Russia’s Avianova adds new westernmost market; Turkish Airlines to serve third US destination, while Etihad enters new country market

Kaliningrad next for Avianova; Russian exclave has lost much of its network

The Russian low-cost carrier Avianova, whose CEO anna.aero recently interviewed in Moscow, has announced Kaliningrad as its next destination. The Russian exclave will be served four times a week from both Moscow Sheremetyevo and St Petersburg Pulkovo, starting 31 October. From December, frequencies on both routes increase to daily. Additionally, Kaliningrad is one of the airports considered by Avianova for its next base.

After Kaliningrad lost its home carrier KD Avia in September last year, it has been left without a locally-based airline ever since. The airport’s route offering has therefore been much reduced, both domestically and internationally. In particular, international services have been affected, with the only current route offering being limited to services to Belarus, the Ukraine, Latvia and, most recently, Poland. As an example of previous traffic, Destatis data shows that KD Avia transported almost 60,000 passengers (one-way) between Germany and Kaliningrad during its eight operational months in 2009, yet this country market is now unserved. Avianova’s CEO Andrew Pyne has, however, made it clear that the airline currently does not intend to operate outside of Russia.

Turkish Airlines adds third US destination; Washington eventually to be served with four-class 777s

Turkish Airlines, which this week launched flights to Accra, also announced the newest destination from its Istanbul Atatürk hub. Washington Dulles will be the airline’s third US destination, after New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare, as it is launched on 7 November with five weekly frequencies. Turkish Airlines also served Miami a decade ago, although the route was abandoned just after 9/11. Delta is the only other carrier to operate between the two countries, flying between New York JFK and Istanbul Atatürk.

The new route is currently scheduled to operate with 250-seat A330-200 aircraft, meaning that it will not offer the new ‘Comfort Class’ premium economy product that was announced by Turkish Airlines this week. The airline does, however, state that the fourth cabin class will be offered on flights to Washington depending on the delivery schedule of the airline’s 777-300ERs with the new cabin configuration.

Etihad final MEB3 airline to serve South Korea

South Korea’s capital Seoul, whose Incheon airport has been served by Etihad’s Gulf rivals Emirates since 2005 and Qatar Airways from the end of March this year, will now also see the start of daily Etihad A330-200 services from Abu Dhabi on 16 December. In addition to each of these Middle East Big 3 (‘MEB3’) airlines’ daily flights, Korean Air also serves the Gulf area with five flights a week to Dubai.

The airline sees a significant point-to-point market in addition to the transfer traffic and Etihad’s CEO James Hogan said: “South Korea is emerging as a key partner for the UAE, and the decision to commence services to Seoul reflects this strengthening partnership. Over the past two years, Korean business has been building a strong presence in the UAE, particularly in the clean energy sector, construction, technology and small to medium enterprises.”