Nov. 18

Norwegian has announced the launch of 13 new international routes from Norway during the summer 2023 season. In total, the carrier intends to fly 300 routes from its home country to 114 destinations. “With more routes and more frequent departures, we are now well prepared for an increase in demand for Norwegian tickets for the coming summer season,” said Magnus Maursund, executive vice president for network, pricing and planning at Norwegian.

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In addition, Norwegian said it intends to open 10 new routes from Denmark next summer, increasing the number of destinations offered from Copenhagen (CPH) to 61. The points being added are: Bologna, Bordeaux, Madrid, Manchester, Naples, Porto, Palermo, Pula, Tenerife and Vilnius.

Vietnam’s Vietravel Airlines is open a new international route. Service between Hanoi (HAN) and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) will be daily from Dec. 16. The carrier also plans to introduce a route to the Thai capital from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) at a later date. Vietravel launched commercial operations in January 2021 and operates a fleet of three Airbus A320s.

Frontier Airlines has launched nonstop service between Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) and Baltimore/Washington (BWI). Flights began on Nov. 17 and will be offered on a daily basis. With the new service, Frontier serves a total of 23 nonstop destinations from PHX and eight nonstop destinations from BWI.

Nov. 17

Saudi Arabian LCC flynas is launching a new route between Medina (MED) and Cairo (CAI), commencing on Dec. 6. Flights will be four times per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that flynas will compete with two other carriers on the 1,025-km (554-nm) route. Egyptair serves the destinations up to 4X-daily, while Saudia offers a daily flight. Flynas said it expects to attract leisure and business passengers on the route, as well as religious traffic.

US ULCC Frontier Airlines has opened a new route between St. Louis Lambert (STL) and Tampa (TPA). With the new service, the airline serves a total of seven nonstop destinations from STL and 18 nonstop destinations from TPA. Flights between the cities will be 4X-weekly.

Air Arabia is opening a new route from Sharjah (SHJ) in the United Arab Emirates to Namangan (NMA) in Uzbekistan. The first flight will take place on Nov. 27. The new service marks the carrier’s second destination in Uzbekistan, alongside the capital Tashkent (TAS). Flights to NMA will be three times per week using Airbus A320s. “This new service reaffirms our commitment to continuously providing our customers with value-driven air travel while contributing to the development of both trade and tourism sectors between the UAE and Uzbekistan,” Air Arabia CEO Adel Al Ali said.

Nov. 16

UK-based Eastern Airways is opening a new route from Humberside Airport (HUY) to Esbjerg (EBJ), Denmark’s fifth-largest city. Flights start on Dec. 14 and will be 3X-weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays year-round. The new route links two large renewable energy clusters. In addition, the airline’s Humberside-Cornwall Airport Newquay (NQY) will return on April 7 with four weekly frequencies, up from 2X-weekly during summer 2022, and service to Jersey (JER) restarts on May 13 operating once a week. Eastern is also launching a daily service between East Midlands (EMA) and Cornwall Airport Newquay from Feb. 10 using 72-seat ATR aircraft.

From Dec. 8, Indian LCC IndiGo plans to restart flights between Hyderabad (HYD) and Dhaka (DAC) in Bangladesh. The route will operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. “This will not only create direct connectivity between these cities but also support the medical tourists travelling from Bangladesh to India,” IndiGo global head of sales Vinay Malhotra said.

Qatar Airways has launched a new route between Doha (DOH) and Dusseldorf (DUS), operating daily onboard Boeing 787s. Dusseldorf becomes the fourth city in Germany to be served by the carrier alongside Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. Thomas Schnalke, chairman of the DUS, said: “For business travelers as well as for vacationers, the new route is an asset. We look forward to many years of successful cooperation.”

Nonstop flights between Atlanta (ATL) and San José (SJO) in Costa Rica have been launched by Denver-based Frontier Airlines. The route will be served three times per week. With the new service, the ULCC serves a total of 34 nonstop destinations from ATL. “Costa Rica is a hugely popular international destination, and this new service provides a great option for escaping to Central America this winter,” said Daniel Shurz, senior VP of commercial at Frontier.

