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

March 15

AirAsia X has inaugurated its first route to Central Asia with the opening of nonstop service to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Operations from Kuala Lumpur will be 4X-weekly using A330 equipment. “We are confident that our entry into the Kazakh market will not only enhance tourism between both countries but also foster closer ties regionally as we can connect the people in the largest country in Central Asia to 130 destinations from Kuala Lumpur,” AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail says. AirAsia X has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kazakhstan Tourism, encompassing greater commercial collaboration and partnerships between the parties.

JetSmart has started its domestic operations in Colombia with an inaugural flight between Bogota and Medellin, and an additional service from Medellin to Cartagena. The ULCC will initially operate eight routes in the country, from Bogotá to Medellín, Cartagena, Pereira and Santa Marta; from Medellín to Santa Marta and Cartagena; and from Cartagena to Pereira and Cali. “We believe, trust and invest in Colombia, to contribute to the tourism, development and connectivity of all communities, as we have already done with the 25 million people who have flown with us throughout South America,” JetSmart CEO and President Estuardo Ortiz says. “Our new operation in Colombia is an important step in our vision of 100 million passengers and 100 aircraft by 2028.”

Eurowings is adding the Tunisian city of Sfax to its 2024 summer flight schedule. From July 8, the LCC will offer a 1X-weekly service from Cologne/Bonn Airport every Monday. A second route from Stuttgart Airport will launch on July 24, also operating once a week. For the 2024-25 winter season, Eurowings is also expanding its services to Finland. Operations from Dusseldorf to Kajaani in the Kainuu region will commence from mid-January 2025.

Frontier Airlines has opened a new crew base at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The base is expected to employ up to 110 pilots, 250 flight attendants and 50 aircraft maintenance personnel within its first year of operation. With service on 10 additional routes announced last month, the airline will serve 30 destinations in total from Cleveland by summer, increasing Frontier’s average peak summer daily departures by 38% versus a year ago. “We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of a crew base in Cleveland, which is a clear demonstration of our strong commitment to CLE now and for many years to come,” Frontier Airlines Senior Vice President of Customers Alex Clerc says.

March 14

JetBlue Airways has expanded its transatlantic network with the inauguration of flights to Dublin Airport (DUB), Ireland. Daily service from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will operate through Sept. 30 using Airbus A321neo equipment. Travelers from the U.S. account for nearly 20% of all overseas tourism to Ireland, and JetBlue says Dublin has been among the most requested European destinations previously not served by the carrier. “Demand for transatlantic travel has never been higher, with stronger than ever business links continuing to grow between Ireland and the U.S.,” DUB Managing Director Gary McLean says.

Delta Air Lines will resume daily nonstop service to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 7, delaying its previously scheduled May 1 restart plans. Flights will be operated using Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. The airline suspended service in October 2023 following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The carrier says the decision to restart flights follows “an extensive security risk assessment.” 

Air Canada has scheduled the launch of a new European route from Montreal. Flights to Madrid are slated to commence on May 10, operating four times per week. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, the route will be served using Boeing 787-9 and 787-9 equipment. Air Canada will compete with Air Transat on the sector.

Italy’s flag-carrier ITA Airways has increased Rome Fiumicino-Tokyo Haneda frequency from five to seven roundtrips per week. The airline says the increase is “further confirmation of the excellent results in terms of load factor recorded in 2023” following the launch of the service in late 2022. ITA plans to further expand its long-haul network in April with a new route to Chicago, followed by connections to Toronto and Riyadh in May. In June, nonstop flights to Accra and Kuwait City will begin, followed by Dakar in July and Jeddah in August.

Air Arabia is launching a new route from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Basra, Iraq. The nonstop service connecting Sharjah International Airport to Basra International Airport will be offered three times per week from June 3 using Airbus A320 aircraft. Basra is Air Arabia’s fourth destination in Iraq, alongside Baghdad, Erbil and Najaf.

March 13

IndiGo has announced new service between Mumbai and Colombo, Sri Lanka, starting April 12. The flights will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Mumbai becomes the LCC’s fourth destination in India with direct connectivity to Colombo after Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. “With the addition of these flights, IndiGo will operate 37 weekly flights to Colombo from four cities in India,” Head of Global Sales Vinay Malhotra says.

Canada’s Porter Airlines is adding seasonal roundtrip flights on two new nonstop routes between Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The new YUL-LAX route begins June 27, with a 4X-weekly service. YUL-SFO begins on June 28, operating 3X-weekly. The program ends on Oct. 26. The new flights will be operated with 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft.

Vietnam Airlines is expanding capacity to New Delhi with the introduction of Airbus A350 flights. The carrier will deploy the aircraft on its 4X-weekly service between Hanoi and New Delhi and its 3X-weekly Ho Chi Minh City-New Delhi flights, starting from May 15. The routes are currently served using A321s. “We have always been invested in India and when looking for further expansion, New Delhi seemed to be a natural fit,”  says Vietnam Airlines Country Manager India Nguyen Trung Hieu.

