The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
Sept. 12
Icelandair has launched nonstop flights between Reykjavik Keflavik and Edinburgh, Scotland. The route, operated with Boeing 737-8 aircraft, will run three to four times per week. Originally planned as a seasonal service, it has already been upgraded to year-round operations following strong customer demand. “Of course, it’s a new flight and a new airline, but it’s also a signal of new possibilities and opportunities,” Edinburgh Airport CCO Stephanie Wear says. “Icelandair provides fantastic onward travel connections to a range of destinations, and we’re always striving to make travel as seamless as possible.”
Qantas will begin flying its first Airbus A321XLRs with commercial passengers on Sept. 25, with inaugural services scheduled from Sydney to Perth and Melbourne. The two aircraft, registered VH-OGA Great Ocean Road and VH-OGB Outback Way, will be the first A321XLRs in the Asia-Pacific to enter commercial service, subject to regulatory approval. The airline also intends to deploy the aircraft on longer domestic and short-haul international flights. In August, Qantas placed orders for 20 more A321XLRs, boosting its total to 48 aircraft. The latest orders were converted from options that were secured in previous deals.
Air Corsica will expand its European footprint in summer 2026 with the launch of three new international routes linking Corsica to Austria and Germany. The airline plans to operate seasonal flights from Ajaccio to Munich and Vienna, as well as from Bastia to Vienna. Services will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft. Flights between Ajaccio and Vienna will run weekly on Sundays from June 7 to Oct. 4, while Bastia–Vienna will operate 2X-weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays between June 14 and Sept. 30. The Ajaccio–Munich route will operate 2X-weekly on Thursdays and Sundays from June 11 through Sept. 27.
Contour Airlines will expand its U.S. and Caribbean networks this fall with the launch of two new nonstop routes. From Nov. 1, the carrier will begin daily jet service between Quincy Regional Airport in Illinois and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. On Nov. 14, the airline will then open a new Caribbean link between San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico and St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport.
Aerolíneas Argentinas has announced the launch of new nonstop flights to Aruba, adding service from Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza. The new routes will operate from Jan. 1 through Feb. 28, 2026. Service will include three weekly flights linking Buenos Aires, Aruba and Cordoba, with returns to Buenos Aires; one weekly roundtrip between Mendoza and Aruba on Fridays; and one weekly Cordoba–Aruba roundtrip on Thursdays.
Sept. 11
Dubai-based LCC flydubai has signed a new interline agreement with Romanian national carrier TAROM. The deal allows flydubai passengers to connect via Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP) to 15 TAROM destinations, including Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Cluj-Napoca, Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris. Flydubai has operated to Bucharest since 2012 and currently served OTP twice a day. The carrier will add Iasi as its second Romanian destination on Sept. 19.
Emirates will deploy its new Airbus A350 on daily services to Hangzhou, China, starting Oct. 26, three months after launching the route. “Introducing the A350 to Hangzhou is the natural next step, as we continue to bring the latest and greatest that Emirates has to offer to China's skies,” says Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer. The A350 is the first new aircraft type to join the Emirates fleet since 2008.
Air Caraïbes and Caribbean Airlines have launched a codeshare partnership. Under the partnership, Caribbean Airlines will place its code on Air Caraïbes flights from Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre to Paris Orly, as well as regional services to St. Martin and between the French Antilles. In return, Air Caraïbes will codeshare on Caribbean Airlines-operated routes linking Bridgetown with Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre and Port of Spain, as well as services from Trinidad to St. Lucia Vigie and Martinique. Separately, Air Caraïbes will also broaden its Dominican Republic network this winter with a new nonstop Paris Orly–Samaná service via El Catey International Airport, alongside the resumption of direct flights from Santo Domingo.
Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas will launch a new daily service linking Rio de Janeiro Galeao with Macapa via Belem from Dec. 1. The route, operated with Boeing 737-8 aircraft, is designed to meet rising business and leisure demand between Brazil’s southeast and north regions.
