Routesonline provides an update on the operations of the Airbus A380. We also reveal the network size of each operator and the top destinations served by the aircraft type.
While its rivals Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways are looking closely at the sustainability of their business models, Qatar Airways shows no signs of slowing its incredible network growth and surprised guests at this year’s Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week by revealing an additional 12 new markets that should see the airline service in 2018.
Delta Air Lines' ranking at Boston has been impacted by the growth of JetBlue Airways and consolidation in the US airline market. While it acquired Northwest Airlines, the merger of AirTran Airways into Southwest Airlines, Continental Airlines into United Airlines and most recently US Airways into American Airlines has boosted the presence of its rivals at Logan International Airport.
The airline, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, is currently undertaking an important fleet modernisation process which will see it receive a total of nine ATR turboprops over the next three years for operation both on main routes and connections from and to smaller islands and communities across the country.
Long-haul arrivals in Western Europe are on the increase – showing its resilience in the face of last year’s terror attacks. It has taken over a year to recover, but long-haul arrivals are starting to surge again, reaching visitor numbers higher than those seen before the Paris attack in November 2015, reports ForwardKeys.
The launch of the as yet unnamed business remains subject to agreement with its pilots and any required regulatory approvals. Details of its plans also remain vague but WestJet confirms it will aim to “provide Canadians with no-frills, lower-cost travel options” and will operate with an initial fleet of ten high-density Boeing 737-800s.
European long-haul, low-cost operator Norwegian is known to be exploring markets in Asia to expand its business formula to the East. It previously only served Bangkok out of Scandinavia, but has now confirmed a London Gatwick - Singapore link, and more routes are set to follow as additional Boeing 787s join the fleet.
Gulf carrier Emirates Airline is cutting back on its schedules to the United States of America, blaming policies introduced by President Trump's administration for hurting bookings. Daily flights from Dubai to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando will be cut to five a week. Flights to Seattle, Boston and Los Angeles will now be once a day, instead of twice.
The oneworld alliance member has an agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to lease 17 Embraer E170 pre-owned jets, a contract that has enabled the manufacturer to fast-track deliveries without impacting its order backlog. The first of these aircraft, former Republic Airways examples, are starting to appear from airport paintshops in the airline’s instantly recognisable green livery and all 17 units are due to arrive before the end of this year.
KLM has opened reservations this week for a planned twice weekly Amsterdam - San Jose flight launching from October 31, 2017. This will be flown on Tuesdays and Fridays and operated by one of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. It previously served San Jose until March 1998.
In one of the most significant brand expansion in the history of luxury travel and hospitality, Crystal Cruises is not only introducing new ships to its fleet effectively establishing three brand new classes of cruising, but also inducting two commercial airliners to launch Crystal Luxury Air in 2017.
Emirates has announced that it will introduce a second daily service to the island of Bali in Indonesia from July 2, 2017. The new service will be added to meet the growing demand for travel to and from Bali, offering travellers more convenience and connectivity options.
February international passenger demand rose 5.8 per cent compared to February 2016, which was down compared to the 9.1 per cent yearly increase recorded in January. Adjusting for the leap year, however, growth actually accelerated slightly compared to January. Total capacity climbed 3.4 per cent, and load factor rose 1.8 percentage points to 78.4 per cent.
The 'ACI Europe Airport Traffic Report includes 235 airports in total representing more than 88 per cent of European air passenger traffic. It is viewed by analysts as a good barometer of the industry’s health as it is the only industry analysis to include all types of airline passenger flights to, from and within Europe: full service, low cost, charter and others.
Norwegian will launch flights from both Denver International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London’s Gatwick Airport this September. With these additions, Norwegian now offers nine non-stop routes from across the United States to London, serving more city pair markets than any US airline.
In the international market IndiGo is currently ranked as India’s sixth largest carrier behind local operators Jet Airways, Air India, low-cost carrier Air India Express and Gulf giants Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways. It will this year hold a 4.1 per cent share of international capacity from India, based on published schedules, up from 3.2 per cent in 2016.
JetBlue first introduced the Airbus A321 into its network in late 2013, but started introducing its premium Mint configured aircraft into its fleet in the middle of 2014 for operation on Transcontinental routes from New York and latterly also from Boston. These aircraft are configured with 16 lie-flat seats, four of which are private suites, and 143 core JetBlue Experience seats (Economy and ‘Even More Space’ seats).
TAP is adding 23 new weekly frequencies into Spain during 2017, its largest international country network by capacity. This summer the Spanish market accounts for 11.2 per cent of its available seats out of Lisbon Airport.
Wizz Air will inaugurate twice weekly flights between Warsaw and Agadir from June 30, 2017, its first scheduled flights into the continent since it served Hurghada in Egypt back in 2014 and 2015.
The formal confirmation of the closure of the route from American Airlines follows an exclusive story on Routesonline on April 3, 2017 about the changes to the airline’s booking inventory. The report from our Airlineroute channel had revealed the cancellation of the twice daily link from August 22, 2017.
In our regular Routes News series we take a look at the people that attend Routes events and find out more about them, their jobs and the current industry issues impacting them.
Both Japanese and Australian air travellers are flying in greater numbers again when compared with last year, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys which analyses 16 million booking transactions a day. The figures show that from January to mid-March this year total Japanese outbound travel was up 4.1 per cent when compared to 2016 – an encouraging sign for the rest of 2017.
