The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
Aug. 7
Royal Air Maroc is to commence a new route to Toronto in December, as well as resuming flights to Beijing Daxing in January 2025. Service between Casablanca and Toronto will be offered three times per week from Dec. 8 using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. “The upcoming launch of the Casablanca-Toronto line primarily responds to the strong demand from Moroccans living in Canada, particularly in Ontario,” Royal Air Maroc Chairman and CEO Hamid Addou says. Flights to Beijing Daxing will also restart on Jan 20, operating 3X-weekly using 787-9s.
Philippine LCC Cebu Pacific is opening one new international route and three new domestic connections from Davao. Starting Oct. 28, the airline will operate 3X-weekly flights between Davao and Bangkok-Don Mueang, Thailand. Additionally, daily service will start to Caticlan and Puerto Princesa on Oct. 27, followed by 3X-weekly flights to Tacloban from Oct. 29. Cebu Pacific is also increasing Manila-Melbourne frequencies from 3X to 4X-weekly in December using Airbus A330-900neo equipment.
SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, has announced it will begin a new route from Dalaman to Newcastle, England. Service will be 2X-weekly from May 4, 2025. The carrier already operates flights from Antalya to Newcastle and plans to increase frequencies to 5X-weekly for the summer 2025 season.
South Africa’s Airlink is expanding its network to include nonstop service connecting Cape Town and Botswana’s capital Gaborone from April 1, 2025. Flights on the route will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using 44-seat Embraer E140 aircraft. Airlink CEO and MD Rodger Foster says Gaborone is home to thriving minerals, resources, automotive and tech sector companies and so he expects the route to attract corporate traffic. “It is also an important leisure tourism gateway to many game lodges and the Gaborone Game Reserve,” he adds.
Wizz Air will launch two new routes from Malmö Airport, Sweden, during the winter 2024-25 season. Flights to Bucharest and Iasi in Romania will be operated twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays from Oct. 29 using Airbus A320-family aircraft. “Wizz Air’s investment in additional direct routes from Malmö Airport is a clear sign of the continued high demand for international travel,” says Elizabeth Axtelius, director aviation business at Swedish airport operator Swedavia.
Hainan Airlines has launched a new route connecting Shenzhen to Budapest Airport (BUD). Flights will be offered twice a week using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The addition will mean there are 20 nonstop flights per week between Hungary and China. BUD says it expects traffic between the countries to total more than 400,000 passengers this year, compared with 220,000 in 2019.
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