The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
March 26
Canada’s WestJet will launch service between Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Barcelona-El Prat Airport from Sept. 28. It will mark the first time Halifax is connected to any destination in Spain. The service will be flown on a seasonal basis 4X-weekly.
TUI will open flights between Belfast City and the Spanish island of Majorca from June 7. The service will be operated 1X-weekly on a seasonal basis. The airline previously flew the route. “The island is a firm favorite with local Northern Ireland holiday-makers due to its short flight time, wide range of resorts offering quality hotels and apartments and attractions to suit the whole family,” TUI said.
Ryanair will operate flights between Brno, Czech Republic, and Malaga, Spain, for its 2025 summer schedule. The route, to kick off before the end of March, will be flown 2X-weekly. Ryanair already serves Bergamo, Italy (3X-weekly), and London Stansted (5-X weekly) from Brno. The Stansted service, which launched 20 years ago, “not only became Ryanair’s first [route to] the Czech Republic, but remains Brno Airport’s most popular and frequently used connection to date … Passenger traffic on this route has remained strong, averaging 100,000 passengers per year, excluding the COVID-affected period,” the Irish ULCC said.
Thai AirAsia plans to add three new domestic routes from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) from July 1. The carrier will fly 3X-weekly between BKK and Buriram. It will operate daily flights from BKK to both Narathiwat and Surat Thani. Thai AirAsia noted it will offer nine routes from BKK (all domestic) once the new services kick off. The airline currently serves six destinations from BKK: Chiang Mai (8X-daily), Phuket (6X-daily), Krabi (3X daily), Hat Yai (2X-daily), Udon Thani (2X-daily) and Khon Kaen (2X-daily). “Thai AirAsia is accelerating its expansion domestically in Thailand this year, with Suvarnabhumi central to the strategy due to its domestic growth potential and ability to accommodate international arrivals looking to continue onward to other regions of the country,” Thai AirAsia CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said. “Our goal is to connect every corner of Thailand—from the north to the northeast and south—through Suvarnabhumi.”
March 25
Alaska Airlines opened service between San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA), operating a route made possible via the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) granting the carrier a slot pair exempted from DCA’s 1,250-mi. flight-perimeter rule. The U.S. Congress in 2024 passed FAA reauthorization legislation directing the DOT to allow five new beyond-perimeter routes from DCA. Alaska will fly the SAN-DCA route daily with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. When granting the exempted slot pair, the DOT noted there was no nonstop service on the route even as approximately 139,000 annual passengers flew between DCA and SAN via a connection. Alaska operates to more than 40 destinations from SAN.
Malaysia Airlines launched service between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), which becomes the 69th point in the carrier’s network. The airline previously served the route. Malaysia Airlines initially is flying the KUL-CDG route 4X-weekly, but will move to daily flights from March 29. “The inaugural flights received an overwhelming response,” with load factors for both the outbound and inbound flights reaching 95% and 98%, respectively, “reflecting the strong demand for travel between Malaysia and France,” the airline said. Malaysia Airlines noted passengers traveling from KUL can connect onward at CDG onboard Oneworld partner American Airlines’ flights to Dallas-Forth Worth, Miami, New York John F. Kennedy and Orlando airports.
UK carrier easyJet is adding six new nonstop routes from Zurich Airport (ZRH) for the northern hemisphere summer schedule. At the end of March, it is opening service from ZRH to Spanish destinations Malaga (frequencies up to 4X-weekly) and Palma (daily). The carrier will additionally this month open 2X-daily service between ZRH and Rome Fiumicino Airport. In April, easyJet will commence 2X-weekly flights between ZHR and Faro, Portugal. In May, the airline will open 2X-weekly service between ZHR and Edinburgh. From June through August, easyJet will operate 5X-weekly flights between ZHR and Olbia, Italy.
March 24
IndiGo launched flights between Mumbai and Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago. The route will be operated 4X-weekly with an Airbus A320-family aircraft. Seychelles marks IndiGo’s 39th international destination, along with 91 domestic points in India.
Australian LCC Jetstar Asia opened service between Singapore and Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, becoming the first carrier to operate the route. Labuan Bajo becomes Jetstar Asia’s fifth Indonesian destination, joining Denpasar, Jakarta, Meden and Surabaya. Lim Ching Kiat, Singapore Changi Airport’s executive vice president for air hub and cargo development, said the “new route not only boosts Changi’s connectivity to Indonesia, it also strengthens our network in the region … with direct connections to 13 Indonesian cities now available from Changi Airport.”
Spanish LCC Volotea will start flights between French cities Rennes and Toulouse from Sept. 1. The route will be operated 2X-weekly.
Colombia’s Avianca will commence service connecting Bogotá and Cordoba, Argentina, from June 16. It will fly between the two cities 3X-weekly as part of onward service on a three-leg route in which either Quito or Guayaquil in Ecuador will be the starting point. Flights will be operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft configured to carry 180 passengers.
Indonesian carrier TransNusa kicked off flights between Denpasar, Indonesia, and Perth, Australia. The service will be flown with an Airbus A320 aircraft. Initially, the route will be operated 3X-weekly, rising to 4X-weekly from April 12 and daily from June 1.
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