Iberia Enhances IAG Focus in the Americas
Spanish flag carrier Iberia is to further grow capacity between Europe and the Americas by increasing its offering in the Costa Rican markets. Details of the latest stage of its network development follow just a week after the airline announced an increase in frequencies on its flights into Panama. The carrier, part of the International Consolidated Airline Group (IAG) and sister carrier to British Airways (BA), has a long association with the Central and South American markets and provides IAG with a clear focus in these developing markets. It is the only airline to have flown uninterruptedly to Central America for the past 40 years and offers direct flights to Guatemala, Panama and San Salvador, alongside its services to Costa Rica. Iberia plans to increase capacity this year between Madrid and San José, Costa Rica by 5.5 per cent to more than 234,000 seats. This will be achieved by introducing larger aircraft on the route in the form of the Airbus A340-600, which offers 100 more seats than the equipment currently used. Speaking during the recent FITUR tourism trade fair in Madrid, Costa Rica's Minister for Tourism, Allan Flores, said: “Iberia's increased seat supply between Madrid and San José is wonderful news for our country and reflects the excellent work done in the past several years by Iberia and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute to promote this destination and improve air links from the key European markets, chiefly Germany, Spain, France, the UK and Italy.” Iberia currently holds a 43 per cent share of the Europe-Costa Rica market, while its share of the premium market is 66 per cent, making this a particularly high yield route for the flag carrier. Last year Iberia carried nearly 186,000 passengers between Madrid and San José and according to the carrier more than three quarters of passengers didn’t begin or end their journeys in Madrid and instead made connections to or from other cities in Spain or elsewhere in Europe, most particularly France, Italy, and Germany. “Costa Rica is an emblematic destination for Iberia and we're betting heavily on our growth prospects in this market,” added Ángel Valdemoros, Head of International Sales, Iberia.
Lufthansa Confirms Tripoli Return
German national carrier Lufthansa has become the latest network carrier to announce its plans to resume flights to the Libyan capital Tripoli. The airline will initially offer a three times weekly flight from Frankfurt from February 2, 2012; a very short lead time as it says it already has airport staff and its city office back in operation to support the route. “We are proud to be back in service with flights between Frankfurt and Tripoli as of February 2,” said Werner Kellerhals, Regional General Manager for North Africa, Malta and Senegal, Lufthansa. “Our presence in Libya serves as a testament to our commitment in serving travel demands between our hub and Tripoli.” Lufthansa will use a two-class Airbus A320 on the route and is already planning to increase capacity in the future, due, it says, to “expected escalating demand”. The airline will take advantage of its network options at Frankfurt to secure traffic from rivals on what is becoming a very competitive market. From Frankfurt Lufthansa offers a network of 100 destinations in Europe and a total of 198 around the globe including destinations in the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Olympic Air to Offer Athens – Tel Aviv Service
Greek carrier Olympic Air is to inaugurate a three times weekly service between Athens and Tel Aviv from March 9, 2012 with a fourth weekly rotation also being introduced on the route during the summer. The expansion of the airline’s network in the Middle East is due to improving relations between Greece and Israel. The new route will certainly attract business and leisure travellers, but Olympic Air also expects to attract a third market of passengers. Given that the broader area of Israel is hosting some of the most important shrines of Christianity and other major religions, the route is also intended to cover the so called religious tourism sector, which represents an important share of the relevant market. Alongside the point-to-point demand Olympic Air will offer connections to 31 domestic points in Greece from Athens International Airport as well as flights options to the Balkans and parts of Northern Europe for passengers originating in Israel.
Turkish Airlines Boosts Frequency to Birmingham
Turkish Airlines (THY) is to increase the frequency of its flights between Istanbul and Birmingham as part of a wider network expansion across the UK. The carrier will boost its links between the two cities from five times weekly to a daily schedule from March 25, 2012. The route will continue to be served by a mix of Airbus A320 Family and Next-Generation Boeing 737 short-haul equipment. THY says forward bookings on the route are strong, especially those for passengers flying with onward connecting services to the Middle East, Far East and Africa, with the airline describing demand to these destinations, via Istanbul, as “outstanding”. The enhanced schedule will give business travellers better choice and flexibility and will enhance onward connectivity from Istanbul from passengers commencing their journeys in the UK. “Turkish Airlines began services from Birmingham in 2008 and has offered a vital service for Birmingham and the Midlands, whilst increasing passenger numbers year by year,” said Martyn Lloyd, Head of Air Service Development, Birmingham Airport. “However, business travellers need both choice and flexibility and we have worked in partnership with Turkish Airlines to secure a daily service from the end of March. We’re therefore delighted with this development to give our business and leisure community even more choice for long-haul connectivity from Birmingham.” This latest expansion follows just a week after THY confirmed a 40 per cent growth in capacity at Manchester as it introduces an additional three weekly rotations on its route from Istanbul. The carrier currently offers a daily service between the cities but will add two further rotations from March 25, 2012 and a tenth flight from May 28, 2012. THY is currently the sole operator on the route and has served Manchester since 1993, although UK low-fare carrier Jet2.com is due to launch a twice weekly service from mid-March.
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