Routes & Networks Latest: Rolling Daily Updates (W/C Dec. 8, 2025)

Aaron Karp David Casey December 12, 2025

united a321neo — Credit: Robin Guess/Alamy Stock Photo

The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.

Dec. 12

United Airlines will open daily service between Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) in California and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on March 29, 2026. The airline previously flew the route in the summers of 2021 and 2022. The airport noted two carriers—Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines—will launch service to San Diego International Airport (SAN) in 2026. Alaska will begin operating between SBA and SAN on April 22, 2026, and fly the route daily. Southwest will commence daily service on the route in August 2026. Alaska previously operated between SBA and SAN from June 2021 to September 2022. SBA also noted Delta Air Lines will discontinue service from the airport to Atlanta on Jan. 21, 2026. Delta will continue to serve Salt Lake City from SBA with 3X-daily flights. SBA will be connected to 13 destinations in summer 2026.

Canada’s WestJet and SAS Scandinavian Airlines entered into a reciprocal codeshare agreement. Highlights include SAS placing its code on WestJet’s service from Calgary to both Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and London Heathrow (LHR) airports and WestJet placing its code on SAS flights between Copenhagen (CPH) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) airports. SAS’ code will be placed on WestJet flights beyond YYZ to more than 10 Canadian destinations, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Halifax. WestJet passengers will be able to connect via CDG and LHR to SAS flights to CPH, Oslo and Stockholm.

Ryanair said it will withdraw five aircraft based at Brussels-Charleroi Airport (CRL) and cut 20 routes from CRL on its winter 2026-27 schedule, citing rising aviation taxes the carrier said make Belgium “completely uncompetitive compared to the many other EU countries.”

Air India entered a unilateral interline partnership with Scoot. Air India passengers flying to Singapore from Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai will be able to connect to a host of destinations via Scoot “that were previously not covered by any of the airline's other existing partnerships,” the airline said. Air India passengers will be able to connect onward from Singapore on Scoot flights to Macau; Padang and Labuan Bajo in Indonesia; Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi, Ipoh, Kuantan, Miri, Sibu, Malacca and Kota Bharu in Malaysia; Davao and Iloilo City in the Philippines: Koh Samui, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai in Thailand; and Nha Trang and Phu Quoc in Vietnam. Scoot is the LCC subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.

Dec. 11

LOT Polish Airlines will open service to three new destinations from Gdansk, Poland, in April 2026. Flights to Brussels will be operated 4X-weekly starting on April 29. On the same day, the carrier will commence 5X-weekly service to Oslo. From April 30, LOT will fly 3X-weekly between Gdansk and Bergen, Norway. “Brussels is of particular importance here,” CEO Michał Fijoł said. “We have long known that this destination was very much anticipated by our passengers.”

Latvia’s airBaltic and Lufthansa have expanded their codeshare agreement to add Frankfurt flights. The carriers have codeshared since 2020, covering routes to Munich from Riga, Latvia; Tallinn, Estonia; and Vilnius, Lithuania. Now the carriers will place their respective codes on each carrier’s flights between Riga and Frankfurt. AirBaltic passengers will be able to connect to Lufthansa’s network via Frankfurt.

Air Tahiti will operate all-business-class service on a three-leg routing connecting French Poloyneisian islands Tahiti, Bora Bora and Raiatea starting Dec. 10, 2026. Flights will be operated with an ATR 72-600 featuring 26 business-class seats in a 1-1 configuration. “Every passenger has a window and direct aisle access,” the airline noted. The routing will usually be flown 3X-daily, six days per week.

Hong Kong Airlines and Canada’s WestJet restarted a codeshare agreement. Hong Kong Airlines flies nonstop between Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Its code “will be placed on multiple WestJet-operated domestic flights within Canada,” the carrier said. “This enables passengers travelling on Hong Kong Airlines to seamlessly connect via Vancouver to major Canadian cities including Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Kelowna, Prince George and Victoria.” Hong Kong Airlines competes with Cathay Pacific and Air Canada on the HKG-YVR route.

