The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
July 10
Vietnam Airlines is expanding capacity across its Northeast Asia network, adding flights from Hanoi and Da Nang. From Hanoi, the carrier will increase Taipei service from seven to 11X-weekly flights and boost Osaka frequencies from seven to 11X-weekly flights between Oct. 26 and Nov. 30, before introducing 2X-daily service from Dec. 1. From Da Nang, Seoul Incheon service has increased to 14X-weekly flights, while Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai have risen to 11 and 5X-weekly flights, respectively.
JetBlue is expanding its Fort Lauderdale network further this winter with six additional nonstop destinations, including new service to Colombia, the U.S. Midwest and West Coast. New daily Colombian flights to Barranquilla will begin on Oct. 1, followed by Cali on Oct. 15. Columbus and Indianapolis will launch on Nov. 2, while San Diego service starts on Nov. 19. The carrier also plans to launch Caracas service, subject to regulatory approval. In June, JetBlue confirmed it was scaling back parts of its New York-area operation in order to redirect capacity to South Florida to capitalize on opportunities created by Spirit Airlines' collapse.
Air Zimbabwe will commence scheduled passenger flights between Harare and London Gatwick on July 22, restoring nonstop air service between Zimbabwe and the UK. The route will operate three times per week, with departures from Harare on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays and return flights from London Gatwick on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Services will initially be operated using an Airbus A330-300 wet-leased from Spanish carrier Plus Ultra Lineas Aereas under an ACMI agreement.
Norwegian plans to launch a new route between Tromso, Norway, and Glasgow, Scotland. The 2X-weekly seasonal service will begin on Dec. 11, operating on Mondays and Fridays throughout the winter season. The schedule is designed to cater for both short breaks and longer winter holidays.
July 9
Emirates will deploy Airbus A380 aircraft on its Dubai-New Delhi route from Oct. 25, making the Indian capital the airline’s third A380 destination in India after Mumbai and Bengaluru. The A380 will operate one of Emirates' four daily New Delhi services, while the other three flights will be served by retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft featuring premium economy. From Oct. 25, premium economy will be available on all daily Dubai-New Delhi flights and on services to six Indian gateways: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. The airline will also introduce a second daily Airbus A350 service between Dubai and Colombo from Aug. 8, replacing a Boeing 777. The move will double the number of daily flights offering premium economy on the Sri Lanka route, while Kolkata's daily service will transition to the A350 from Oct. 25, giving the route premium economy across all 12X-weekly flights between Dubai and the eastern Indian city.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) will increase capacity to Japan and Australia during the 2026-27 northern winter season. From Oct. 25 through March 27, 2027, the carrier will increase Manila-Tokyo Narita and Manila-Osaka Kansai services from 14 to 21X-weekly flights. Manila-Sapporo service will also rise from three to 5X-weekly flights between Nov. 24 and Feb. 27, lifting PAL's Japan network to as many as 87X-weekly flights. The airline will also add seasonal capacity to Australia over the Christmas and New Year travel period, including extra flights to Melbourne and Perth and larger aircraft on selected Sydney and Brisbane services.
British Airways plans to launch a new winter route between London Gatwick and Rovaniemi, Finland, expanding its network to Finnish Lapland. The seasonal service will begin on Dec. 4, 2026, and operate twice a week on Mondays and Fridays throughout the 2026-27 winter season. The airline will also continue serving Ivalo from London Gatwick.
July 8
Etihad Airways and Fastjet Zimbabwe have signed a memorandum of understanding covering an interline partnership, future codeshare agreement and frequent flyer cooperation, expanding connectivity across Zimbabwe and southern Africa. The agreement will allow Etihad passengers to book onward travel on Fastjet Zimbabwe to Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Johannesburg on a single ticket, with sales opening Aug. 24. The partnership also gives Fastjet customers access to Etihad’s network via Abu Dhabi. The deal supports Etihad’s planned launch of Abu Dhabi-Harare flights on March 24, 2027.
LATAM Airlines Colombia will launch temporary flights between Bogota and Barcelona, Venezuela, to provide additional travel options following the earthquakes that disrupted operations at Caracas Airport. The new route will operate twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout July. LATAM says the service is intended to strengthen Venezuela’s international connectivity while normal operations at Caracas remain affected.
