Following the recent debate at World Routes in Chicago this year regarding critical issues in air transport, we have decided to revisit the subject, and ask the community - What do you think is the most pressing issue in the aviation industry today.
easyJet launched flights from Belfast in September 1998 and currently operates a network of seasonal and year-round routes from Belfast to 24 different destinations. It will shortly introduce a new link to Keflavik International Airport in Iceland (from December 12, 2014) and will add a summer link to the Croatian city of Split from May 20, 2015.
The airline will operate the route from March next year and has linked it with the announcement of the new Darwin – Alice Springs route which was announced last month.
The new route, flown using an Airbus A330-300, will be operate within the carrier’s joint business on transatlantic traffic with fellow oneworld alliance partners British Airways, Iberia, American Airlines and American’s merger partner US Airways. Chicago is a hub for US major American Airlines and will allow travellers codeshare connections to destinations throughout the United States.
Virgin Atlantic is looking to lease out two sets of Heathrow slots freed up by the demise of its UK short-haul arm Little Red, until it has the aircraft it needs to operate them itself.
Allegiant Air will introduce flights between New Orleans and Cincinnati’s Northern Kentucky International Airport from February 4, 2015 and Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Indianapolis International Airport and Orlando’s Sanford International Airport from February 5, 2015.
The Star Alliance member will offer a five times weekly link between Frankfurt and Tampa from September 25, 2015, reducing to four times weekly during the winter schedule. The Tampa - St Petersburg-Clearwater area, a rapidly growing metropolitan region with nearly three million residents, sits on the Gulf of Mexico and boasts some of America’s best beaches. It will join Miami and Orlando in Lufthansa’s Florida network.
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has announced its plans to increase its direct services to Trivandrum International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram with a daily operation launching from December 5, 2014.
Ryanair has been serving MR Štefánik Airport for almost ten years and is now firmly established as the largest scheduled operator with a 79.1 per cent share of departures and 93.2 share of capacity this month.
Ahead of next year's Routes Asia forum we look in more detail at the continued growth of the Chinese market, and in particular aviation in Kunming and the Yunnan province, which will play host to the event between March 15 - 17, 2015.
China Eastern Airlines will start new joint venture (JV) with Qantas on certain routes between China and Australia in an effort to boost passenger flow onto their respective international networks.
New York-based JetBlue Airways plans to continue expanding into the Caribbean and Latin America markets, “even as competitive pressures push fares downward,” an executive said in an interview.
The UK government-appointed Airports Commission has published for consultation its assessment of proposals for additional runway capacity at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
The UK carrier served the small Caribbean island from London Gatwick in association with a triangle flight also serving Grenada, but the route was switched to a seasonal only operation from winter 2012/2013, returning in winter 2013/2014 as an extension to the carrier’s London Gatwick – St Lucia service. The latter will also be the case when the flight resumes next year.
This will be the only link between London Heathrow and Krakow, which will be the host city of Routes Europe in 2016. Alongside the point-to-point demand it will also facilitate transfer traffic to and from the wider network of British Airways and its oneworld partners from and to the UK capital.
Virgin Atlantic may be forced to give up nine of the 12 London Heathrow slots it is using for its UK short-haul arm Little Red, when the operation closes next year.
New low-cost long-haul carrier (LCC) Thai AirAsia X is making plans for additional frequencies and destinations next year, enabled by the arrival of more Airbus A330s in its fleet.
Russia’s AirBridgeCargo (ABC) will add more Boeing 747 freighter frequencies in the 2014/2015 winter season linking markets in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, via Moscow.
Global air freight volumes were up 6.2% year-over-year in September, cementing a year-long trend of monthly year-over-year volume growth that gained additional steam this past summer, according to Airports Council International (ACI).