Dec. 10

Oman Air will open service between Muscat and Taif, Saudi Arabia, from Jan. 31. The route will be operated 3X-weekly with a Boeing 737 aircraft. Taif will become the fifth city the airline will serve in Saudi Arabia from Oman’s capital. Oman Air currently flies to Saudi cities Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh.

Alaska Airlines named the specific start date for its planned Seattle-London Heathrow route. The service will open May 21, 2026, to be flown daily year-round with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Cebu Pacific will launch seasonal flights between its Manila base and Riyadh. The route will be operated 4X-weekly from March 1 to Oct. 1, 2026.

American Airlines kicked off seasonal service between Chicago O’Hare and the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The route will be operated 1X-weekly on Saturdays through April 2026.

Dec. 9

Air Canada launched seasonal service between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport (GIG), operating the route 3X-weekly with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The airline will offer 894 two-way weekly seats on the route through March, according to OAG Schedules Analyzer data. Canadian carrier Air Transat will operate 580 two-way weekly seats between YYZ and GIG from February through May.

EasyJet opened service between Bristol, England, and Verona, Italy. The route is being operated 2X-weekly with an Airbus A320. The service will be lowered to 1X-weekly from January.

Spain’s Volotea kicked off a seasonal domestic route between Santander and Granada. The service will be flown 2X-weekly through Jan. 6. The airline has previously operated the route during the summer season.

Malaysian carrier Batik Air opened service between Ipoh in northwestern Malaysia and Singapore. The route is being flown daily with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Batik will compete with Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot on the route.

Dec. 8

Jetstar plans to launch its first route between Australia and Sri Lanka in 2026, offering flights connecting Melbourne and Colombo. Service will begin on Aug. 25, 2026, operating three times per week using Boeing 787 aircraft. The move will add 100,000 seats between the cities annually. “This new route out of our home base of Melbourne is part of a huge growth phase for Jetstar,” Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully says. “We’ve added new destinations, more aircraft and we’re continuing to expand our international network.”

Qantas has launched two new international routes from Perth, opening links to Johannesburg and Auckland. Both services will operate three times per week using Airbus A330s. “These routes unlock more options and greater choice for all Australians to connect to the world through our growing network, including to popular cities like Cape Town through our partnership with Airlink in South Africa and for West Australians to New York via Auckland,” Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace says. Qantas has also announced the resumption of international services from the Gold Coast, nearly five years after they were suspended. From June 16, 2026, the airline will operate 3X-weekly flights from Gold Coast to Auckland, adding 52,000 annual seats. Additionally, Qantas plans to offer a Sydney-Auckland-Apia service from June 16, operating on alternate days to the airline's nonstop Brisbane-Apia service, providing “near-daily Qantas connectivity between Australia and Samoa.”

Air India and Maldivian have entered a bilateral interline agreement designed to strengthen India-Maldives air connectivity. The partnership enables Air India to offer seamless access to 16 Maldivian domestic destinations beyond Male—including Hanimaadhoo, Gan, Kooddoo, Dharavandhoo, Maafaru and Kulhudhuffushi—on a single itinerary with through-checked baggage. The arrangement also supports Maldivian’s international feed, allowing Air India passengers from New Delhi, Mumbai and connecting long-haul markets to transfer onto Maldivian services from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to Male and Hanimaadhoo.

Volotea has launched a new 2X-weekly route linking Madrid and Genoa, Italy, marking the return of nonstop service between the two cities. With the addition of Madrid, the LCC now serves four destinations from Genoa’s Cristoforo Colombo Airport: Naples, Olbia, Paris Orly and Madrid. The airline is also planning further expansion in 2026, with more than 162,000 seats on sale—up 44% year-on-year—and nearly 1,000 flights compared with 648 this year.

Turkish Airlines and South African Airways (SAA) have signed a new codeshare agreement. Under the agreement, Turkish Airlines will add its TK code to SAA flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Windhoek, Harare, Victoria Falls and Mauritius. SAA’s SA code will be added on Turkish Airlines services from Istanbul to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and major European gateways including Frankfurt, Paris and London. “This codeshare agreement with South African Airways is a meaningful step in further strengthening our presence in the African market,” says Turkish Airlines Chairman Ahmet Bolat.