The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
Oct. 9
Volaris has launched a 3X-weekly nonstop service between Puebla, Mexico, and Chicago O’Hare (ORD), expanding its network to the Chicago area. Flights operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Puebla becomes the LCC’s sixth destination from ORD, while the airline now serves 10 destinations overall from Chicago. “Chicago and Puebla are connected by deep family, cultural and economic ties, and this new nonstop service makes those connections easier than ever,” Michael McMurray, Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner, says. Puebla, located approximately 75 mi. southeast of Mexico City, is the capital of the Mexican state of the same name and is known for its historic architecture.
BermudAir will start 3X-weekly nonstop services from Fort Lauderdale to Belize City, Belize, and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, as part of a wider expansion of its Caribbean network. Both routes will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays using Embraer 190 aircraft.
The airline is also shifting its 2X-weekly Orlando-Bermuda service from Orlando International Airport to Orlando Sanford International Airport from Oct. 31. Further changes will see BermudAir add Belize flights from Boston, Raleigh-Durham, Orlando and St. Petersburg/Tampa, alongside new Providenciales services from Newark, Boston, Baltimore-Washington, Raleigh-Durham, St. Petersburg/Tampa and Toronto. Newark-South Caicos service is also planned.
Arajet has resumed service between Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Guayaquil, Ecuador, marking its return to the Ecuadorian market. Flights operate 2X-weekly, departing Punta Cana on Mondays and Fridays and Guayaquil on Tuesdays and Saturdays. About 67,600 Ecuadorian tourists visited the Dominican Republic in 2025, up 4% year over year. Arajet currently serves 30 destinations across the Americas.
Tropic Ocean Airways will commence scheduled service between Fort Lauderdale and Key West, Florida, on Nov. 27. Flights will operate 4X-weekly, Thursday through Sunday, with a flight time of about 1 hr. The service will operate between private aviation facilities at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Key West International Airport, allowing passengers to bypass the airports’ commercial terminals. Tropic Ocean Airways will also operate preview flights during Key West’s Fantasy Fest on Oct. 16-18 and Oct. 23-25. The carrier is separately introducing private charter seaplane services to The Perry Marina on Stock Island, with plans for a dedicated seaplane dock at the marina.
Oct. 8
Icelandair will add St. Louis and Madrid to its Reykjavik Keflavik network for summer 2027, with the Spanish capital returning to the airline’s schedule. Reykjavik-St. Louis service will operate 3X- to 4X-weekly from May 14 through Oct. 24, 2027. The new U.S. route will also expand Icelandair’s partnership with Southwest Airlines, which has a major presence in St. Louis, providing connections to destinations across the U.S. Icelandair will resume Keflavik-Madrid flights from April 9 through Oct. 25, operating 2X- to 3X-weekly. The additions come as Icelandair prepares to mark its 90th anniversary in June 2027.
LOT Polish Airlines has resumed nonstop service between Warsaw and Bangkok after a gap of 26 years. The route launched on Oct. 7 and is operated using Boeing 787 aircraft. Flights will initially operate 3X-weekly before increasing during the winter season, reaching 6X-weekly from Nov. 2. LOT will then reduce the route to 3X-weekly for the summer 2027 season, from March 28 through Oct. 28. LOT first began serving Bangkok in 1977 via intermediate stops and later operated nonstop flights before suspending scheduled service in March 2000.
Porter Airlines and Air Creebec have launched an interline partnership providing connections between Porter’s Canadian network and 16 Air Creebec destinations across Quebec and Northern Ontario. Combined itineraries are available for travel from Oct. 21. Connections will be offered primarily through Montreal and Timmins, allowing passengers to travel on a single itinerary. Via Montreal, the partnership will connect Porter passengers with Air Creebec destinations including Saguenay, Chibougamau and Val-d’Or, while Timmins will provide access to communities including Attawapiskat and Moosonee. Porter serves Timmins from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, providing onward connections across its wider network.
Avianca plans to launch daily nonstop service between Guayaquil and Cuenca, Ecuador, on Nov. 1, boosting its domestic network in the country. The route will be operated using Airbus A320-family aircraft configured with 180 seats, providing about 2,520 seats per week. The new service remains subject to government approval.
