart we work to develop a regional network increasing connectivity to each of the South American countries,” a statement from the airline says.
Two seasonal routes have been opened by Croatia Airlines. Zagreb-Stockholm flights will operate using Airbus A319 aircraft through mid-October, while Zagreb-Berlin service will be 3X-weekly. The carrier also plans to commence a third new route on June 14, connecting Zagreb and Albania’s capital Tirana. Flights will operate twice a week on Fridays and Sundays. “These new flights not only improve Zagreb's accessibility, but also strengthen the city's reputation as an attractive European destination,” says Martina Bienenfeld, director of the Zagreb Tourist Board.
JetBlue Airways has expanded its transatlantic network with the inauguration of a new route between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Edinburgh Airport, Scotland. Flights will operate daily through Sept. 30. “This new service, only the second direct offering from New York’s JFK to Edinburgh, provides much needed competition for customers traveling in and out of New York,” JetBlue President Marty St. George says.
May 22
WestJet has announced plans to launch seven new routes during the northern winter 2024-25 season, expanding its network to destinations in Grenada, Mexico, and the U.S. Four of these new services will connect to points in Mexico. Starting Nov. 9, WestJet will operate weekly flights between Calgary and Tulum, and three-times-weekly flights between Toronto Pearson and Tulum, running through April 27, 2025. Additionally, the airline will offer weekly flights between Winnipeg and Los Cabos from Nov. 9 through April 26, and between Kelowna and Mazatlán from Dec. 13 through April 18. Two weekly routes are being launched to Fort Lauderdale, operating from Vancouver from Nov. 3 through April 20, and Winnipeg from Nov. 18 through April 21. The seventh new route will link Toronto Pearson and Grenada, flying weekly from Nov. 3 until April 27.
Qantas has expanded its codeshare partnership with Indian LCC IndiGo. The move will allow passengers to connect from Qantas flights in Singapore onto IndiGo's services to New Delhi and Mumbai. This adds to the existing codeshare arrangement, which offers customers on Qantas flights in Bengaluru and New Delhi the ability to connect onto IndiGo domestic services to 21 other destinations across India.
Norwegian will add six new routes to its winter 2024-25 schedule, expanding from both Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) and Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT), in Sweden. From ARN, the LCC will begin a weekly service to Hurghada, Egypt, from Oct. 31, followed by a weekly Agadir, Morocco, route on Nov. 1. Operations to Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport will launch on Dec. 13 and be offered twice a week. GOT will see weekly service to Tenerife, Spain, and Hurghada start on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31, respectively, as well as a weekly route to Marrakech, Morocco, from Nov. 2. In total, Norwegian will offer more than 200 routes to 77 destinations during the upcoming winter season. Other new routes include flights from Copenhagen to Agadir, Dubai, Cairo, Hurghada and Lanzarote; from Oslo to Agadir, Dubai and Hurghada; and from Helsinki to Agadir, Hurghada and Marrakech.
U.S. leisure carrier Sun Country Airlines’ winter schedule will include new seasonal routes from Milwaukee to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Montego Bay, Jamaica. Seasonal flights between Milwaukee and Cancun will also resume, the airline has announced. The carrier says its winter schedule will include more than 55 nonstop destinations from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, including increased flying to points in Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Finnair is expanding its winter 2024-25 schedule with additional flights to Rovaniemi in northern Finland, and Tromsø and Trondheim in Norway. The airline will increase its flights to Rovaniemi to up to 63 times per week, 13 more than last winter. Additionally, Finnair will operate flights from Rovaniemi to Tromsø six days per week. These flights, first introduced in December 2023, are tag flights operating as Helsinki-Rovaniemi-Tromsø and Tromsø-Rovaniemi-Helsinki. Finnair also maintains direct year-round flights from Helsinki to Tromsø. Furthermore, the airline will increase flights from Helsinki to Trondheim to 6X-weekly.
May 21
Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have expanded their commercial partnership. The latest agreement means the airlines will offer reciprocal frequent flyer benefits and explore revenue sharing arrangements for flights between Indonesia and Singapore, subject to regulatory approvals. When launched, the frequent flyer partnership will allow GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer members to earn and redeem miles on codeshare flights operated by both airlines. The carriers say the revenue sharing agreement, when implemented, will support joint capacity growth. Garuda Indonesia codeshares on SIA flights between Singapore and the Indonesian cities of Bali, Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya, as well as long-haul routes between Singapore and Johannesburg, London Heathrow and Mumbai. SIA codeshares on Garuda Indonesia flights between Singapore and Bali, Jakarta and Surabaya.
