Airports & Networks

Continental Airlines has announced its plan to launch Houston - Auckland service with Boeing 787 aircraft, starting 16NOV11. It is the first alliance

The Iraqi cabinet has dissolved the state-owned Iraqi Airways, amid a row with neighbouring Kuwait over war reparations, the transportation ministry

China Southern Airlines is accelerating its market exploration at Xinjiang with plans to launch a regional airline to serve the Autonomous Region in northwest China. This week CAAC announced a series of measures to encourage air transport development in Xinjiang, including boosting the number of airports from 14 to 21 by 2015, providing financial aid to carriers and increasing regional flight frequencies to domestic hub airports.

Ryanair is increasing its footprint in Spain further and will open its 42nd base at Barcelona El Prat in September with five 737-800s and 20 new routes, a mix of domestic and international destinations. It already has five bases in Spain, at Alicante, Girona, Madrid, Malaga and Reus. The new BCN base represents an investment of more than $350 million, the LCC said.

Continental Airlines yesterday announced plans to serve Auckland from its Houston Intercontinental hub beginning Nov. 16, 2011, using a 787 to operate the 7,400-mi route. CO said it is the first airline to "formally announce specific route plans for its 787 fleet." The carrier, which has agreed to merge with United Airlines, has 25 Dreamliners on order with deliveries beginning in August 2011. Subject to government approval, service will be operated daily, with five-times-weekly service during certain periods in the first year of operation, CO said.

The new nonstop to New Orleans begins October 7, 2010. AirTran operates a Boeing 717 with 117 seats and a Boeing 737 that seats 137 in mixed class

Ryanair has annouced that it will launch a new base from Barcelona El Prat Airport in Septermber wih twenty new destinations, linking bases from

Flydubai will launch four weekly flights from its Dubai hub to Colombo - starting June 23. Sri Lanka's capital is the airline's 21st destination to be

German charter carrier Condor, will begin a new weekly service to Kochi, India, beginning this Winter. From November 1st it will launch B757 service

Taipei based China Airlines will now fly daily from Taipei to Nagoya from August 31st. Service had been reduced to a 5x weekly route in September 2009

Skyteam member Aeromexico will begin a new scheduled non-stop link to Miami, with the introduction of a daily flight from Monterrey to Miami which

Delta Air Lines has announced that it plans to commence a new scheduled service from its hub in Atlanta to Monrovia, Liberia effective September 4th

Middle Eastern budget carrier Air Arabia is putting together the final touches to launch its Air Arabia Egypt brand with the first flights due to begin in the next two weeks.

Taiwan's CAA on Monday (24MAY10) has announced the results of slots distribution for 14 weekly Taipei Sung Shan - Shanghai Hongqiao service. Results

Colombian national carrier, Avianca, will introduce a second daily service from its Bogota hub to Mexico City effective July 1st. The route is

In the wake of the new UK coalition government, scrapping plans for a third runway at London Heathrow Airport, London Stansted, the third London

Pacific Blue will add a fourth permanent weekly link between Auckland and Raratonga, from July. The airline's CEO, Mark Pitt said that the airline

Skyteam member China Southern will add non-stop service from Zhengzhou to the Korean capital of Seoul. The route begins on May 27th and will be

Ryanair last week opened its 42nd base, at Malta, with one 737 and 19 routes. It will serve Bari, Billund, Bologna, Bournemouth, Bremen, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Girona, Krakow, Leeds, London Luton, Marseille, Pisa, Seville, Stockholm Skavsta, Trapani, Valencia and Venice Treviso from the base. EgyptAir will begin operating its evening nonstop service from Dubai to Cairo with its new 777-300ER starting on June 18.

Airlines flying between mainland China and Taiwan will be permitted to add 100 weekly cross-straits flights as well as two destinations beginning June 14 under an agreement reached May 22 between aviation authorities in Beijing and Taipei.

Northwest Florida Beaches International, located near Panama City on Florida's Gulf Coast, opened last weekend, the first publicly owned commercial service airport to be built in the US in the last 15 years ( ATWOnline, Dec. 1).