New routes launched during the last week
(Saturday 31 October – Friday 6 November):

Route of the Week:
Southwest Airlines’ Milwaukee services

• Milwaukee has become the 68th destination for Southwest Airlines, which has just started six new services from its new hub at Mitchell International Airport (MKE). Baltimore/Washington (BWI) will be served three-times daily, Kansas City (MCI) three-times daily, Las Vegas (LAS) twice-daily, Orlando (MCO)
  twice-daily, and Phoenix (PHX) and Tampa (TPA) both daily. Services will add important competition to a network dominated by Midwest, followed by AirTran. At the Milwaukee press conference, Southwest  Airlines’ Gary Kelly, chairman, president and CEO, said: “For too long, Milwaukee has suffered from high airfares.”

Cake of the Week: 
Continental’s Houston to Frankfurt

In the words of Robert Payne, Frankfurt’s international spokesperson: “Forget the Continental breakfast, take a bite of this great Continental cake.”

Cake of the Week (runner-up): Continental’s Houston (Texas) to Edmonton

Passengers on Continental’s new daily non-stop service from Houston to Edmonton were treated to cake, gift bags and a lavish reception hosted by Edmonton Airport and Continental Airlines.

• Continental Airlines has started non-stop services from its Houston (IAH) hub to three new destinations. There are now daily flights to Frankfurt (FRA), Edmonton (YEG) and Washington Dulles (IAD). A Continental Express service from Houston to Washington Dulles will be operated by ExpressJet, while the service to Frankfurt will be operated using a 767-400ER. Jeff Smisek, Continental’s president and CEO, added: “We are pleased to further expand our network from Houston by linking our largest hub to Frankfurt. It complements Lufthansa’s existing Houston-Frankfurt service and is a good example of the benefits that Star Alliance will bring to our customers.”

Almost 200 passengers step off Air Astana’s inaugural flight to a welcome ceremony at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

• Air Astana has begun weekly flights from Almaty (ALA), the former capital of Kazakhstan, to Kuala Lumpur (KUL). The people of the Central Asian oil country have a new opportunity to use the service, which departs once-weekly (Saturdays) using a 767. No other airline currently operates the route and until now there has only been one direct service from Kuala Lumpur to Central Asia (Tashkent, Uzbekistan).

At Weeze airport, the first passengers on Ryanair’s inaugural service to Fez included this unsuspecting camel. Also pictured: Ryanair cabin crew, Alexander Vet (first officer), Walter van Kan (captain), Alexandra König (Ryanair’s sales & marketing executive) and Holger Terhorst (Weeze airport’s director of marketing and communications).

• 29 new routes have been counted for Ryanair this week (just over half the number launched last week). These are summarised below:

Start Date	Airline	From		To		Frequency
31-Oct-09	Ryanair	Glasgow Prestwick	PIK	Palma Mallorca	PMI	1
01-Nov-09	Ryanair	Arrecife (Lanzarote)	ACE	Shannon	SNN	1
01-Nov-09	Ryanair	Gran Canaria	LPA	Bournemouth	BOH	1
02-Nov-09	Ryanair	Oslo Torp	TRF	Krakow	KRK	4
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Bratislava	BTS	Rome Ciampino	CIA	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	East Midlands	EMA	Rzeszow	RZE	2
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Brussels Charleroi	CRL	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Gdansk	GDN	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Girona	GRO	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Tenerife Sur	TFS	2
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Oslo Rygge	RYG	Alicante	ALC	2
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Oslo Rygge	RYG	Barcelona Girona	GRO	2
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Oslo Rygge	RYG	Milan Bergamo	BGY	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Oslo Torp	TRF	Lodz	LCJ	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Oslo Torp	TRF	Rome Ciampino	CIA	3
03-Nov-09	Ryanair	Weeze	NRN	Gdansk	GDN	3
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Alicante	ALC	Eindhoven	EIN	4
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Bydgoszcz	BZG	East Midlands	EMA	3
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Gran Canaria	LPA	2
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Memmingen	FMM	3
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Edinburgh	EDI	Oslo Torp	TRF	3
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Madrid	MAD	Fez	FEZ	4
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Madrid	MAD	Marrakech	RAK	7
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Madrid	MAD	Tangier	TNG	7
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Weeze	NRN	Agadir	AGA	2
04-Nov-09	Ryanair	Weeze	NRN	Fez	FEZ	3
05-Nov-09	Ryanair	East Midlands	EMA	Marrakech	RAK	2
05-Nov-09	Ryanair	London Gatwick	LGW	Stockholm Skavsta	NYO	7
05-Nov-09	Ryanair	Madrid	MAD	Nador	NDR	3

Pop “sensations” Black Lace performed a new version of their 1980s hit ‘Agadoo’, specially rewritten to celebrate the launch of easyJet’s new service to Agadir in Morocco from London Gatwick.

easyJet’s Paul Simmons, UK regional general manager, and Richard Salt, director of trade & investment at the British Embassy, welcome the first 178 passengers to Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. easyJet is flying six days a week (excluding Fridays) from London Luton to Tel Aviv using a brand new A320.

