Routes

US aerospace giant Boeing has retained the crown as the world’s largest plane-maker after narrowly recording more commercial aircraft deliveries than European rival Airbus.

London’s Heathrow Airport is operating at 98 percent capacity, but wants to accommodate an extra 25,000 flights a year even before its proposed third runway opens.

China Southern Airlines is making a bigger play for the Italian market as it seeks to gain ground on its rivals on China - Italy routes.

This week: Tributes paid to Southwest Airlines founder; Qatar Airways takes stake in China Southern; Neeleman’s latest venture firms up A220 order; VINCI Airports to make £2.9bn Gatwick investment and more.

This week: SAS targets football traffic, ASL Airlines France adds Belgrade route, and Pobeda to open first service to Belgium.

Find out how award-winning Promotur, the Canary Islands tourist board, has overseen the development of more than 250 air routes into the islands since 2017.

The meeting scheduling system will open on Tuesday 8 January. Senior network planners from more than 60 of the region’s leading airlines have already registered to attend Routes Americas 2019.

What will the year ahead have in store for the commercial aviation industry? From further consolidation in Europe to a shake-up of global airline alliances, Nigel Mayes from leading consultancy ASM casts his eye on what might shape the aviation world in 2019.

Smaller cities across the world are seeing success when bidding to host major events, capitalising on the constraints of conventional event locations.

AirAisa will not launch any new airlines over the next three years apart from a subsidiary in Vietnam, chief executive Tony Fernandes has confirmed.

Fresh from opening a new terminal that has increased overall passenger capacity to 12.5 million, Mactan-Cebu International Airport is already targeting further expansion. Erwin Balane, head of route development for The Philippine Department of Tourism, tells Routesonline about its ambitions of growing capacity to 35 million passengers per year by 2025.

The second part of our review of 2018 features World Routes taking place in Guangzhou; the failure of European leisure operator Primera Air; Singapore Airlines regaining the crown as the operator of the world’s longest flight; and Routesonline reveals the busiest passenger air routes in the world. Plus the return of Routes Africa and Brexit uncertainty rumbles on.

The facts and figures behind the world's leading route development events.

We present the most-read Airlineroute announcements throughout last year.

What were Routesonline readers most interested in this year? We reveal our list of the most-read stories in 2018.

IndiGo has signed a codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines to support its international expansion plans.

Saudia's low-cost subsidiary flyadeal, previously an all-Airbus operator, has committed to ordering up to 50 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft as it seeks to grow its domestic presence.

A start-up carrier backed by a former chairman and chief executive of American Airlines has placed an order for up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX8s, representing the largest aircraft deal ever for the African continent.

This week: British Airways resumes flights to Pakistan's capital, Air Italy adds more North America destinations, and China Southern connects the hosts of two Routes events.

Find out which airports and tourism authorities have been recognised for their outstanding achievements in route development marketing.

Time is running out to take advantage of early booking rates for the event held in Québec City, Canada next February.

As 2018 draws to a close, Routesonline looks at some of the biggest stories making the headlines this year. Part one of our review features the attempted takeover of Norwegian; an interview with British Airways boss Alex Cruz; the first non-stop link between the UK and Australia; and the fastest-growing airports in the world. Plus we were in Quito, Brisbane and Bilbao for the regional Americas, Asia and Europe route development forums.

The number of domestic departure seats in India is set to top 165 million this year, with such “unprecedented” growth driving the need for more than 2,300 new jets over the next two decades.

This week: Wizz Air plots further London Luton growth; Boeing and Embraer agree joint venture terms; Virgin Atlantic's Flybe talks continue; American starts 28 new flights; MEA to take up to six A330-900neos and more.

Hervé Pierret, the managing director of Air Corsica, has spoken to Routesonline about the success of the airline’s first scheduled flights to the UK and its long-term network ambitions.