Tuesday's Route Development Briefs
Lufthansa Adds Another Munich – London Flight
German national carrier Lufthansa is to introduce an eighth daily flight between Munich and London Heathrow this winter. The additional service, which will be introduced from October 30, will operate as a late night departure from the Bavarian city and an early morning return from London. Lufthansa competes directly with British Airways on the route. It carried an estimated 344,000 O&D passengers during the past year, a 47 per cent share of the total market. This is a 6.8 per cent decline on the previous 12 month period, when it held a 51 per cent share of the market, although the carrier’s yield has strengthened as average one-way fares have increased from $164 to $184.
Air China Switches Tianjin – Taipei Link
Air China is to move its twice weekly service from Tianjin to the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, from Taoyuan to the downtown Sung Shan Airport. The airline struggled to compete with EVA Air on its flights but will now go head-to-head with TransAsia Airways on the revised routing. An estimated 96,000 O&D passengers travelled between the two cities in the past year with Air China holding a 29 per cent share of this market.
Transaero Confirms Expansion into Asia
Russian carrier Transaero Airlines has confirmed it will relaunch flights between Moscow and the Asian capitals of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore this winter, while a new connection to the Seychelles will also be added early next year; services on the three routes will be launched over a four day period at the end of December / start of January. The independent airline will resume a weekly rotation to Kuala Lumpur from Moscow Domodedovo on December 30 using a Boeing 767-300ER; while a weekly 777-200ER service to Singapore will be restarted on January 1, 2012. The latter route is already served by Singapore Airlines. The new Seychelles link will begin on January 2 and will be operated using a 777-200ER every ten days.
Edelweiss Air Pushes Ahead with Seasonal Tokyo Link
Swiss leisure carrier Edelweiss Air is expected to launch a weekly service between Zurich and Tokyo Narita next summer, almost a year later than originally planned. The airline, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines, was due to inaugurate the route in summer 2011, but after this year’s tragic earthquake and subsequent tsunami that caused devastation across parts of Japan, the airline dropped the launch. According to the latest update to the airline’s GDS inventory, the flight will be introduced between May 26, 2012 and September 22, 2012, complementing the existing daily services of Swiss on the route. An estimated 72,000 O&D passengers travelled between Zurich and Tokyo Narita last year.
Air Nelson Launches Auckland Link from Paraparaumu
Air Nelson has inaugurated flights from the newly opened Kapiti Coast Airport in Paraparaumu and Auckland. The airline is offering 18 return flights every week on behalf of Air New Zealand, expanding the national carrier’s domestic network to 27 destinations. The new air service will enhance trade links to the capital and will enable travellers to make more efficient use of their time when travelling to Auckland and on to other domestic or international destinations. “Those living on the Kapiti Coast will no longer have to make the one-hour drive into Wellington Airport – instead they’ll be able to fly direct to Auckland in one hour ten minutes,” said Grant Kerr, General Manager, Air Nelson. He added that there is a large catchment area for the new service, with around 110,000 people living in the area that stretches from Levin in the North to Tawa, near Wellington.
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