Airports & Networks

Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines is to increase its flights into Africa from its Brussels International Airport base and upgrade its in-flight

Continuing a growing trend in the airport business, senior executives from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and Taipei’s Taoyuan

Aeroflot Russian Airlines has operated its first international scheduled flight with its Sukhoi SSJ-100 Superjet regional aircraft. The Russian flag

Southwest Airlines (SWA) announced it will deploy the Flightcom wireless aviation ground support communications system at each of its gates at all 73 of its destinations across the US. It expects deployment to be complete in the first quarter of 2012. “We are the first major airline to widely deploy this type of wireless system, and we expect it will strengthen our team communications and operational efficiency,” SWA senior manager-safety, standards and regulatory compliance, ground ops Marc Stank said.

Taiwan-based China Airlines (CI) wants to increase its share of transfer business at Taiwan Taoyuan International (TPE) as part of its strategy for international growth and profitability.

Oman Air has started its new service between Muscat and Zurich, in Switzerland on 2nd December 2011. The airline offers four flights a week between the two destinations.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has confirmed that JetBlue Airways was successful in securing slots at New York LaGuardia Airport and Ronald

Delta Air Lines has this past weekend (December 3/4) celebrated the fifth anniversary of the introduction of its flights to Africa from the USA. The

Australia’s busiest international air gateway Sydney Airport has announced this week that it will open consultations with its stakeholders to develop

EgyptAir will introduce a revised schedule to Libya this week almost doubling its existing capacity into the country. The North African airline

Safi Airways will launch 4X-weekly Abu Dhabi-Kabul Airbus A320 service Jan. 5. Lao Airlines launched 3X-weekly Vientiane-Singapore Changi Airbus A320 service. Flydubai started 4X-weekly Dubai-Belgrade service.

Aeroflot (SU) launched Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) international services Dec. 4 when the aircraft (RA 89002) flew between Moscow (SVO) and Oslo (OSL) ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 14). By the end of the year, the aircraft is expected to fly from SVO to Budapest (BUD).

Air France (AF) will open bases in Toulouse (TLS), Nice (NCE) and Bordeaux (BOD) in 2012, as it tries to regain the market share from low-cost carriers (LCC).

LAN Airlines re-launched Aires as LAN Colombia, another sign of the Santiago de Chile-based carrier's increasingly dominant presence in South America.

Vietnamese start-up carrier VietJet Air has announced that it will launch commercial flights on the country’s busiest domestic route between Ho Chi

Nigerian carrier Arik Air is to further expand its international network this month with the launch of flights between Lagos and the Angolan capital

New proposals on slots, noise and ground handling released this week by the European Commission, the so-called ‘Airport Package’ contain some positive

Ryanair (FR) said it will cut 42 frequencies from its network to/from Riga airport (RIX), citing the new €6.50 ($8.75) security tax imposed by the Latvian government that becomes effective Jan. 1. Beginning Jan. 12, FR will close routes to/from Bristol and Bremen and reduce frequencies on another eight routes, including London Stansted, Bergamo and Rome Ciampino. It serves 16 destinations to/from RIX. The LCC predicts the capacity reduction will result in the loss of more than 300,000 passengers, 300 jobs and over €30 million in tourism revenue.

Qatar Airways has expanded operations in China with the launch of scheduled flights to Chongqing, the airline's fifth Chinese destination and 15th route start-up this year.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier Etihad Airways is to introduce a revised operational schedule between Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg from January

It is business as usual at American Airlines despite this week’s Chapter 11 reorganisation filing with a New York Bankruptcy Court. The US major has

The International Air Carrier Association (IACA), a recognised voice for the industry’s leisure carriers, has reacted with dismay to this week’s

Qatar Airways has expanded operations in China with the launch of three times weekly flights to Chongqing, the airline’s fifth Chinese destination and

Singapore Airlines’ new long-haul, low-cost subsidiary, Scoot, has chosen Sydney (SYD) as its first international destination ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 1). Scoot will fly daily between SYD to Singapore (SIN) from mid-2012 on a Boeing 777-200ER. More destinations are expected to be announced shortly. Scoot will commence operations with four 777-200ERs with fares up to 40% below legacy carriers. It will operate from SIN Terminal 2, not the low-cost terminal.

Qatar Airways has confirmed scheduled passenger flights to and from Syria are fully operational and that reports the airline has suspended services are completely unfounded.