European low-cost carrier Norwegian is set to open four new operational bases – two in the US and two in Europe – in 2017 to support the growth of its long-haul transatlantic network. The internal go-ahead for the expansion follows the final approval late last week by the US Department of Transportation for a foreign carrier permit for the airline’s Norwegian Air International business.
The ‘new’ Cyprus Airways is set to launch flights as early as this month with an initial fleet of two Airbus A319s. It plans to operate flights linking Larnaca and Paphos to destinations in Greece, Russia and the UK where it is understood to be seeking to fly to London Stansted, Manchester and Glasgow.
The landmark partnership continues a recent relaxation of rights between the two countries and is expected to lead to an immediate growth in flights between the two countries, including many new routes from China’s emerging second and third tier cities into Australia.
The new Belfast City route will commence from June 1, 2017 and will be operated using a 72-seat Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprop. It will operate from Keflavik International Airport in Iceland, providing extensive connection options to the Transatlantic network of Icelandair from the mid-Atlantic island as well as support growing business and leisure flows into Iceland which is becoming an increasingly popular leisure destination.
The European Commission has found that public funding granted by Austria to Klagenfurt airport is in line with European Union (EU) state aid rules, but as ruled that certain airport services and marketing agreements concluded between the airport operator and airlines Ryanair, Hapag-Lloyd Express and TUIfly gave the latter “an undue advantage”, which cannot be justified under state aid rules.
The carrier, part of the HNA Group, will offer a daily flight between Hong Kong and Vancouver from June 30, 2017, initially using a 283-seat Airbus A330-200 but likely to be switched to the A350-900 once the first of its aircraft are delivered towards the end of next year.
With the south of England facing capacity constraints, Stephen Turner of Manchester Airport Group believes his airport is in pole position to secure more long-haul routes.
Airport cities should participate in route development and collaborate more closely with airlines, according to David Stroud, managing director of Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM).
Data from air service development consultants, Airport Strategy & Marketing (ASM) suggests that British Airways is initially taking tentative steps into the New Orleans when it launches flights between London Heathrow and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport next year. A demand forecast from the consultancy on the route shows expected demand outweighing available capacity from the day of launch.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have joined forces and called on the UK government to lift the current ban on UK-based airlines flying to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. The move follows the successful reintroduction of regular flights to the Black Sea resort from other countries, including Germany and Russia.
The eight ‘new’ markets comprise Canberra, the airline’s fifth destination in Australia; Dublin, Ireland; Las Vegas, the airline’s eleventh destination in the United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Medan’s Kualanamu International Airport, the airline’s third destination in Indonesia; and Tabuk and Yanbu, its ninth and tenth destinations in Saudi Arabia.
Ethiopian Airlines' new five times weekly link to Oslo from its Addis Ababa hub will operate via Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport from March 26, 2017 using a two-class, 270-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner equipment.
Located on the Mediterranean coast in South-East France, Marseille-Provence Airport has firmly positioned itself in the minds of the air service development community through its regular attendance of World Routes and regional events and its successful hosting of Routes Europe back in 2014. The airport has taken advantage of its location at the intersection of French rail and road networks to become a key gateway to the South of France, to Marseille and, of course, the famous Provence region.
Taiwanese carrier TransAsia Airways suspended all operations this week after what was originally expected to be just a one day shutdown turned into the permanent closure of the carrier, which has found it difficult to recover from two high-profile accidents in less than a year at a time of cooling relations with China and a reduction in Cross-Straits demand.
As Airbus celebrates the milestone inaugural test flight of the new A350-1000, the largest variant of the A350XWB family, Routesonline looks at approaching two years of commercial operations with the smaller A350-900.
The carrier is set to take delivery of their first Dreamliner in less than a year, with the aircraft due in October 2017, but the big question remains – where will this aircraft fly?
The link into this year’s World Routes host city will commence from April 28, 2017 and will be operated using a Boeing 777-200ER configured with 248 seats. The airline has been a major target for Aeroports de Catalunya as it seeks to boost connectivity into Northeast Asia, one of the fastest growing regions of the world and a major outbound market.
Loganair’s current schedule will provide over 1,000 flights each week across 46 routes, offering unrivalled connectivity for Scotland and with operations stretching as far afield as London, Norwich, Manchester, Dublin, and Bergen in Norway using a fleet of 28 aircraft. It has almost 300 flights each week to and from Glasgow, and is the largest operator at key airports throughout the Highlands & Islands including Inverness, Sumburgh, Kirkwall and Stornoway.
Airport, Strategy and Marketing (ASM)’s Forecast 1 is an affordable passenger route forecasting tool that allows the user to test scenarios for a target route market and report these outputs that the airlines are looking for.
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According to industry sources, it is understood that Ethiopian Airlines will introduce a new link to Victoria Falls from Addis Ababa in the first half of next year, bringing new connectivity options into the Zimbabwe market.
The airline's first aircraft, an Airbus A320, arrived in Muscat on November 18, 2016 to coincide with the country’s National Day, which celebrates independence from Portuguese control in 1650. It will be followed by two additional aircraft to support its initial launch plans.
Air Canada has their sights set on the European market with their latest route announcements, which will mean connections from Vancouver to some of the most important airports in the continent.