Air India and Singapore Airlines are deepening their commercial partnership from Oct. 15, providing customers with greater booking flexibility across 126X-weekly flights between Singapore and eight Indian cities. Under the changes, passengers will be able to book eligible Air India-operated codeshare flights directly through Singapore Airlines without also taking an SIA-operated sector, and vice versa. The arrangement covers Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Mumbai. The carriers currently codeshare across 77 destinations in 27 countries and territories. Further cooperation is planned from the second quarter of 2027.
Oct. 7
Porter Airlines will launch five year-round domestic routes from London, Ontario, in spring 2027, expanding its presence at London International Airport. Flights to Halifax, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal Metropolitan Airport will begin April 12, followed by Edmonton on May 6. Vancouver will operate up to 11X-weekly, while Halifax and Edmonton will each receive daily service, using Embraer 195-E2 aircraft. Porter will operate up to 20X-weekly to both Ottawa and Montreal using De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s. The domestic expansion follows Porter’s previously announced plans to add four winter sun routes from London to destinations in Florida, Mexico and Jamaica.
Etihad Airways and Ibom Air have signed an interline agreement providing onward connections to five Nigerian cities when Etihad launches flights to Lagos and Accra in March 2027. The partnership will allow passengers to travel on a single ticket with through-checked baggage. Etihad will launch daily Abu Dhabi-Lagos service on March 23, followed by 4X-weekly Abu Dhabi-Accra flights on March 24. Through Ibom Air, passengers arriving in Lagos or Accra will be able to connect to Abuja, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Enugu. The agreement will also provide connections between Accra and Abuja and Accra and Uyo.
Canada and Cote d’Ivoire have expanded their bilateral air transport agreement, increasing opportunities for passenger and cargo services between the two countries. The revised agreement allows airlines from each country to serve any point in the other market and operate up to 14 passenger-combination flights per week. The agreement also permits up to 10 all-cargo flights per week for carriers from each country and provides fifth-freedom cargo rights via points in Africa, the European Union, the UK and the U.S. Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Cote d’Ivoire totaled CA$1.2 billion ($844 million) in 2025.
South Africa’s Airlink will commence a 2X-daily service between Cape Town and Johannesburg Lanseria International Airport on Dec. 4, marking the airline’s first scheduled domestic route to Lanseria. Flights will be operated using 98-seat Embraer 190 aircraft. The new service will complement Airlink’s existing flights between Cape Town and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, providing an alternative for passengers traveling to western Gauteng and North West province. Airlink plans to double Cape Town-Lanseria frequencies to 4X-daily from March 22, 2027.
SkyUp Airlines will add two routes from Chisinau, Moldova, connecting the city with Dubai and London Stansted. Seasonal Chisinau-Dubai service will launch on Dec. 20, operating up to 3X-weekly through March 28, 2027. The airline will then launch London Stansted flights on March 26, operating 2X-weekly on Mondays and Fridays. London will become the 27th destination in SkyUp’s summer 2027 program from Chisinau, which will span 12 countries.
Oct. 6
Flyadeal has launched 5X-weekly nonstop service between Riyadh and Mumbai, expanding its Indian network to two destinations. The route is operated using 186-seat Airbus A320neo aircraft, providing more than 7,400 seats per month between the cities. Mumbai follows Flyadeal’s launch of service to Hyderabad on July 3, which marked its entry into the Indian market. The new route also provides connections through Riyadh to destinations including Abha, Dammam, Jeddah and Madinah.
India’s FLY91 will add Navi Mumbai International Airport to its network during the winter 2026-27 season, connecting the airport with Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Goa and Agatti in the Lakshadweep Islands. Navi Mumbai will become the regional airline’s 14th destination and fifth in Maharashtra. The expansion comes as FLY91 prepares for significant fleet growth, having recently placed a firm order for 40 ATR 72-600 aircraft, with deliveries planned between 2027 and 2032. The carrier expects to operate more than 350 weekly flights across 14 destinations this winter.
Jazeera Airways plans to resume nonstop service between Kuwait City and Yerevan, Armenia, on Dec. 3. Flights will initially operate 2X-weekly. The carrier will increase the service to 3X-weekly from Dec. 22 to provide additional capacity during the peak winter travel period. Jazeera says the relaunch follows strong demand recorded during its previous operations.