Flynas has commenced nonstop service between Riyadh and Alexandria, Egypt. The Saudi LCC will operate 3X-weekly flights between Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and Alexandria International Airport, providing additional travel options between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The airline says the new route supports Saudi Vision 2030 to diversify the country’s economy.
July 7
Volotea has launched a new route between Malaga, Spain, and Limoges, France. The seasonal service operates once a week on Thursdays during July, increasing to 2X-weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays in August. The route also supports the development of Volotea's new Limoges base, which opened in February as the carrier's 12th base in France and 21st across Europe. Volotea now serves 14 destinations from Malaga, including four domestic routes, eight destinations in France, Verona in Italy and Athens through a codeshare with Aegean.
Emirates will introduce a third daily flight between Dubai and Phuket, Thailand, increasing service to 21X-weekly flights and deploying its Airbus A350-900 on the route for the first time. The additional service will provide extra capacity to meet strong demand from Europe and the Middle East. The airline says the new overnight Dubai-Phuket flight and daytime return will improve connections via Dubai to destinations including Birmingham, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Madrid, Munich and Paris, while also boosting cargo capacity from Phuket.
Argentina has authorized Avianca to launch scheduled international passenger and cargo services linking Cali and Cartagena with Buenos Aires, expanding air connectivity between Colombia and Argentina. Under the authorization, published by Argentina's Transport Secretariat, Avianca will operate up to 7X-weekly flights on each route between November and March 2027. The carrier already serves Buenos Aires from Bogota and Medellin, as well as Bogota-Cordoba.
July 6
Wizz Air has expanded its Bulgarian network with new routes from Sofia. The ULCC has based a new Airbus A321neo in the city and launched flights to Budapest and Rhodes. The expansion raises Wizz Air's based fleet in Bulgaria to 11 aircraft and increases its summer 2026 capacity from Sofia by 61% year on year to 2.1 million seats. Meanwhile, In Spain, the airline has inaugurated a 4X-weekly service between Malaga and Venice, operating on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. In Slovakia, Wizz will also launch three new routes from Bratislava in late October: 2X-weekly year-round flights to Agadir from Oct. 27, 2X-weekly service to Hurghada from Oct. 26 and 2X-weekly flights to Baku from Oct. 25.
Frontier Airlines has commenced eight new routes formerly operated by Spirit Airlines. The new services include daily flights from Boston to Orlando, Dallas-New Orleans, Detroit-Fort Lauderdale, Detroit-Philadelphia and Detroit-Las Vegas. Additional routes comprise 4X-weekly Las Vegas-Kansas City service and 3X-weekly flights from Orlando to Memphis and Richmond.
The governments of Canada and Mongolia have expanded their bilateral air transport agreement, allowing nonstop flights between the two countries for the first time. The revised pact permits each country to operate up to 3X-weekly passenger or combination flights, provides for unlimited all-cargo services and grants open fifth-freedom rights for cargo operations. The accord expands the framework established in 2018.
Riyadh Air has opened ticket sales for daily nonstop flights between Riyadh and Mumbai, with service set to begin on Aug. 4. The route will be operated using Boeing 787-9 aircraft and increases the carrier's network to nine destinations. The airline says the service will target strong business, leisure and visiting friends and relatives demand while providing onward connections via Riyadh to destinations including London, Madrid, Jeddah and Cairo.
Air Canada has launched nonstop flights between Montreal and Berlin. The seasonal service operates three times per week through Sept. 6, with flights already on sale for summer 2027, when frequencies will increase to up to 4X-weekly between early June and mid-October. The route initially uses a Boeing 787-8 before transitioning to Airbus A321XLR aircraft on July 19, marking the first scheduled long-haul deployment of the aircraft type to Germany.
Edelweiss Air will expand its winter 2026-27 schedule with additional frequencies and increased capacity from Zurich. In Finland, the carrier is boosting flights to Kittila, Rovaniemi, Ivalo and Kuusamo. In Norway, frequencies to Tromso will increase to daily, while seasonal service to Bergen will be extended into February and March. In Sweden, Lulea will gain a second weekly flight during peak demand periods. On long-haul routes, Edelweiss will add flights to Male in the Maldives and Colombo in Sri Lanka during the peak winter season, while bringing forward the launch of its seasonal service to Windhoek in Namibia to mid-March. The airline's winter network from Zurich will comprise 69 destinations in 33 countries.
Related Content
