Routes Update

By Richard Maslen
The US DOT formally instituted a slot assignment proceeding earlier this month to allocate a total of 28 slot pairs at the two airports. These are being released in a two phase process for operations from summer 2017 and summer 2018 and will be provided exclusively to low-cost carriers, which it believes exert the greatest competitive impact when entering slot-constrained markets.
Airports & Networks

By Wesley Charnock
An airport dominated by domestic traffic, Las Vegas McCarran has made huge strides in recent years to open routes to the rest of the world. Ahead of the city hosting Routes Americas 2017, we spoke to Rosemary Vassiliadis to hear more.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) allows AirAsia X to operate services to any destination within the US market and it will now formalise its development plans to serve the market to coincide with the future delivery of new widebodied equipment. The airline is known to have been considering flights to several US states including Hawaii as part of its route expansion plans.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The Iranian aviation industry is also undergoing significant change and earlier this month Iran Air took delivery of its first new Airbus A321. The airline has concluded deals with both Airbus and Boeing for more than 180 aircraft and is currently in the final stages of agreeing a deal with ATR for regional turboprops, albeit the first half dozen aircraft are already completed and ready for delivery.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The planned growth follows a formal request from the Greek Government and Athens International Airport to the UAE carrier to deliver an enhanced transatlantic offering for the Greek market. US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines already serve the Newark – Athens and New York – Athens markets but only on a seasonal basis in the summer only.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The new flight will, according to Emirates, give customers “greater flexibility and choice” when planning their travel and also underscores Emirates’ “commitment to Kenya and confidence in the route”. The airline first launched services in October 1995 and this has become one of its busiest air corridors in and out of Africa over the past 20 years.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The airline has agreed to initially acquire five E-Jets - three E170s and two E190s, from ECC Leasing, a wholly-owned Embraer subsidiary. It will start to receive the aircraft in the first half of this year with a further eight E190s joining the Airlink fleet subject to formalisation of lease deals.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Bergamo's Orio al Serio International Airport, or Il Caravaggio International Airport as it is alternatively known, has been a popular Milan alternative gateway for low-cost carriers. However, it is now developing a market in its own right and attracting a wide range of airlines.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
bmi regional believes consumers are now looking for new experiences in more familiar regions and to meet this demand will introduce flights from Birmingham to Graz, Austria; Nuremburg, Germany; and resume a former link to Gothenburg, Sweden.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The arrival of four new Airbus A350-900 airliners during 2017 will enable Finnair to grow its long-haul winter 2017/2018 schedule and alongside growth in its existing markets, it will also introduce four popular leisure destinations to its network. These new routes to Goa, Havana, Puerto Plata and Puerto Vallarta will be launched in the final quarter of the year and will initially operate on a seasonal basis through to the end of March 2018.
Airports & Networks

By Catherine Makrandreou
Hainan Airlines, Etihad Airways, Spring Airlines and Finnair are the latest to confirm their attendance
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
After restructuring its operations Gulf Air has been able to better control its future growth after successfully eradicating legacy debts reducing annual losses from BHD62.7 million in 2014 to BHD24.1 million in 2015. Ahead of this, its annual debts were as high as BHD196 million in 2012.
Airports & Networks

By Wesley Charnock
In the first of a new series of personal interviews with some of the leading figures in aviation, we spoke to Aeromar CEO Andres Fabre. He shared with us the group's future plans and some of the highlights of his career so far.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
A new four times weekly Delhi – Copenhagen route will commence from May 2017, according to Air India, and will be flown using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. A Delhi – Washington flight will operate on a three times weekly basis and will be flown using a Boeing 777 from July 2017. These will be the only non-stop operation on the two routes
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Irish regional carrier CityJet has secured a two-year wet-lease deal with Brussels Airlines to operate three Sukhoi SSJ100 Superjets for the Belgian flag carrier on routes from Brussels Airport from April 2017. The deal follows a formal tender from Brussels Airlines to support its network needs as it completes the retirement of its Avro RJ100 fleet from commercial operation.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
According to reports, Croatia Airlines is selling its London Heathrow Airport mid-morning slots on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, retaining afternoon and evening slots on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The sold slots will pass to Delta Air Lines from April 1, 2017 and will enable the US major to grow its joint transatlantic network with Virgin Atlantic from London’s largest airport.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
After five decades and over 45 years flying variants of the Boeing 747 since the type’s debut in United Airlines operation on flights between California and Hawaii in 1970, the carrier says new technology, and notably the arrival of the 777-300ER into its fleet means now is the right time to retire the iconic airliner.
Airports & Networks

By Wesley Charnock
Egypt has suffered a decline in tourism for the last few years. But a network planning expert is predicting a resurgence in 2017.
Airports & Networks

By Wesley Charnock
Peter Cerdá, the regional vice president in the Americas for IATA, discusses the future of Latin America, infrastructure concerns and trends throughout the region.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Cathay Pacific will offer a four times weekly service between its Hong Kong International Airport hub and Barcelona from July 2, 2017, subject to final government approval, continuing through the peak travel months until October 27, 2017. This will be the first ever non-stop offering between Hong Kong and Barcelona.
Airports & Networks

By Wesley Charnock
In the first of our new number cruncher features, we take a look at the facts and figures behind the city hosting Routes Americas 2017 - Las Vegas.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
As it celebrates the tenth anniversary of its debut in the US market, Qatar Airways has said the new four times weekly link between Hamad International Airport and McCarran International Airport will commence from January 8, 2018. It will be flown using a Boeing 777-200LR.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Dubbed the new ‘Silicon Valley’ owing to its reputation for being an incubator for tech start-ups thanks to a growing population of highly-educated young professionals, Zagreb is central to industry in this region of Europe. In addition to new technology and telecoms, many of the largest Croatian and Central European companies and conglomerates have their headquarters or regional offices in the city centre.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Wataniya Airways was a legacy of a liberalisation of Kuwait’s air service market during the 2000s and launched operations from Kuwait International Airport in January 2009, operating a fleet of seven leased Airbus A320s to destinations across the Persian Gulf, the wider Middle East and Europe. However, overcapacity in the local market from new entrants led the carrier to scale back operations in late 2010 ahead of its closure in March 2011.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Analysis of schedule data from intelligence provider OAG shows that Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines had a combined 27.8 per cent share of seat capacity out of New York's John F Kennedy International Airport last summer and a 42.2 per cent share at Mexico City's Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez. The two airlines are the largest individual operators at the airports in their home markets.
Airports & Networks