Lufthansa Group is increasing service to Japan to as many as 50X-weekly during summer 2027, including the resumption of Lufthansa’s Frankfurt-Nagoya route and the addition of daily Frankfurt-Tokyo Narita flights. Lufthansa will resume seasonal Frankfurt-Nagoya service 3X-weekly from March 29, 2027, while Frankfurt-Narita will operate daily from March 28. Both routes will use Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Lufthansa will continue daily services from Frankfurt and Munich to Tokyo Haneda. Swiss will also increase Zurich-Tokyo Narita to as many as 7X-weekly.
Emirates has outlined plans to deploy its Airbus A350 on scheduled U.S. services for the first time from Nov. 1, replacing the Boeing 777 on its daily Dubai-Orlando route. Emirates has served Orlando since 2015. The A350 will offer 298 seats across three cabins, comprising 32 in business class, 28 in premium economy and 238 in economy.
Air Arabia will resume daily nonstop service between Ras Al Khaimah and Kozhikode, India, on Oct. 16. The route will restore direct connectivity between the northern UAE emirate and the city in Kerala. Kozhikode will join Cairo, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar among the destinations currently served nonstop by Air Arabia from Ras Al Khaimah.
Oct. 5
Air Astana will launch nonstop service between Almaty and Tokyo Narita on Nov. 30, marking the carrier’s first route to Japan. Flights will operate 2X-weekly using Airbus A321LR aircraft, subject to government approval. Almaty-Tokyo flights will be offered on Mondays and Thursdays, with return services on Tuesdays and Fridays. The route will be operated in codeshare with Japan Airlines, building on the existing partnership between the two carriers. Air Astana said Tokyo will be its 22nd new route launched during 2026 and forms part of its strategy to strengthen Almaty’s role as a connecting hub for Central Asia and the Caucasus.
WestJet will suspend three transatlantic routes for the summer 2027 season, removing services from Halifax to Copenhagen and Madrid and from Toronto Pearson to Glasgow. A statement to Aviation Week says: “WestJet continuously evaluates its network to best serve our guests and communities. We will share any updates to our summer 2027 schedule as they are confirmed. These suspensions are due to a variety of factors, including fuel costs, softening demand and increased demand for other destinations.” OAG Schedules Analyser data shows WestJet launched all three routes during the summer 2026 season.
Riyadh Air will launch nonstop service between Riyadh and Jakarta, Indonesia, on Nov. 16, expanding its Asian network. Flights will operate 3X-weekly using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Jakarta becomes Riyadh Air’s 16th destination on sale as the carrier works toward a network of more than 100 destinations by 2030.
Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines has launched interline partnerships with Finnair and Smartwings. The agreements allow passengers to book connecting itineraries on a single ticket and check baggage through to their final destination. The Smartwings partnership provides connections from Prague to 20 European destinations, while the Finnair agreement adds connections to nine destinations in Northern Europe. Starlux launched Taipei-Prague service in August 2026, establishing the Czech capital as its first European destination.
Chalair Aviation will establish a year-round base at Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell Airport, Spain, from January 2027 as part of an expansion that will eventually give the airport six international destinations. The French regional carrier will initially operate 2X-weekly year-round services to Madrid, Palma de Mallorca and Paris Orly, with Madrid and Palma subsequently increasing to 3X-weekly. Nice and Lyon will be added during the summer 2027 season, followed by Nantes in winter 2027-28. The program marks the first time an aircraft will be permanently based at Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell throughout the year. The airport has handled more than 52,000 passengers since its first commercial route opened in 2021.
Beijing Capital Airlines has launched a service linking Hangzhou and Qingdao, China, with Vancouver. The route is operated once a week using Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The service operates via Qingdao, with Beijing Capital Airlines the sole scheduled carrier on the Qingdao-Vancouver sector.
SkyWest Airlines has launched new United Express and Delta Connection services from Canyonlands Regional Airport in Moab, Utah. Delta Connection service to Salt Lake City began Oct. 1, while year-round United Express flights to Denver will start Oct. 7. United’s Denver route will operate 1X- to 2X-daily using 50-seat CRJ200 aircraft. Delta’s Salt Lake City service will operate daily using 50-seat CRJ550s through Thanksgiving before pausing for the winter and returning in March 2027.
Air Cairo will launch 4X-weekly service between Cairo International Airport and Taif, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 19. Flights will be operated using Airbus A320 aircraft. The Egyptian carrier will compete on the route with EgyptAir, Nile Air and Air Arabia Egypt.
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