Monday's Route Development Briefs

October 17, 2011

Etihad Airways Signs Codeshare with TAP Portugal

United Arab Emirates (UAE) national airline Etihad Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with TAP Portugal, its 34th such arrangement with international partners. The new partnership has come into immediate effect and will see Etihad’s ‘EY’ code appearing on TAP’s flights from Lisbon to Brussels, Düsseldorf, Faro, Frankfurt, Funchal, Geneva, London, Milan, and Porto as well as on links from Porto to Brussels and Geneva. TAP will place its ‘TP’ code on Etihad’s links from Abu Dhabi to Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, and Milan under the agreement.

Fly540 Increases Flights into South Sudan

Kenyan low-cost operator Fly540 has increased the frequency of its flights between Nairobi and Juba, the capital and largest city of the Republic of South Sudan. From October 15 it has more than doubled its capacity on the route with the introduction of a further six flights, increasing its weekly offering to eleven rotations. The route is now being served by a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 with twice daily flights Monday to Thursday, and daily services between Friday and Sunday. Fly540 now serves 18 destinations within Kenya following the introduction of a Nairobi Wilson – Ukunda route in August, as well as providing international services to Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Juba, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Mwanza, Serengeti and Zanzibar.

Porter Airlines Adds Timmins Vermont and Mont Tremblant Links

Canadian regional carrier Porter Airlines is to introduce links to Timmins and Burlington, Vermont this winter from its base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, as it enhances its winter activities. The new three times daily route to Timmins will commence on January 16, 2012 and continues Porter’s successful Northern Ontario expansion, which has included Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie services. The seasonal link to Burlington, Vermont will operate twice weekly between December 15 and April 8, 2012 and supports a growing ski demand. Porter already offers flights to destinations such as Mont Tremblant and Quebec City and is launching its ski season one week earlier than last year. “Our Mont Tremblant route is one of our most popular,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “Canadians know that winter isn’t a time to hibernate, it’s a time to take advantage of the many outdoor attractions that are available at this time of year.” This winter Porter will also offer its first non-stop route from New York to Mont Tremblant, with weekly roundtrip flights from Newark International Airport available from December 22 until April 12, 2012.

Delta and US Airways Receive Green Light for Slot Swap

Delta Air Lines and US Airways said in a joint statement last week that they “welcome the decision” by the Department of Transportation to approve their proposed slot transaction at New York LaGuardia and Washington Reagan National airports, subject to certain conditions. The DOT's final order represents a clear recognition by the Obama Administration that the slot transaction is in the public interest and will provide service benefits at both New York and Washington DC. Under the new agreement, Delta will acquire 132 slot pairs at LaGuardia from US Airways and US Airways will acquire from Delta 42 slot pairs at Reagan National, as well as the rights to operate additional daily service to Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2015. Delta also will pay US Airways $66.5 million in cash. In addition, the airlines will divest 16 slot pairs at LaGuardia and eight slot pairs at Reagan National to airlines with limited or no service at those airports.

Abu Dhabi Airport Reports ‘Aggressive Growth’

Abu Dhabi International Airport has again posted a double-digit year-on-year passenger increase for the month of September as its aggressive growth continues. The latest statistics from airport operator Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) show a 17.1 per cent increase in September 2011 with a total of 1,086,348 passengers being handled during the calendar month. ADAC accounted the growth to the long Eid holiday, the return to school for children, Omra and the arrival of new operators. During the month O&D traffic increased 16.6 per cent and transfer traffic 17.7 per cent; the latter now accounting for 45 per cent of the airport’s traffic, reflecting the business model of its largest customer Etihad Airways and the ongoing development of Abu Dhabi Airport as a global hub. India remains the main driver of the O&D market with 77,303 passengers in September. It is also one of the fastest growing markets with traffic increasing by 16.7 per cent. Meanwhile, London has become the number one destination from the airport above Doha, Bangkok, Sydney and Cairo. Traffic to all five of these destinations grew by double digits in September, ranging from Sydney (up 40 per cent) to Cairo (up a modest ten per cent).

Filipino Domestic Developments

In the past couple of days Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Airways have expanded their domestic networks in the Philippines. National carrier PAL resumed daily flights between Manila and Legazpi on October 16 having suspended its flights to the Southern Luzon province on September 27 and has increased links between Iloilo and the capital Manila. Meanwhile, following the delivery of additional Airbus short-haul equipment Cebu Pacific inaugurated a daily Zamboanga - Tawi-Tawi and a three times weekly Iloilo – Cagayan de Oro route on October 14. The airline already flies from both Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro to Manila, Cebu and Davao.

Air France’s Cargo Link to Mumbai

Air France will this month inaugurate dedicated freighter services to the Indian city of Mumbai. The airline’s Air France Cargo division will, from October 30, offer a twice weekly link between Paris CDG and Hong Kong with outbound stops in Dubai and Mumbai. The inbound flight is scheduled to operate non-stop from the Asian business capital to Paris. The airline will utilise a Boeing 747-400F on the route.