The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
June 28
Canadian carrier Porter Airlines is commencing two seasonal routes to the U.S. West Coast from Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL). This week the airline is kicking off service from YUL to both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The YUL-LAX service will be flown 4X-weekly, while the YUL-SFO route will be operated 3X-weekly. Both routes will be flown with Embraer E195-E2 aircraft and conclude for the season on Oct. 26.
Norwegian will open service between London Gatwick Airport and Harstad-Narvik Airport in Norway from Nov. 2. The route will be flown once-weekly on Saturdays over the 2024-25 northern hemisphere winter season.
Panama-based Copa Holdings, parent of Copa Airlines and Colombia-based Wingo, said collective capacity measured in available seat miles was up 7.2% year-over-year in May, while passenger traffic as measured in revenue passenger miles rose 8.7% for the month versus the previous year. System load factor for May stood at 86.1%, up 1.2 percentage points over May 2023.
Air India said it will start using Airbus A350-900 aircraft on 14 of the 17 weekly flights it operates between New Delhi and London Heathrow Airport from Sept. 1. Currently, the airline is operating the route with a mix of Boeing 777-300ER and 787-8 aircraft. The carrier said the change in aircraft type on 14 weekly frequencies will add 336 seats per week on the route.
June 27
Air Canada will operate to Tulum International Airport (TQO), the new Mexican airport south of Cancun, from four Canadian cities during the 2024-25 northern hemisphere winter season. The airline already operates to TQO from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), with routes that started earlier this year. During the 2024-25 winter, the carrier will fly the YYZ-TQO route 4X-weekly, while the YUL-TQO service will be operated 5X-weekly. Air Canada will also introduce service to TQO from two more Canadian cities for the 2024-25 winter: Ottawa and Quebec City. Both routes will be flown once-weekly. Additionally, Air Canada will open once-weekly service between YUL and Saint Maarten in the Caribbean for the 2024-25 winter season. "Air Canada continues to expand the breadth of its winter leisure network by adding new routes to in-demand leisure destinations, including Saint Maarten and Tulum,” said Mark Galardo, the airline’s executive vice president of revenue and network planning.
Etihad Cargo will commence once-weekly freighter service in July between its Abu Dhabi base and Shenzhen, China.
Cambodia Angkor Air, the Cambodian flag-carrier, has started service between Phnom Penh and New Delhi. The route is being flown 4X-weekly.
Delta Air Lines opened a new premium lounge at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), located in Terminal 4 between Concourses A and B. The lounge spans more than 39,000 ft.2. The airline says the Delta One Lounge is the “first of its kind” and “larger than any Delta Sky Club” lounge in its network. The JFK Delta One Lounge will feature “fine dining” and “spa-like wellness treatments,” according to the SkyTeam carrier.
June 26
American Airlines plans to launch four routes from New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) from Nov. 5, including three to Florida destinations Orlando (2X-daily), Sarasota (1X-daily) and West Palm Beach (2X-daily). The carrier will also commence daily service between LGA and New Orleans.
U.S. carrier Breeze Airways will add three routes in October, including two from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers. From Oct. 2, the airline will open 2X-weekly service between RSW and Long Island Islip Airport in New York. From Oct. 4, Breeze will commence 2X-weekly flights between RSW and Burlington, Vermont. The carrier will also add flights between Tampa, Florida, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP) in Pennsylvania from Oct. 18. Breeze already operates between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and AVP, flying the route 4X-weekly. It plans to boost frequencies on the MCO-AVP service to 5X-weekly from Oct. 8.
Flydubai will open daily service from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to both Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. The new routes will commence July 1 with a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The United Arab Emirates-based carrier already serves five cities in Pakistan: Faisalabad, Karachi, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot. Hamad Obaidalla, flydubai’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement that “Pakistan has long been an important market for flydubai” with “sustained demand for travel.”
June 25
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will launch service between Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) from Nov. 11. Flights will be operated daily with a Boeing 787-10 aircraft configured to carry 337 passengers, including 36 in business class. SIA already serves Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) 18X-weekly, and will boost frequencies on the SIN-PEK route to 21X-weekly from Aug. 5. Once the SIN-PKX route opens in November, SIA will be operating 28X-weekly flights combined to the two Beijing airports. SIA Group, which includes LCC subsidiary Scoot, will operate to a total of 24 mainland Chinese airports when the SIN-PKX route kicks off.
Delta Air Lines plans to resume service between Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) in Pennsylvania and its Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) hub in Utah from Nov. 23. The SkyTeam airline flew the route from 2018 to 2020, before suspending it because of the pandemic. The PIT-SLC route will be flown daily year-round with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured to carry 160 passengers. When Delta previously operated the service, it used an Airbus A319. PIT said in a statement that SLC is “the largest unserved market from Pittsburgh,” adding, “Restoring the route was a top priority for PIT, which worked with Delta on a return date since the pandemic’s beginning.” PIT says the western U.S. is “a region that continues to see rising demand from Pittsburgh.” Both Breeze Airways and Southwest Airlines recently started service between PIT and San Diego, California.
American Airlines this month opened seasonal service from its Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) hub to both Copenhagen and Naples, Italy. Both routes, exclusive to American, are being operated daily and will end Oct. 5 and Oct. 25, respectively. The Copenhagen service is being flown with a Boeing 787-9 while the Naples route is being operated with a 787-8.
June 24
Delta Air Lines will launch seasonal flights between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) from Oct. 26. The route will be flown 4X-weekly with an Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. Service will run through March 29, 2025. The MCO-LHR connection will be the only nonstop route operated by Delta between Florida and the UK. As previously announced, also from Oct. 26 the carrier will open service between Amsterdam and Tampa, Florida.
Korean Air will resume daily service between Busan, South Korea, and Shanghai Pudong from July 1. On the same date, the carrier will restart daily service between Jeju, South Korea, and Beijing. From Aug. 19, Korean Air will resume service between Seoul Incheon and Hefei, China, operating the route 5X-weekly.
Jetstar will kick off two new routes between Australia and New Zealand. The Qantas subsidiary will start service in December between Sunshine Coast and Auckland, flying the route 3X-weekly. From April 2025, Jetstar will commence flights between Cairns, Australia, and Christchurch, also operating the route 3X-weekly. “To support the growth in flying, Jetstar will base an additional aircraft in Christchurch from December, bringing its New Zealand fleet to eight Airbus A320 aircraft,” the carrier said in a statement.
Etihad Airways will start 4X-weekly service from June 24 between its Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) base and Al Wassim, the fourth destination in Saudi Arabia it will serve. The United Arab Emirates-based carrier already operates to Saudi cities Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh. From June 25, the airline will open 4X-weekly flights between AUH and Bali, Indonesia. It will be the first time Etihad has served Bali.