Sept. 10
Air Astana and Air India have launched a codeshare partnership covering flights between Almaty and both New Delhi and Mumbai. Under the agreement, Air India will place its AI code on the Air Astana-operated services. Air Astana CEO Peter Foster says the agreement will help to accelerate business, tourism and student traffic flows as the Kazakh carrier increases frequencies to India. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson adds that Kazakhstan is “a fast-growing market with immense potential for tourism.” The codeshare builds on an interline arrangement launched earlier in 2025, which has already given Air Astana access to 18 Indian domestic destinations and nine international routes via Air India, while Air India passengers gained connections to Central Asia and China through Almaty. Additionally, Air India plans to offer nonstop flights from New Delhi to Jaisalmer, starting Oct. 26 through March 28, 2026. Operations will be double-daily using Airbus A320 aircraft.
Volotea has inaugurated a new French domestic route linking Toulouse-Blagnac Airport and Rennes, expanding its network from Toulouse to 20 destinations across six countries. The service will operate 2X-weekly and offer more than 11,000 seats annually. The addition marks Volotea’s eighth French domestic destination from Toulouse, where the carrier has operated since 2013 and opened a base in 2016. Volotea plans to offer about 540,000 seats from the airport in 2025.
UK-based easyJet will bring forward the launch of its new Newcastle base, with operations now set to begin on March 22, 2026, earlier than originally planned. The move will see three aircraft based at the airport and allow the LCC to expand its network to 19 destinations. The base will support 11 new routes alongside the eight domestic and international services already operated from Newcastle. The new services include Antalya, Dalaman, Rhodes and Corfu, Faro, Malta, Reus, Prague and Nice, as well as Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and Enfidha in Tunisia.
Sept. 9
American Airlines will launch the only nonstop service between the U.S. and Bimini, Bahamas, starting Feb. 14. The route will operate roundtrip from Miami on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays with Embraer 175 aircraft, offering both economy and premium cabins. Bimini becomes American’s seventh Bahamian destination, joining Nassau, Freeport, Marsh Harbour, North Eleuthera, George Town and Governor’s Harbour. “American knows that travelers are looking for unique and varied experiences, and that’s why we’ve added destinations like Bimini to our network,” says American’s senior vice president of network planning, Brian Znotins.
Wizz Air will launch a new direct service between Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Tirana, Albania, starting March 2, 2026. The route will operate four times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays using a 209-seat Airbus A321. It marks the carrier’s fourth route from Arlanda and further strengthens Stockholm’s connectivity to Eastern Europe.
India’s IndiGo will launch domestic flights connecting Kolkata and Purnea in Bihar three times a week from Sept. 15, marking the inauguration of Purnea’s new airport. Purnea becomes the LCC’s 94th domestic and 137th overall destination, and its fourth in Bihar after Patna, Gaya and Darbhanga. The service will be operated with ATR aircraft on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
QantasLink has started year-round flights between Newcastle and Perth, marking the first nonstop connection between Western Australia (WA) and New South Wales’ (NSW) Hunter Valley region. Operating three times per week using Airbus A319 aircraft, the service is expected to provide about 23,400 inbound seats to WA annually, boosting opportunities for tourism, business and sporting travel. The route was secured through a partnership between the Cook Government, Tourism WA, Perth Airport, Newcastle Airport and Destination NSW.
Emirates will expand its premium economy offering on flights to New York John F. Kennedy and Milan Malpensa later this year as part of its Airbus A380 cabin upgrades. Starting Nov. 10, flights EK205/206 via Milan will feature premium economy, complementing the existing EK091/092 service. From Dec. 1, premium economy will also be available on Dubai–New York flights EK201/202, adding to EK203/204, which already operates with the cabin.
Qazaq Air will continue operating subsidized flights on “socially important routes” across Kazakhstan from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. The program covers six routes, including Astana–Petropavlovsk, Zhezkazgan–Karaganda, Shymkent–Zhezkazgan, Kostanay–Turkistan, Almaty–Kokshetau and Turkistan–Karaganda, with frequencies ranging from two to 6X-weekly.