Air Premia has started operating flights between Seoul Incheon and San Francisco, expanding the airline’s network between South Korea and the U.S. This new 4X-weekly route marks the carrier’s fourth connection to the U.S., following routes to Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York. According to the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's aviation information portal, Air Premia carried more than 671,500 passengers last year, with 229,300 on the Los Angeles and New York routes alone. The 5,642-mi. (4,903-nm) Seoul-San Francisco route will be serviced by Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Air Premia will enter into competition with Asiana Airlines, Korean Air and United Airlines on this sector.
British Airways has launched three routes from London Stansted (STN), marking the airline’s return to scheduled service from the airport since before the pandemic. BA CityFlyer will serve Florence, Ibiza and Nice twice a week using Embraer 190 aircraft. “London Stansted serves more European destinations than any other UK airport and these new services to Ibiza, Florence and Nice are strong additions to our route network,” says Ciaran Brannigan, STN commercial director.
Icelandair has launched a nonstop seasonal service between Reykjavik Keflavik and Pittsburgh, marking the airline’s 16th destination in the U.S. “The North American market has been very strong, and in recent years, U.S. citizens have been the largest group of tourists visiting Iceland,” Icelandair CEO Bogi Nils Bogason says. “The Pittsburgh route is off to a good start, with passengers from 25 European destinations booked to Pittsburgh and travelers from Pittsburgh have booked flights to 30 destinations in Europe.” Icelandair will offer four flights a week between until the end of October.
May 20
Canada’s Flair Airlines is launching four services to Orlando International Airport (MCO) during the northern winter 2024-25 season. Flights from Kitchener-Waterloo will begin on Oct. 29, operating up to 3X-weekly; from Toronto Pearson on Dec. 16, operating up to 12X-weekly; from London International on Dec. 20, operating 2X-weekly; and from Saint John on Dec. 22, operating weekly.
Aer Lingus has launched a new U.S. route connecting Dublin and Denver. Flights will operate four times per week using Airbus A330s. “The new service is of huge importance to the Denver region as Aer Lingus is the only European carrier that flies nonstop to Ireland and offers convenient onward connections to the UK and Europe via our hub here at Dublin Airport,” says Aer Lingus CCO Susanne Carberry.
WestJet has inaugurated its first route to South Korea’s capital Seoul. The service from Calgary will operate three times per week using Boeing 787 equipment. The launch coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and South Korea. “Canada and South Korea's decades-long history in mutual support, shared values and bilateral trade initiatives have set the stage for WestJet's service to Seoul, marking a significant milestone in strengthening cultural exchange and economic ties between the two nations,” says John Weatherill, WestJet Group executive vice president and CCO. Service will be offered through Oct. 27.
Emirates has announced plans to expand its operations in Vietnam by adding a second daily flight between Dubai and Ho Chi Minh City starting from Jan. 15, 2025. Originally planned for Feb. 1, this additional flight is strategically timed to meet the surge in demand around the Lunar New Year festival, which falls on Jan. 29. Service will be onboard Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Canadian North and Air Greenland have announced an interline partnership on Air Greenland’s forthcoming weekly Nuuk-Iqaluit service, which will commence on June 26. Flights will be offered using Dash 8 equipment through Oct. 23. Canadian North operates Ottawa-Iqaluit, Montreal-Iqaluit and Kuujjuaq-Iqaluit services. “Our mission is to lift Greenland, and with the opening of the route to Iqaluit, we will greatly contribute to further opening up the country for cooperation with our cousins and neighbours to the west,” says Malik Hegelund Olsen, Air Greenland executive chairman.
Frontier Airlines has opened of a new crew base at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The base is expected to employ 80 pilots and 160 flight attendants within its first year of operation. The opening coincides with the launch of seven new nonstop routes from CVG this month, in addition to daily nonstop service to LaGuardia Airport in New York, which began last month. The new routes are to Boston; Charlotte Douglas; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood; Houston George Bush; Minneapolis-Saint Paul; Pensacola; and Portland, Maine.
Air Canada is boosting its schedule serving Canada's capital, Ottawa, by almost 60%. This will mean up to 30 additional weekly flights during the northern winter 2024-25 season compared to last year. Key changes include extending service to Calgary and Winnipeg to year-round; adding frequencies to Halifax, Quebec and Vancouver; and increasing transborder winter operations to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.
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