Long-haul routes being launched by Delta Air Lines, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Air France are among the more eye-catching services being launched in December 2024.
Atlanta-based Delta plans to launch its first-ever flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia, on Dec. 4, operating three times per week on a seasonal basis. The SkyTeam alliance member will deploy an Airbus A350-900 on the new 7,163-mi. (6,225-nm) route through March 28, 2025.
Brisbane will become Delta’s second destination in Australia, joining its daily service between Los Angeles and Sydney. The move comes as Delta seeks to further develop its hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where it unveiled the final major phase of the $2.3 billion Sky Way project in August 2023.
The Queensland government expects the Brisbane service to offer more than 271,000 inbound seats over three years, boosting the economy by about A$208 million ($182 million). The U.S. was Queensland’s third largest market for visitation in 2019, with 236,000 visitors for the year.
December will also see Japan’s ANA launch the first of three new European routes starting during the current northern winter 2024-25 season, with the addition of flights from Tokyo Haneda International Airport to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP). The route begins on Dec. 3, operating 3X-weekly using Boeing 787-9 aircraft, and comes ahead of new services to Stockholm from Jan. 31, and Istanbul on Feb. 12.
ANA previously served Milan until the late 1990s, while Alitalia, the predecessor to Italy’s ITA Airways, operated MXP-Tokyo Narita daily until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. However, the cities have remained unserved since flights were suspended.
Air France is also adding Europe-Asia service this month, returning to the Philippines’ capital Manila after more than two decades away. Beginning Dec. 7, the airline will link Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport with its Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport hub three times per week. Service will be offered using A350-900 aircraft.
Air France last operated flights to the Philippines with its own metal in 2004 before ceasing the service following its merger with KLM. Since then, the carrier has maintained a presence in the country through a codeshare agreement on KLM’s flights from Amsterdam to Manila.
Sabre Market Intelligence data shows that Manila-London was the largest Philippines-Europe O&D city pair during 2023, attracting 291,000 two-way passengers. Manila-Amsterdam was second with 125,000, followed by Manila-Paris in third with 116,000.
Other new routes starting in December include the expansion of Royal Air Maroc’s North American footprint with the launch of a new direct route between Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport and Toronto, starting Dec. 8.
The new route to Toronto Pearson International Airport will operate three times per week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using 787-8 aircraft. This marks the airline’s second direct service to Canada, complementing its existing Casablanca-Montreal service.
Turkish Airlines is also expanding in the Americas region with the addition of flights to Chile. Commencing Dec. 18, the airline will operate four flights per week connecting its Istanbul Airport hub and Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport using A350-900 aircraft. The route will operate with a stopover in São Paulo in both directions.
Elsewhere, Fiji Airways is boosting its North American network with the launch of the first-ever nonstop flights between Nadi and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, while China’s Hainan Airlines on Dec. 1 started a second route to Vienna, flying 3X-weekly from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.
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