AIRBALTIC BOUND FOR BUDAPEST
Latvian flag carrier airBaltic is to establish a direct Riga – Budapest service, the first scheduled link between the two countries. The flight to the Hungarian capital will be operated by its newly-acquired Bombardier Dash 8-Q400s and will operate four-times weekly from May 16. According to IATA BSP data over 7,000 passengers travelled between the two cities in the year ending November 2010, with almost two thirds routing via Prague with Czech Airlines.
CZECH CHARTER CARRIER ENTERS THE SCHEDULED MARKET
Ostrava-based Central Charter Airlines has been renamed Czech Connect Airlines as it prepares to expand into the scheduled market. The carrier, part of the Central Connect Group, which also includes Saab 340 operator Central Connect Airlines, currently operates a fleet of two leased Boeing 737-300s which until now have been used exclusively on charter and ACMI services. The new scheduled flights to destinations in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will be operated under the 'CQ' IATA code.
LUFTHANSA SUBSIDIARY CONTINUES ITS ITALIAN JOB
Lufthansa Italia, the German national carrier's Italian subsidiary, is to introduce summer flights from its Milan Malpensa base to Cagliari, Catania and Palma de Mallorca. The Catania route will be launched on March 27 and will be served on a daily schedule, while flights to Cagliari and Palma will operate four-times per week between July and September. The airline will compete with easyJet to Cagliari and Air One, easyJet, Meridiana and WindJet to Catania, however, it will be the sole operator on the Palma route, according to Flightbase (January 14-20)
JET2.COM EXPANDS ITS RANGE
UK budget carrier Jet2.com is to introduce the Boeing 737-800 at its Manchester base, providing the opportunity for the low-fare carrier to develop its network from the North West UK gateway. The airline currently operates smaller 737-300s and larger 757-200s from there and the Next-Generation model will enable it to right-size capacity on many routes as well as taking advantage of its longer range over its smaller 737-300s. Its first aircraft, leased from VGS Aircraft Holdings, is provisionally scheduled to enter commercial service on the Manchester-Rome route on February 14 with a second following by the end of March.
WINDJET OPENS RIMINI BASE
Italian low-cost carrier WindJet is opening a new base at Rimini this summer and will initially offer services to ten destinations. From the start of the Northern Summer schedules on March 27, the airline will inaugurate flights to Amsterdam, Berlin Tegel, Bucharest, Catania, Copenhagen, Kiev, Moscow Domodedovo, Palermo, Prague and St Petersburg, expanding its network from April 17 to also include Cologne Bonn and from May 27 a connection to Paris CDG. According to Flightbase (January 14-20), Darwin Airline is currently the largest operator at Rimini offering regular Saab 2000 flights to Rome, accounting for half the weekly schedules. However, it is Ryanair that offers the largest number of seats each week from Rimini thanks to the use of higher-capacity 737-800s on three-times weekly flights to London Stansted and twice-weekly services to Frankfurt Hahn.
AER ARANN’S FRENCH CONNECTION
Irish regional carrier Aer Arann is to resume its seasonal flights from its home airports in Galway and Waterford to Lorient in the Brittany region of France. From June 4 until the end of August, the carrier will operate two flights per week from Galway and a single weekend rotation from Waterford. Just under 2,500 passengers travelled on the Galway – Lorient route last summer with slightly under 1,500 using Aer Arann’s Waterford flight.
BLUE AIR EXPANDS ITS NETWORK AT BACĂU
Budget carrier Blue Air is to introduce two new routes from the Eastern Romanian city of Bacău. A twice-weekly connection to Larnaca will commence from April 15, while a twice-weekly link to Barcelona will be inaugurated from June 3. According to Flightbase (January 14-20), the airline is the largest operator from the city with existing flights to Bergamo Orio al Serio, London Luton, Rome Fiumicino and Turin Cuneo and additional summer connections to Bologna, Brussels, Dublin, Paris Beauvais. Carpatair also has links to Timisoara.
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