Despite limited current connectivity to and from Curaçao, the US actually overtook the Netherlands and Venezuela as the largest source/destination market for the country in 2013 with around 265,000 bi-directional passengers; an 18.3 per cent demand share, up from just 9.1 per cent in 2008.
This is the first start-up aid scheme that the European Commission has assessed under its new guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines which came into force on April 4, 2014. The guidelines have simplified the rules on public support granted by Member States for the start-up of new air transport routes.
AZAL plans to launch a twice weekly service between Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport using a 237-seat Airbus A340-500 but will likely deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route; the first of two is due for delivery towards the end of this year.
The first European operator of the new Boeing 787-9, Virgin Atlantic will deploy its aircraft on routes from London Heathrow to Boston from October 28, 2014; Washington from December 17, 2014 and New York from February 28, 2015.
The launch of the route has been supported by aviation consultancy ASM, part of UBM Live, which highlighted the opportunity to serve the Guyana – New York market to the US operator and brokered the deal on behalf of Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
There has been a significant increase in air services between Brazil and the US in recent years as a more relaxed bilateral agreement has been introduced ahead of the expected establishment of full Open Skies between the countries from October 1, 2015. This agreement between the two most populous countries and largest economies in the Americas has been a significant achievement after many years of negotiation.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline’s first Airbus A380 will operate commercially to London Heathrow from December 2014, while its first Boeing 787-9s will debut on routes to Düsseldorf from December this year and then to Washington DC and Mumbai from January 2015.
UK leisure carrier Thomas Cook Airlines is to launch new long-haul links to the United States from London Stansted, Manchester and Glasgow as part of its expanded summer 2015 programme. The long-haul growth will be supported by a major investment in upgrading its Airbus A330 fleet to offer a much higher level of comfort to Transatlantic passengers.
As SAS Scandinavian Airlines celebrates the 50th anniversary of its first scheduled flight to Chicago, host city of this year’s World Routes forum in September 2014, the carrier has revealed it is to boost its flights to the Windy City, while also adding frequencies to other markets in the US.