A crowd of 1,500 turned up at Amsterdam Schiphol to try and grab free return tickets to one of easyJet’s newest destinations from Amsterdam to Rome and Madrid. (The tickets rained down among one thousand paper airplanes)

• easyJet has introduced 17 new routes this week across Europe. These are summarised below:

Start Date	Airline	From		To		Frequency
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Basel	BSL	Düsseldorf	DUS	9
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Liverpool	LPL	Fuerteventura	FUE	3
02-Nov-09	easyJet	London Gatwick	LGW	Porto	OPO	7
02-Nov-09	easyJet	London Luton	LTN	Tel Aviv	TLV	6
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Lyon	LYS	Nantes	NTE	7
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Madrid	MAD	Amsterdam	AMS	12
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Rome Fiumicino	FCO	Amsterdam	AMS	7
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Rome Fiumicino	FCO	Lamezia Terme	SUF	7
02-Nov-09	easyJet	Rome Fiumicino	FCO	Lisbon	LIS	7
03-Nov-09	easyJet	Liverpool	LPL	Arrecife (Lanzarote)	ACE	3
03-Nov-09	easyJet	London Luton	LTN	Sharm El-Sheikh	SSH	4
04-Nov-09	easyJet	London Gatwick	LGW	Agadir	AGA	2
04-Nov-09	easyJet	London Luton	LTN	Paphos	PFO	3
04-Nov-09	easyJet	London Stansted	STN	Fuerteventura	FUE	2
06-Nov-09	easyJet	Manchester	MAN	Copenhagen	CPH	4
06-Nov-09	easyJet	Manchester	MAN	Munich	MUC	4

Of greatest significance, is easyJet’s first service to Israel as it begins serving Tel Aviv (TLV) from London Luton (LTN), with a six-times weekly service using an A320. The competition out of Heathrow is all on wide-bodies, though El Al also operates from London Luton. Two winters ago Thomsonfly also started Luton – Tel Aviv services but these have since been discontunued. At a press conference at Ben Gurion Airport, Paul Simmons, UK regional general manager,  said: “easyJet offers great opportunities to both British and Israeli travellers. With 100,000 passengers expected in the first year, easyJet will provide a significant contribution to the Israeli tourism industry.” One-way fares start from £71.99 ($120).

Charlotte Decaesstecker, Jetairfly’s assistant sales manager, and David Gering, Brussels South Charleroi’s sales director (PR & communications) announce the airline’s new flights to Murcia with a sunny cake.

• Jetairfly has added two new services to its Brussels (BRU) network this week, both being weekly operations. It is now possible to reach Zanzibar (ZNZ) via Mombasa (MBA) as well as Liberia (LIR) in Costa Rica via Cancun (CUN). There are also new services between Brussels South Charleroi and Murcia (MJV).

Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways’ country manager for India, and Ayman Hazeem, Etihad Airways’ business manager, airport operations, perform a lamp lighting ceremony to mark the launch of the airline’s new flights to Hyderabad.

• Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad has this week become the first airline to operate flights between its home base in Abu Dhabi (AUH) and the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, launching non-stop, four-times weekly services to Hyderabad (HYD). The service will become daily from early next year. It brings the number of Indian destinations served by Etihad to seven and follows successful bi-lateral talks between the governments of the UAE and India, aimed at further liberalising flying links between the two countries. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “As well as strong point-to-point traffic, we expect Hyderabad to make a significant contribution to the rest of our network, with particularly strong connecting traffic flows linking India to both North America and Europe.” Etihad will operate a two-class A320 on the new Hyderabad route configured to carry 140 passengers, with 20 in business class and 120 in economy class.

In Calgary, staff send-off Westjet’s new seasonal service to Mexico’s Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo…

Local culture and dance await passengers on Westjet’s seasonal service to Freeport in the Bahamas.

WestJet’s Gregg Saretsky (executive VP, operations) and Cuba’s Ambassador to Canada, H.E. Teresita Vicente Sotolongo, officially open the airline’s Toronto to Vardero service.

• Broadening its Central American and Caribbean network, Westjet has this week launched its largest-ever non-stop seasonal services – six of which are to Mexico. WestJet’s latest traffic results for October show a load factor of 77.3 per cent – a year-over-year improvement of 1.5 percent. The winter 2009-2010 schedule is detailed as follows:

Start Date	Airline	From		To		Frequency
01-Nov-09	WestJet	Hamilton	YHM	Punta Cana	PUJ	1
01-Nov-09	WestJet	Kamloops	YKA	Vancouver	YVR	7
01-Nov-09	WestJet	Kelowna	YLW	Puerto Vallarta	PVR	1
01-Nov-09	WestJet	Toronto	YYZ	St Maarten	SXM	3
01-Nov-09	WestJet	Toronto	YYZ	Varadero	VRA	3
01-Nov-09	WestJet	Victoria	YYJ	Puerto Vallarta	PVR	1
02-Nov-09	WestJet	Toronto	YYZ	Freeport	FPO	2
02-Nov-09	WestJet	Toronto	YYZ	Holguin	HOG	2
03-Nov-09	WestJet	Calgary	YYC	Izxtapa/Zihuatanejo	ZIH	2
04-Nov-09	WestJet	Toronto	YYZ	Cayo Coco	CCC	2
04-Nov-09	WestJet	Toronto	YYZ	Providenciales	PLS	3
06-Nov-09	WestJet	Kelowna	YLW	Cabo San Lucas	SJD	1
06-Nov-09	WestJet	Ottawa	YOW	Montego Bay	MBJ	1

