Middle East

By Richard Maslen
The new Virgin Australia service between Perth and Abu Dhabi will also open additional connection options for passengers travelling to and from the capital of Western Australia, with direct connections to 23 European, 15 Middle East and 10 African destinations.
Airports & Networks

By Carolyn Burnett
World Routes is the only route development forum operating on a global scale, providing a meeting place for airlines, airports, tourism authorities and governments that want to plan new air services.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
As we approach this year's World Routes forum, we take a closer look at the main O&D markets from Chengdu, including a number of international destinations not currently served directly from the fast-growing city.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The A330-300 Regional is optimised for missions up to 2,700 nm (5-hour flight) covering short to medium haul routes and offers significant cost savings through a reduced operational weight of around 200 tons. The reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs will result in an overall cost reduction of around 20% compared with today’s long-range A330-300.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Have you wondered what enticed an airline to a certain destination? What the data says about demand on the city pair and connecting markets? What external factors may have influenced the airline in selecting a specific city pair? How this business case differs from others? Our new ‘Route Case’ offering will seek to provide the answers all within a single 20 minute meeting slot at our events.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The latest issue of the air service development magazine, Routes News, is now available to view.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Find out the expert views on key topics currently impacting the global aviation industry. Our ‘Ask the Expert’ stories allow you to choose the subjects that the Routesonline digital content team will discuss with respected industry professionals.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Qatar Airways never misses the opportunity to make a major announcement at any trade show that it attends. However, this is normally through major fleet orders at the big airshows and network expansion at business events not major investments in international airlines.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Aviation is a catalyst for growth, a vital conduit for world trade, and a major global employer. Nearly 63 million jobs and $2.4 trillion in global GDP are supported by aviation. But with these benefits comes an impact on the environment. Whether that is climate change, aircraft noise, local air quality, environment advocacy actions and most recently illegal wildlife trafficking.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The arrival of Qatar Airways would be a major development for Las Vegas, and the suggested January 2017 launch could have the route established ahead of next year’s Routes Americas forum which takes place the The Aria Resort and Casino Convention Facility in Sin City between February 14 and 16, 2017.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The launch of flights to Chiang Mai comes at a time when Qatar Airways is rapidly expanding its network and will inaugurate 14 new destinations on its route map throughout 2016 and into early 2017, including a number of new markets in Africa.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
With effect from June 23, 2016, flynas will add a second daily service between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, increasing its combined offer with Etihad to four daily services. At the same time it will enter the Jeddah – Abu Dhabi market with a daily flight which will complement Etihad’s existing thrice daily services.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The UK has always been one of the key markets for Oman Air and is one of just five country markets it serves in Europe. The airline currently offers flights to Frankfurt and Munich in Germany; Milan in Italy; Paris in France, Zurich in Switzerland and London, with the airline describing the UK capital as a flagship route.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
From the start of the forthcoming winter schedule, British Airways is to introduce new non-stop flights from London Heathrow to both Doha, Qatar and Muscat, Oman. Both destinations are already part of the airline’s network but are currently served with one-stop direct flight routings via Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
Airports & Networks

By Routes News
The dramatic collapse in the price of oil is helping to boost the bottom line of airlines but, ominously, the old adage says that what goes down will, inevitably, go up again. Routes News investigates.
Airports & Networks

By Routes News
After a decades-long embargo that blocked Iran from forging ties with the rest of the world, the country is now planning a host of new connections, with local carriers also gearing up for new growth, Routes News discovered.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Emirates Airline's service from Newcastle to Dubai has for a long-time been hailed as a game-changer for North East England, not just affording better access into markets across the Middle East and into Asia and the Pacific via Dubai International Airport, but also due to the more than 14,000 tonnes of cargo its Airbus A330-200s and Boeing 777-300ERs have carried since it launched the route in 2007.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Delivering the keynote address at the monthly Wings Club meeting in New York, James Hogan, president and chief executive officer, Etihad Airways said that in an industry dominated by legacy airlines, and with such high barriers to entry, no new network carrier could hope to compete effectively in its own.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Heathrow’s unique capacity constraints – it is operating at 98 percent capacity – coupled with the high demand from airlines due to strong passenger yields at the airport, mean slots are hard to obtain. The airport currently claims it has a queue of thirty airlines waiting for slots.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The Dutch flag carrier is understood to have already held discussions with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Developments in Iran and is closely liaising with sister carrier Air France ahead of its own return to Tehran.
Airports & Networks

By Laura Hamill
A report from industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that average global fares fell by more than ten percent in the 2015 calendar year compared to the year before. It is believed that this will continue as oil prices remain low.
Airports & Networks

By Laura Hamill
The world’s busiest airport for international traffic will apply a new departure tax to bookings made from April 1, 2016 for travel from June 30, 2016 onwards. The service fee will cost 35 dirham – around $9.50.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
San Francisco is a key centre for Israeli business travel and one of the most popular US leisure destinations for Israelis. From its San Francisco hub, United operates nearly 280 daily flights to more than 90 destinations in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region providing transfer support to the strong point-to-point demand.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Emirates Airline will add a fourth daily rotation between its Dubai International Airport hub and London’s Gatwick Airport from October 1, 2016. The additional flight will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER configured with 360-seats: eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
There are now almost 390 Boeing 787 Dreamliners flying to destinations around the world and there remains a ‘buzz’ around the modern generation airline programme with the positive impact of what the manufacturer describes as a “game-changing airplane” being used in airline marketing to highlight the equipment.
Airports & Networks