Bahrain Air to Boost Dubai Links
Bahrain Air is planning to increase links between Bahrain and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates by around a third to boost its position on the route. According to the airline’s Managing Director, Captain Ebrahim Al Hamer, the plan is to introduce a third daily service next spring. The carrier reported a 65 per cent drop in sales between February and June this year due to the political turmoil in the kingdom, according to local reports. There are already more than 110 weekly flights on the route offering more than 20,000 seats in each direction. In the last year an estimated 674,000 O&D passengers used the route, down 0.4 per cent on the previous 12 month period. Bahrian Air holds a 16 per cent share of the traffic on a route dominated by local rival Gulf Air but also served by Emirates Airline and flydubai.
RusLine Adds Krasnador – Munich Link
Russian regional carrier RusLine is to launch a new weekly service to Munich from Krasnador. The flight will commence on January 7, 2012 and will be operated by a Bombardier CRJ200. The airline also plans to resume its flights to the Bavarian city from Volgograd with an increased frequency this winter. This summer RusLine offered a weekly flight on the route but suspended services at the start of this month. It now plans to provide a twice weekly schedule from December 3, again using a CRJ200.
Qatar Airways Expands Cargo Network
Gulf carrier Qatar Airways is to expand its freight network with three additional cargo services to North America. The airline, which operates three Airbus A300-600Fs and two Boeing 777Fs, will introduce flights in November to Atlanta, Houston and Toronto. All will be operated to and from Doha with the US flights making an intermediate stop in Luxembourg, the airline’s new European cargo hub following its purchase of a minority stake in local operator Cargolux. Qatar Airways will initially offer a twice weekly service to Atlanta and Houston from November 2, adding to its existing cargo flights to Chicago, while links to Toronto will be introduced five days later on November 7 (Qatar Airways also offers belly-hold cargo capacity to Houston, New York and Washington on a daily basis together with thrice-weekly flights to Montreal). Away from North America, Qatar Airways will also introduce a weekly cargo flight to Jeddah from October 30, while frequencies to existing destinations including Chicago, Colombo, Bahrain, Dammam, Hong Kong and Tehran will also be increased during the Northern Winter schedules. "With the recent completion of our 35 per cent stake in Cargolux, Europe's largest cargo airline, we have increased our focus on freighter operations, which ties seamlessly into the airline's strategy to have as many connecting points across the globe from our Doha hub," said Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways Group. "We have identified tremendous route expansion opportunities around the world, including North America where the freighter market is huge."
Transaero Prepares for New Mineralnye Vody Link
Russian carrier Transaero Airlines will next week inaugurate domestic flights between Moscow Domodedovo and Mineralnye Vody, its first service to the town in a town in Stavropol Krai and gateway to Caucasian Mineral Waters. The carrier will offer a daily schedule from October 19 using a three class Boeing 737 with Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Tourist Economy Class cabins. Transaero Airlines is currently the sixth largest domestic operator in Russia by O&D traffic, accounting for approximately 4.6 per cent of the total 28.7 million passengers that flew within the Russian Federation in the past year. It now serves 27 cities in Russia, but would expect a mix of point-to-point and transfer traffic on the new route, thanks to its strong international network from Moscow Domodedovo. This will be Transaero Airlines’ first direct service to Mineralnye Vody, but there are already established services from the Russian capital. Globus Airlines and S7 Airlines each offer a daily link from Moscow Domodedovo, Aeroflot Russian Airlines and Kuban Airlines have daily flights from Moscow Sheremetyevo, while UTair has a double daily flight from Moscow Vnukovo. An estimated 576,000 O&D passengers flew between the three Moscow airports and Mineralnye Vody last year.
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