Finnair said it is "exploring the possibility" of launching cargo flights between Helsinki Vantaa and unnamed Asian destinations by summer. It said January cargo demand on its Asian passenger flights rose 40% year-over-year. It serves a combined nine destinations in China, Japan, South Korea, India and Thailand.
TAP Portugal will commence a thrice-weekly Lisbon-Marrakech service in June as part of an expansion strategy in Africa, which it said "is the only part of its network to have shown steady growth since 2001." Passenger numbers to/from Africa have risen 129% to 541,000 in that timeframe and Africa was also the only part of the TAP network to grow in 2009 (6.4%). Including the new route, it will serve 10 cities in eight African countries with 55 weekly flights to/from Portugal.
KLM 737-300 took off from Taxiway B at Amsterdam Schiphol on the evening of Feb. 11 instead of using Runway 36C. Flight KL1369 was bound for Warsaw and landed on schedule. Dutch investigators opened an inquiry into the incident, which the Dutch Safety Board described as "serious."
Alitalia Group intends to strengthen its position at both Milan Linate and Malpensa with a three-year development plan calling for a "dual-brand and customer hub model" at MXP, including a repositioning of Air One as a Smart Carrier offering low fares on short-/medium-haul routes while reinforcing the Alitalia brand and offering on intercontinental flights. AZ will base two new A330s featuring its new business class at Malpensa and launch flights to Miami in June, adding to its current five intercontinental destinations.
EasyJet opened a Milan Malpensa-Porto service yesterday that was the LCC's 500th route. Launched in 1995, it now operates 182 aircraft from 19 bases across 28 countries. Earlier this week it began flying from MXP to Casablanca and Agadir and also launched service this month from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Helsinki Vantaa and Agadir, from London Gatwick to Hamburg and Dusseldorf and from Rome Fiumicino to DUS. US Airways launched thrice-daily Charlotte-Melbourne, Fla., service aboard a PSA Airlines CRJ700.
Airports in the US Mid-Atlantic and Northeast reopened yesterday as the regions began to dig out from back-to-back storms that produced record snow accumulation in some areas. Seven consecutive days of snow removal were required at Washington Dulles and National, which were open for flights yesterday morning by 11 a.m., the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said.
Only three airports out of all the UK’s airports with more than 150,000 yearly passengers actually experienced traffic growth in 2009, according to the latest UK CAA passenger statistics.
By April, debt-ridden Air Jamaica will turn away from six key markets between the Caribbean and US, and lose three A320s –the latest restructuring since the Jamaican government put the carrier’s ‘for sale’ sign up in 2008. Routes News reports on its misfortunes and assesses the impact of the route cuts on its main Caribbean base in Kingston.
As a key leisure destination in Mexico, Cancun Airport continues to expand its infrastructure and network, having opened a second runway and a new control tower in October. The airport is actively targeting airlines to feed further growth, as well as add capacity on existing services.