• Air Dolomiti, a Lufthansa partner airline currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, has introduced six-times weekly flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Perugia (PEG) using an ATR42. According to current OAG data this new route joins three others (Rimini-Vienna, Verona-Vienna and Rimini-Munich) as being operated by the airline in its own name. All of these routes are currently prominently displayed on the airline’s website homepage. Most of the airline’s routes are operated on behalf of Lufthansa, feeding its Munich and Frankfurt hubs from a variety of Italian airports, or supporting Lufthansa Italia’s operations from Milan Malpensa.

• airberlin has added three new international routes to its network this week. From Karlsruhe/Baden (FKB) it has introduced double-daily flights to Vienna (VIE), while from Dűsseldorf (DUS) it has begun daily flights to Krakow (KRK). It has also started thrice-weekly flights from Nuremberg (NUE) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO). None of these routes are served by any other airline.

• AirTran is now serving Harrisburg (MDT) in Pennsylvania from Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Flights operate three-times weekly (on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) using a 717. The airline already serves Harrisburg daily from its Orlando base.

• Belle Air of Albania has begun weekly (Saturday) flights between Tirana (TIA) and Stuttgart (STR). Scheduled block time is two hours. Stuttgart is currently the airline’s only destination in Germany, though there are links on other airlines from Tirana to Frankfurt (twice-weekly with Albanian Airlines) and Munich (daily with Lufthansa).

• Cimber Sterling has added a weekly service between Billund (BLL) and Las Palmas (LPA). Flights operate every Saturday during the winter period.

Gerhard Widmann (managing director, Graz Airport); Wolfgang Malik (chairman of GRAZ AG), Niki Lauda (President of Niki Luftfahrt GmbH) and Wolfgang Messner (Chairman of GRAZ AG)

• NIKI has added a new weekly service from Graz (GRZ) to Nuremberg (NUE) (Tuesday departure).

TACA throws a party for its new route from Lima to Mexico City.

Raúl Aragón, TACA’s sales manager (Peru); Estuardo Ortiz, executive VP and COO, Nani Garrues, sales director, South America and Daniel Ratti, President (Peru region).

The TACA sales team in Florida also hosted an official ceremony for the new San Salvador-Orlando service.

• TACA has begun flying between its Peruvian hub Lima (LIM) and Mexico City (MEX), providing competition for Aeroméxico and LAN Perú. A route has also been started from its main hub in San Salvador (SAL) to Orlando (MCO). Both routes have thrice-weekly frequencies. The San Salvador service will be served using an Embraer 190, while the longer Mexico City route is operated with an A319.

• Tiger Airways has resumed services from Singapore (SIN) to Hat Yai (HDY) in southern Thailand. Initially, there will be three-times weekly flights (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). Rosalynn Tay, managing director of Tiger Airways, said: “Our return to Hat Yai couldn’t have happened without the partnership approach of the airport authorities, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the local community. It’s a partnership I look forward to growing and nurturing.”

• Kuwait Airways has launched twice-weekly, direct flights between Kuwait City (KWI) and Chittagong (CGP) in Bangladesh (Fridays and Saturdays). Samiur Razzak, Kuwait Airways’ sales manager, said: “Chittagong has enormous commercial potential and we are the first and only full-service carrier to start flights. Convenient onward connections to the US, Europe and Africa will be invaluable both for attracting direct investment into the country and for businesses and services in Bangladesh to prosper. In years to come, we hope to see the tourism industry flourish as people discover the rich culture and natural wonders.”

Our thanks to Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer, Daniel Skjeldam, for this photo showing the arrival in Dubai of this season’s inaugural flight from Stockholm Arlanda. Norwegian now operates three weekly flights from Stockholm and Oslo and one from Copenhagen.

• Norwegian now serves three new destinations from Copenhagen (CPH): Dubai (DXB), Gran Canaria (LPA) and Las Palmas (LPA). The carrier also connected Aalborg (AAL) in Denmark with Las Palmas (LPA) this week.

Turkish Airlines now flies between Antalya and Düsseldorf. During the gate event at Antalya, passengers were treated to boxes of Turkish delight, roses and icons of Turkish Airlines.

On 2nd November, Eastern Airways launched a new service from Southampton to Durham Tees Valley (twice daily flights during weekdays). Chris Holliday, Eastern Airways’ COO said: “This not only offers flexibility but allows for day-return trips to this important industrial area of north east England.” During the winter season passengers from Southampton can choose to fly to one of 49 destinations in the UK, Channel Islands and Europe.