Sept. 8
Wizz Air will expand its presence in Moldova by basing two additional Airbus A320ceo aircraft in Chisinau, arriving in December 2025 and March 2026. The additional aircraft will enable the launch of six new routes from Chisinau: Hamburg (3X-weekly from Dec. 12), Frankfurt Hahn (2X-weekly from Dec. 12), Turin (2X-weekly from Dec. 13), Nice (2X-weekly from Dec. 14), Prague (4X-weekly from Mar. 3, 2026) and Copenhagen (2X-weekly from Mar. 3). Frequencies will also increase on 10 existing routes, including Brussels Charleroi, Barcelona, Paris Beauvais and Berlin. In total, Wizz Air will operate 34 routes to 16 countries from Chisinau, its largest-ever Moldovan network.
Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines will expand their codeshare partnership from Oct. 16 to include Beijing Daxing–Doha flights and additional connectivity beyond Doha. The announcement comes ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday, a peak travel period. Under the agreement, Qatar Airways will place its code on China Southern’s 3X-weekly Beijing Daxing–Doha services, while China Southern will add its CZ code on Qatar Airways-operated flights to 15 destinations across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, including Athens, Cairo, Madrid and Munich. The move builds on existing codeshares covering Guangzhou–Doha services and expands access to Chengdu Tianfu, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, subject to approval.
Flybondi will launch flights to Peru on Dec. 1 with the start of service from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, to Lima. The route will operate four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The Lima service will be Flybondi’s eighth international destination and its first in Peru. The airline currently flies to seven cities in Brazil and to Encarnacion, Paraguay. Flybondi says the new route is expected to boost tourism and economic ties across Argentina, Brazil, Peru and the wider region.
Icelandair has begun nonstop service between Reykjavik and Istanbul, marking the airline’s first scheduled flights to the Turkish city. The route will operate up to three times per week using Boeing 737-8 aircraft, with a flight time of about 5 hr. 30 min. “After a long time planning, we are excited to see the launch of our Istanbul service and to be deepening our collaboration with Turkish Airlines,” Icelandair CEO Bogi Nils Bogason says. “This route opens up convenient new travel corridors between Iceland and the east.”
Jet2.com has launched its first ski program from London Luton Airport, adding weekly flights to Geneva for the winter 2025-26 season. The new Saturday services will run from Feb. 14 through March 28, 2026.
Latvia’s airBaltic has launched a new nonstop service from Riga to Faro, Portugal, with weekly Saturday flights. The route becomes the airline’s third destination in Portugal, alongside Lisbon and Porto, with service to Madeira starting later this year. Vice president for network management, Mantas Vrubliauskas, says the Faro route “opens a direct gateway for Latvian travelers to the Algarve” while boosting inbound access to Riga and beyond. As part of its winter 2025-26 program, airBaltic will also begin flights from Gran Canaria, Spain, to Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Oct. 25, and from Tallinn, Estonia, to Madeira on Oct. 26.
South African Airways will add capacity across several regional and international routes. From Oct. 1, Johannesburg–Accra service will rise to six flights per week, with new Wednesday and Friday departures. Johannesburg–Lagos will follow on Oct. 6, also moving to six flights per week with new Monday and Tuesday frequencies. On Dec. 10, Johannesburg–Sao Paulo will expand with additional Wednesday and Sunday flights. The uplift will run through Feb. 11, 2026.
AirAsia has launched flights between Kuala Lumpur and Semarang, Indonesia. The new route restores international connectivity to Jenderal Ahmad Yani Airport and marks AirAsia’s 17th Indonesian destination. “The Kuala Lumpur–Semarang route strengthens tourism flows, business activity and investment into Central Java, supporting the national agenda to position aviation as a key driver of economic growth,” says Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi.
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