Monday's Route Development Briefs

Star Alliance partners Air Canada and Lufthansa are to modify their operational plans between Calgary and Frankfurt. According to draft schedules for the Summer 2012 season, it appears that Lufthansa is ending its five times weekly service from February 5, 2012, while Air Canada is upgrading its own daily route replacing the Boeing 767-300ER that serves the route with an Airbus A330-300 from the same date. The two airlines already codeshare on one another’s flights, while the Austrian Airlines, Continental Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and United Airlines codes already appear on the Air Canada flight.

Asiana Airlines is to boost its flights between Seoul Incheon and Okinawa to a daily schedule from December 3. The carrier already offers five flights per week on the route, but will now add new Monday and Thursday rotations to increase to a daily schedule. The South Korean airline is the sole operator on the route and handled an estimated 67,000 O&D passengers in the past year. The flights will be operated using an Airbus A321.

South African carrier Comair is to introduce flights between Lanseria and George under its franchise partnership with British Airways (BA). The daily link will operate for a period of seven weeks from December 1 until January 18, 2012 and will be operated using an ATR 72 turboprop. Comair also serves Maputo from Lanseria, a route it is now serving ten times weekly, although it has now suspended its flight to Gaborone, a route that was only launched this summer.

Czech Airlines has inaugurated flights between Karlovy Vary and the Russian city of Samara. The national carrier and SkyTeam member is offering a weekly Airbus A319 rotation on the route, supplementing its existing links to Moscow and St Petersburg from the spa city in western Bohemia, approximately 80 miles west of the capital Prague. Czech Airlines currently offers three flights per week on the Moscow route and a single weekly rotation to St Petersburg.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) start-up Eastern Express is expected to reveal its operational plans during the forthcoming Dubai Air Show, according to media reports. The airline is a joint venture between Al Hajjar Aviation and Abulhoul Aviation and is expected to initially offer double daily domestic links to Abu Dhabi before expanding into other GCC markets.

Jetstar Pacific, the Vietnamese-based operation of budget carrier Jetstar Airways, has announced the closure of two domestic routes for the Northern Winter. The airline will suspend flights on the Hanoi – Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City – Hue routes from November 15 due, apparently, to aircraft availability issues. The airline’s fleet is undergoing routine maintenance through the winter and cuts have had to be made to support its wider nertwork. Both routes are expected to resume in summer 2012.

Korean Air is to boost its summer schedule on the Seoul Incheon – Paris CDG route with the introduction of two additional rotations every week. The carrier plans to increase weekly frequencies from seven to nine from March 25, 2012 and could add further seasonal flights as last year it offered ten weekly services for a limited period between July and September. Korean Air will use a Boeing 777-200ER on the current daily service and a Boeing 747-400 on the two additional flights, which will operate on Mondays and Saturdays.

Russian carrier Vladivostok Air is to transfer its flights into the capital Moscow from Vnukovo to Sheremetyevo Airport from February 1, 2012. This is part of the airline’s integration into the Aeroflot Group and the wider consolidation of the airline market in the country. The airline currently serves Moscow from three destinations with a six times weekly service from Vladivostok, a five times weekly