LATAM Airlines is resurrecting the former LAN Peru link between Cartagena and Lima from January 2017, initially operating with four weekly frequencies using Airbus A320 equipment. This marks a significant growth in capacity versus when it was flown under the LAN Airlines guise between April 2009 and June 2011 when there were just two weekly rotations using a smaller A319 airliner.
Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico has been attending Routes events for more than ten years and places a big emphasis on the role of relationships within the route development process including utilising the ‘city pair’ meeting offering with great success.
Following the recent debate at World Routes in Chicago this year regarding critical issues in air transport, we have decided to revisit the subject, and ask the community - What do you think is the most pressing issue in the aviation industry today.
LOT has been in financial difficulties for several years, reporting significant losses and negative equity, but in 2013 it recorded for the first time in five years a net profit of PLN 26 million, instead of almost PLN 200 million loss envisaged in the Restructuring Plan presented to the European Commission. This was its first annual net profit since 2007.
Swiss regional carrier SkyWork Airlines will move its twice weekday link between its Berne base and London from City Airport to Southend Airport from the start of the winter 2014/2015 schedules at the end of October, although it believes the switch will not impact its strategy to provide an efficient offering to the business traveller.
Bahrain, which is located in the Arabian Gulf, has a history of aviation that dates back to the early 1920's. Historically it has acted as a gateway between the East and West providing a natural transit destination for early trade routes and a strategic hub for the Northern Gulf.
The HUB spoke to MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu during this year’s World Routes in Chicago to learn more about next year’s World Routes when he described the event as the aviation equivalent of the Football World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa in 2010. In terms of hosting the event, he added: “Durban is ready, KwaZulu-Natal is ready and Africa is ready.”
The UK airport is growing quickly and the recent extension of its Runway has opened up additional long-haul opportunities for the airport. We spent a little time with Paul Kehoe during the recent World Routes in Chicago to learn more about the latest developments at Birmingham Airport and learnt that this year’s forum will probably prove to be its “best Routes ever”.
The carrier’s entry into Tanzania is no real surprise as the country is a regional hub for tourism in East Africa and in 2013 the country welcomed over one million tourists. According to the Tanzania Tourism Board (TTB), this figure looks set with to double with two million tourists forecast by 2017.
At this year’s World Routes, the South American country of Ecuador was a great example of how airlines, airports and tourism authorities are working together to strengthen their exposure and promotion in international markets.
A number of hosted stands within the networking village offered delegates the opportunity to win prizes during their time at World Routes. Here is a selection of some of the winners with their prizes.
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) has invested in new technology to partly automate the arrivals process into the city’s two airports and reduce processing time for arriving international passengers. The airports are already reaping the rewards of the $2.2 million investment, the first of its kind in the USA.
This year has seen the resurgence of Athens as an established international destination which has been measured in the significant increase in capacity being offered by airlines, particularly outside of Europe with the US, Middle East, and Asian markets recording the strongest development.
In the last 18 months, O'Hare and Midway International Airports welcomed six new international airlines and added dozens of new destinations and Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino is confident talks during World Routes will result in more arrivals into the Chicago aviation network.
Dr Charles E Schlumberger, Lead Air Transport Specialist at the World Bank and moderator of the “sustainability in aviation” panel during the Strategy Summit, didn’t mince his word, writes Oliver Aust for The HUB.
Sir Tim Clark, president, Emirates Airline spoke with us at the World Routes Strategy Summit during a candid fireside chat discussing all things aviation and Emirates.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to double pre-clearance capacity at Airports over the next decade, CBP acting deputy commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, revealed at the start of the second day of the Strategy Summit at the 20th World Routes Development Forum in Chicago yesterday, writes Jutin Burns for The HUB.
Transaero Airlines is set to launch a new route between Moscow and Prague next summer if it can secure the traffic rights next month. The Russian carrier revealed the news at the 20th World Route Development Forum in Chicago yesterday, writes Justin Birns for The HUB.
As a record-breaking World Routes event in Chicago enters its last day, this lunchtime the Chicago Department of Aviation and Choose Chicago will officially hand the event over next year's host, the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Brussels Airport were announced as the overall winner of the World Routes Awards 2014 which were formally announced this evening during the spectacular Chicago Networking Evening which took place at the Field Museum of Natural History.
Travellers departing from a handful of select Canadian airports, including John C. Munro International Airport (YHM) in Hamilton, Ontario and Greater Moncton International Airport (YQM) in Atlantic Canada, can enjoy expanded warm-weather travel options this winter, thanks to popular all-inclusive Caribbean cruise packages operated by Celebrity Cruises out of Port Miami.
Which destinations are experiencing a shift in traveller demand and where will new industry capacity be needed in the future were the topics of discussion in the second session of yesterday’s World Routes Tourism Summit, writes Jonny Williamson for The HUB.