Delta Air Lines has restarted nonstop flights between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport, Italy. The flights will operate daily using a Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 216 seats. Additionally, the airline will restart daily Atlanta-Venice service later this month, which will increase to 10X-weekly during the peak summer 2024 season.

Eurowings has scheduled a new route between Düsseldorf, Germany, and Kajaani Airport, Finland, next winter. The sector will be flown once a week on Saturdays from Jan. 18, 2025, through March 22 using Airbus A319 aircraft.

Qatar Airways and Aer Lingus have launched a new codeshare partnership. Qatar Airways will add its codes on flights operated by Aer Lingus and Aer Lingus Regional from Dublin, London and Manchester, England. The move means that passengers will be able to travel between Irish and UK destinations including Aberdeen, Belfast, Cork and Glasgow. It also means Qatar Airways now has codeshare partnerships with all International Airlines Group carriers.

March 12

Vietnam Airlines is launching flights to Munich for the first time with two new routes to the German city. Starting Oct. 2, the carrier will add a 2X-weekly service from Hanoi on Mondays and Saturdays alongside a 1X-weekly Tuesday flight from Ho Chi Minh City. The Ho Chi Minh City-Munich service will rise to 2X-weekly from December with the addition of a Thursday service. The move makes Munich the carrier’s fourth destination in Europe in addition to Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle. “We are confident that these new direct flights will be very well received by our passengers and help to further enhance economic relations and cultural exchange between Bavaria and Vietnam,” Munich Airport CEO Jost Lammers says.

China Airlines is adding flights between Taipei and Seattle, offering five roundtrips per week using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Service from Taipei Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will depart every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The 6,061-mi. (5,267-nm) sector is currently served daily by EVA Airways. Delta Air Lines also plans to launch flights on the route in June, while Starlux Airlines is scheduled to commence a 3X-weekly service with A350-900s from Aug. 16.

Uzbekistan Airways has confirmed plans to operate service between capital city Tashkent and London Gatwick Airport (LGW), complementing its existing 2X-weekly flights to London Heathrow. Operations to LGW will be offered three times per week from April 7.

March 11

AirAsia has operated its inaugural flight to Perth Airport, Australia. Service from Kuala Lumpur International Airport will be daily using Airbus A321neo aircraft. The route is already served daily by affiliate AirAsia X, but marks AirAsia’s debut in Australia. “Thanks to the addition of the new-model A321neo aircraft with longer range capabilities spanning over 5 hr. and numerous operational efficiencies, we are able to make these new services a reality on a narrowbody aircraft from Kuala Lumpur,” says Bo Lingam, group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group. Malaysia is Western Australia’s fourth-biggest international visitor market, injecting A$99 million ($65.5 million) into the region’s economy in visitor expenditure for the year ending in September 2023.

Australian domestic carrier Rex has signed an interline agreement with Etihad Airways. Rex's  Warrick Lodge, general manager of network strategy, says the partnership “brings a new era of choice and connection for Rex passengers.” He adds, “Passengers will be able to fly to either Sydney or Melbourne on Rex and thereafter connect on Etihad to a further 72 destinations across the globe.” Etihad becomes Rex’s second interline partner alongside Delta Air Lines.

Omani LCC SalamAir is restarting flights from Muscat to Baku in Azerbaijan and Almaty in Kazakhstan in response to “overwhelming travel demand.” The destinations were last served during the summer 2023 season. Flights will be offered twice a week from June 16 to Baku and June 18 to Almaty. “The decision to restart services to Baku and Almaty is a testament to the popularity of these destinations and a response to the consistently high seat factor of 85% and 87%, respectively, experienced last year,” the airline says in a statement.

EasyJet is adding Reykjavik Keflavík Airport (KEF) to its list of destinations from Paris Orly Airport (ORY). Flights will start on Sept. 3, operating twice a week. ORY will be the seventh route served by the LCC from KEF during the winter 2024-25 season in addition to Bristol, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester and Milan. “This is an indication of how popular Iceland is as a tourist destination,” says Grétar Már Garðarsson, director of airline relations and route development at airport operator Isavia. 

Indian LCC IndiGo has announced new domestic flights between Chandigarh and Dharamshala from April 2. Frequencies will be 3X-weekly. Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana, while Dharamshala is located in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile.

South Africa’s Airlink has suspended services from Johannesburg to Richards Bay. The move follows the country’s Civil Aviation Authority downgrading Richards Bay Airport’s fire-and-rescue service capability, which disqualifies the airport from accommodating commercial airline operations. However, Airlink MD and CEO Rodger Foster says Johannesburg-Richards Bay is “an economically important route” and the airline intends to resume flights as soon as restrictions are lifted.

Jersey-based regional airline Blue Islands is opening a new route to the Isle of Man. Flights will begin on April 23, operating on Tuesdays and Thursdays on alternate weeks. The carrier says the flights are specifically aimed at business travelers.