Tuesday's Route Development Briefs
South African Airways to Fly to Kigali and Bujumbura
South African Airways (SAA) is to launch flights between Johannesburg and the African cities of Kigali and Bujumbura from the start of next year. As exclusively revealed by The HUB during the Routes Africa forum in Bamako, Mali earlier this year, SAA is planning to introduce a further eight African destinations in 2011/2012 fiscal year and although the airline had not confirmed its network plans, we suggested the destinations would include Bujumbura in Burundi and Kigali in Rwanda. SAA will inaugurate flights on the Johannesburg – Kigali – Bujumbura route from January 17, 2012, subject to government approval. It plans to use an Airbus A319 on the route, which will be flown three times weekly. It is understood to have also secured traffic rights for the Kigali – Bujumbura sector. SAA currently serves 19 destinations in Africa but will focus on the region for its growth. It plans to increase its passenger numbers by 37 per cent over the coming three years and by 2015 plans to almost double its fleet to 94 aircraft.
Cimber Sterling Launches Flights to Kiev
Danish carrier Cimber Sterling has launched a 12 times weekly link between Copenhagen and Kiev, bringing competition to a route already served by Ukrainian carrier Aerosvit Airlines. An estimated 32,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year, but with weekly frequencies now almost doubling from the planned 14 a week of Aerosvit Airlines to 26 a week this winter, demand is expected to grow significantly. Cimber Sterling is using one of its Boeing 737-700s on the route.
Changi Airports to Support Russian Airport Development
Changi Airports International (CAI), Basic Element Group, and LLC Sberbank Investments, a subsidiary of Sberbank, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a joint venture to invest in and develop airports in Russia. CAI will hold 30%, Basic Element will hold 50% plus one share, and LLC Sberbank Investments will hold 20% minus one share in the joint venture. The purpose of the joint enterprise is to further develop a cluster of airports that Basic Element owns in the Krasnodar region, including Sochi and Krasnador, to improve levels of service to meet international standards, increase capitalisation of the assets and also to expand the portfolio of airport assets. The Krasnodar region is an established domestic tourism destination and an important agro-industrial centre of Russia. The region will be hosting Winter Olympics-2014, Formula 1 Motor Racing from 2015 and the FIFA World Cup in 2018 so there is tremendous potential for growth.
MIAT Mongolian Airlines Plans Ulaanbaatar – Munich Service
MIAT Mongolian Airlines is planning to launch a four times weekly service between Ulaanbaatar and Munich next summer, according to the latest update of the carrier’s GDS inventory. The display shows flights operating between June 25, 2012 and September 11, 2012 using a Boeing 767-300ER. MIAT has been serving the German market for a number of years and while it has suspended services to a range of locations in Europe, including the Czech Republic, Italy and Turkey, it has continued to serve the country, as well as offer links to the Russian capital Moscow. In the past few years it has been serving Berlin (having also previously flown to Frankfurt), so the introduction of flights to the Bavarian city will represent an interesting development. An estimated 18,000 O&D passengers travelled between Germany and Mongolia last year.
Turkish Airlines to Serve Second London Airport
Turkish Airlines (THY) is to inaugurate a daily flight between Istanbul and London Gatwick from December, increasing to five the number of daily flights it offers to the UK capital. The fast-expanding Star Alliance member currently offers four flights per day between Istanbul and London Heathrow, with daily flights to Manchester and five flights per week to Birmingham further expanding its presence in the UK market. The airline also served London Stansted up until the end of the Northern Summer schedules at the end of last month, via its subsidiary company AnadoluJet. The additional flight will be introduced from December 20 and will be operated by an Airbus A321. An estimated 2.1 million O&D passengers travelled between Turkey and the UK on scheduled services in the past year, up 36.1 per cent on the previous 12 months, one of the fastest growing markets in the world. THY has seen its share of the traffic decline during this period from 33.9 per cent to 27.0 per cent, due to increased competition from budget operators, most notably easyJet.
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