Thursday's Route Development Briefs
United and Continental Receive Single AOC
United Continental Holdings has announced that it has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for a single operating certificate, marking another significant achievement in the integration of United Airlines and Continental Airlines. This regulatory milestone, while significant from an operational policies and procedures perspective, will not change anything from the passenger viewpoint. However, with immediate effect all air traffic control communications will refer to all United and Continental flights with the call-sign ‘United’. United and Continental announced their merger in May 2010 and closed the transaction in October 2010. At the current time they will continue to operate as two brands but expect to migrate to a single passenger service system in the first quarter of 2012 at which point, they will function as one airline.
Wizz Air Announces Growth at Gdansk
Central and Eastern European low-cost specialist Wizz Air is to expand its network from Lech Walesa Airport in the Polish city of Gdansk. The carrier is already the largest operator at the facility currently serving 20 destinations with 72 weekly flights. Its own growth has been a major factor behind the airport’s rise in traffic over the past few years and it handling more than two million passengers for the first time in 2010. From April 2012, Wizz Air will introduce twice weekly flights to the Norwegian destinations of Haugesund and Trondheim, while frequencies to Oslo Sandefjord Torp will be doubled from three to six a week. “With these additions, the total number of Wizz Air routes from Poland will increase to 79 in the coming summer season,” said John Stephenson, Executive Vice President, Wizz Air. “On top of this, Wizz Air becomes the largest carrier between Poland and Norway with 35 weekly flights.”
Sunwing Airlines Returns to Scotland
Canadian leisure company Sunwing Airlines is to relaunch flights between Toronto and Glasgow next summer after a successful programme this year. Scottish tourism chiefs hope the link will help increase the number of Canadian tourists visiting the country - 98,000 last year according to official statistics and which brought around £65 million to the economy. The tour operator will offer twice weekly flights on the route, its sole link to Scotland. “Strong global connections are crucial to our economic prosperity and this new route is a tremendous boost for Glasgow and Scotland as a whole,” said Fiona Hyslop, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs during a week-long visit to Canada and USA to strengthen business, economic and cultural links, and promote a dynamic and creative Scotland as a great place to visit and invest.
JetBlue Increases Links to Jamaica
US low-fare operator JetBlue Airways is to further expand its presence in the Caribbean with the addition of a twice daily connection to Kingston, Jamaica from Fort Lauderdale. The flight will launch on April 30, 2012 and will be flown by an Embraer 190. It will complement the carrier’s existing daily link to Kingston from New York JFK and its flights to Montego Bay from New York JFK, Boston and Orlando. "We talk about the importance of the Caribbean to JetBlue - we look at markets like Jamaica where we've seen a phenomenal response to our brand - and we just can't wait to add more service," said Robin Hayes, Chief Commercial Officer, JetBlue Airways. "We see this as just another step in a journey that's going to take us to a sizeable presence in Jamaica.” Aviation is the life blood of the tourist industry for island destinations like Jamaica and the frequency of this additional link provides many connecting opportunities across the US via Fort Lauderdale’s Hollywood International Airport.
London Oxford Airport Prepares for Transatlantic Charter
London Oxford Airport is making final preparations for next week’s departure of its first-ever long-haul charter service. A single flight is due to depart the facility on December 7 to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland with onward packages being offered to New York with Aer Lingus. The flight is being operated by a CityJet Avro RJ85, which with 95-seats will be the largest commercial service from London Oxford. Organised and marketed by World of Experience Tours, part of Oxfordshire-based travel agency Great Experience Travel and also trading as Oxford Airport Travel the service should pave the way for further one-off, seasonal or series charters from Oxford in the coming year. For the last three years, Oxford has hosted seasonal flights to Jersey.
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