Dominican Republic-based startup Arajet has started flights between Santo Domingo (SDQ) and Kingston (KIN) in Jamaica. The route will be served on Mondays and Fridays. "Achieving air connectivity between the Dominican Republic and Jamaica has long been one of our most important goals,” said Angie Martínez, ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Jamaica. “We are proud of how Arajet is leading the charge in democratizing aviation in the Caribbean, Latin, Central and North America, and putting the Dominican flag at the top.”

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) will increase the flight frequency between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Shenzhen (SZX) from Nov. 26, rising from 1X-weekly to 2X-weekly.

Nov. 15

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi has confirmed the launch of new route from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Tashkent (TAS), Uzbekistan’s capital. Two flights a week will be offered from Dec. 7 using Airbus A320s. The launch comes as Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is also preparing to start AUH-TAS flights. “Air Arabia Abu Dhabi continues its expansion strategy to further strengthen the connectivity of UAE’s capital with many destinations while contributing to the growth of both travel and tourism of the UAE,” Air Arabia CEO Adel Al Ali said.

Italian startup Aeroitalia has launched its first flight connecting Milan Bergamo (BGY) and Rome Fiumicino (FCO). The carrier, which has three Boeing 737-800s based at BGY, will operate the route three times per day from Monday to Friday, and once a day at weekends. In December, the airline plans to launch three more routes from Milan Bergamo to Bacau in Romania, Catania in Sicily and London Heathrow.

IndiGo has commenced direct flights from Mumbai (BOM) to Gwalior (GWL) in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Service will be 4X-weekly. “The flight will connect Madhya Pradesh's winter capital to local and international destinations via Mumbai and Delhi,” IndiGo chief strategy and revenue officer Sanjay Kumar said.

AirAsia is increasing frequencies to Hong Kong (HKG) from December. Flights from Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) will be increased to four times per week starting Dec. 15, while service from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Manila (MNL) will be 3X-weekly. “With Hong Kong relaxing entry restrictions by allowing quarantine-free travel for tourists from September this year combined with strong forecast demand, we are excited to welcome more guests to and from Hong Kong with increased flight frequency ahead of the festive season,” CCO Karen Chan said.

Nov. 14

Fresh from revealing plans to open a one-aircraft base at Florence (FLR) in 2023 and launch nine new routes, Spanish carrier Volotea has announced further Italian additions from Milan Bergamo (BGY), Naples (NAP) and Venice (VCE). From Nov. 28, the LCC plans to open a Naples- Algiers ({ALG}}) route, followed by a Venice-Algiers service the next day. Both will be operated twice a week. Milan Bergamo will also receive a 2X-weekly route to Nantes (NTE) from April 13, 2023. Elsewhere, Volotea said it plans to start a weekly Strasbourg (SXB)-Faro (FAO) service on June 1.

Hong Kong-based startup Greater Bay Airlines will open a route to Taiwan Taoyuan (TPE) from Dec. 1. The service from Hong Kong International (HKG) will be offered five times per week. The network addition follows the recent loosening of COVID-19 travel restrictions in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Batik Air is resuming daily flights from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Sydney (SYD) from Dec. 12, operating via Bali (DPS). Service will be daily using Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Batik Air CEO Mushafiz Bin Mustafa Bakri said the route attracts strong flows of leisure, business and student traffic. “The resumption of these people-to-people flows will enhance our close and excellent bilateral relationship,” he added.

IndiGo has launched a domestic route between Delhi (DEL) and Hubballi (HBX), a city in the south Indian state of Karnataka. Flights will operate daily during the winter season. “With more connectivity to different parts of the country, Hubballi and its neighbouring regions will witness overall development,” IndiGo chief strategy and revenue officer Sanjay Kumar said. “New connections from Hubballi will not only promote tourism and trade but also make travel affordable with the addition of capacity.”