Virgin Atlantic, Vistara, Hainan Airlines and Zipair Tokyo are behind some of the more eye-catching long-haul routes starting in March as the northern summer 2024 season gets underway at the end of the month.

From March 31, Bengaluru will join New Delhi and Mumbai as Virgin Atlantic's third destination in India, as the airline opens a new route from London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Daily operations will be carried out using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Virgin Atlantic, having entered into a codeshare partnership with Indian LCC IndiGo in August 2022, will now compete with British Airways on this route.

Meanwhile, Vistara is enhancing India-Europe connectivity by introducing a Mumbai-Paris Charles de Gaulle route. Starting from March 28, the service will operate five times a week, utilizing 787-9s. Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, expanded its long-haul services from Mumbai in June 2023 with flights to LHR, followed by the commencement of flights to Frankfurt Airport in November.

Other long-haul additions will see Hainan Airlines adding service to Milan Malpensa Airport. The airline launched flights to the Italian city from Shenzhen last November and will now add service from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. Operations start on March 19, operating twice a week onboard 787-9s.

Japan Airlines (JAL) subsidiary Zipair is also starting a 3X-weekly Tokyo Narita-Vancouver service from March 13, becoming the LCC’s ninth international destination and fifth in North America, while JAL will inaugurate its first route to Qatar’s capital Doha on March 31.

Elsewhere, JetSmart is set to launch domestic operations in Colombia on March 14. The move will see the Indigo Partners-backed ULCC commence flights from Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) to Cartagena, Marta, Medellin and Pereira, as well as from Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordova International Airport to Cartagena and Santa Marta. A connection will also be opened between Cartagena and Pereira.

This domestic schedule complements JetSmart’s existing international network from Colombia, which includes flights to Santiago from Bogota, Cali and Medellin; to Lima from Cartagena, Cucuta and Medellin; and to Antofagasta from Cali.

Also in Colombia, Avianca will launch a 4X-weekly service from BOG to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, starting March 31. Airbus A320 aircraft will be deployed on the 2,815-mi. (2,446-nm) sector, providing 1,200 weekly seats between the cities.

Since Avianca entered the Canadian market from Colombia in December 2021 with service to Toronto, the airline has carried about 350,000 passengers on more than 2,800 flights between the two nations.

Other notable new routes starting in March include AirAsia X’s Central Asia expansion with a new route between Kuala Lumpur and Almaty, Kazakhstan; the launch of Etihad Airways’ flights to Boston; and Swiss adding Washington Dulles as its latest U.S. gateway.