Route of the Week:
Air India’s Delhi to Seoul Incheon
- Air India resumed services to Seoul Incheon (ICN) from Delhi (DEL) on 1 August. The four weekly 777-200LR flights operate via Hong Kong (HKG), a destination already served by the airline. Air India used to operate the route between July 2005 and September 2008. In Seoul, the future Star Alliance member will be able to connect with fellow member Asiana, which already operates three weekly non-stop services between Seoul Incheon and Delhi. Further competition – on the Hong Kong-Seoul sector – comes from Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Asiana and Thai Airways.
Cake of the Week:
Bmibaby’s 800,000th passenger at Ireland West Airport Knock
bmibaby celebrates its 800,000th passenger at Ireland West Airport Knock - bmi’s managing director Julian Carr was on site with the airport’s managing director, Joe Gilmore, to congratulate the lucky family; Kelly Bench from Birmingham with Dean Farrington and daughter Isobelle, who were joined by Ms Bench’s grandmother, mother and aunt.
The rest of this week’s new routes:
- Aeroflot began serving one of Russia’s most popular international destinations on 1 August, as the airline launched five weekly 140-seat A320 operations between Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) and Tel Aviv (TLV). In spite of being the biggest airline in the international Russian market, Aeroflot has not served the Israeli airport since 1997. The airline does, however, already fly to Ovda, the international airport serving the resort of Eilat, year-round. Direct competition on the new Tel Aviv route comes from Transaero’s daily flights, which the airline’s deputy director general recently told anna.aero about, while the same airline indirectly also competes with its twice-daily flights from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. From Domodedovo, competition also comes from El Al’s 18 flights a week and Israir’s four weekly services.
- Air Canada launched a new, stopping regional operation in northeast Canada on 1 August. On a daily basis, Exploits Valley Air Service’s 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 flies from Wabush (YWK) via Goose Bay (YYR) to Gander (YQX) on the island of Newfoundland. The route originates in Sept-Iles, however, this airport is already linked with Wabush.
- Air Europa launched a new route from Madrid (MAD) to Athens (ATH) on 1 August, less than a month after the airline launched Athens services from Barcelona . The new, weekly 737-800 operation will compete with Iberia’s 18 flights a week and Aegean’s daily service on the route.
- Albanian Airlines launched a seasonal route between Tirana (TIA) and Milan Bergamo (BGY) on 1 August. Flights will operate three times a week until 13 September with BAe146 aircraft, competing with low-cost carrier Belle Air’s nine weekly flights.
- Alitalia in the last week launched a domestic seasonal route for the August holiday season. From Alghero (AHO) in Sardinia, the airline now flies twice a week to Brescia (VBS) in northern Italy. Flights operate with 90-seat CRJ900s until 13 September.
- AnadoluJet, Turkish Airlines’ low-cost brand, on 2 August launched two daily services between Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) and Ercan (ECN) in northern Cyprus. This is the third airport Anadolujet serves Ercan from, already operating flights from Ankara and Hatay. Direct competition on the route comes from Pegasus Airlines’ 22 weekly routes, while Anadolujet’s parent Turkish Airlines as well as Atlasjet indirectly compete from Istanbul Atatürk with 28 and 13 weekly flights respectively.
- Avianova continued its expansion of A320 low-cost services across Russia in the last week. On 28 July, the airline launched two weekly seasonal flights to Anapa (AAQ) on the Black Sea coast from its Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) base. These services will operate for just under a month, until 26 August, as a charter cooperation with the tour operator Multitur. Direct competition comes from Nordavia, formerly known as Aeroflot Nord, which serves the route 12 times a week, as well as from Aeroflot’s daily flights. From Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, S7 and Transaero operate to Anapa, and from Vnukovo, further indirect competition comes from UTair, Kuban Airlines, Atlant-Soyuz and Kavminvodyavia. The following day, the airline began serving its easternmost destination, Ekaterinburg (SVX), from its virtual base in St Petersburg (LED). The three weekly flights compete with daily services on both Rossiya and Ural Airlines. Avianova’s CEO Andrew Pyne commented: “Airports and Cities within Russia are eager to re-develop domestic travel without the requirement of travelling via Moscow. Both airports presented Avianova with a plan to develop business on this, once very busy, route. Avianova is keen to develop domestic travel within Russia and is happy to respond to any reasonable offer from local governments or airports.”
- China Eastern launched a new service across the Taiwan Strait on 29 July. From Shijiazhuang (SJW), 225 kilometres southwest of Beijing, it now serves Taipei (TPE) once a week with A320s. This is the first time the mainland China airport is linked with Taiwan.
- El Al resumed its domestic services between Tel Aviv (TLV) and Eilat (ETH) on 1 August after a year’s hiatus. The Israeli flag carrier already stops at Ovda, the international airport serving Eilat, on two weekly flights between Paris CDG and Tel Aviv, but suspended its regular flights to Eilat’s domestic airport in July 2009. Flights now operate 17 times a week with 737-700s, competing with Arkia Israeli Airlines’ 20 and Israir’s also 17 weekly flights.
- Emirates launched its first Spanish passenger route on 1 August, when it connected its Dubai (DXB) hub with Madrid (MAD). The new service will operate daily with A330-200s. This makes Emirates the second ‘MEB3’ carrier to serve the Spanish capital, after Qatar Airways. Emirates SkyCargo already operates cargo flights to Zaragoza twice a week and the airline points out the link between the Spanish fashion industry and the UAE market as a traffic generator for the new route.
- flybe launched a new service from Glasgow (GLA) via Southampton (SOU) to Frankfurt (FRA). It is debatable whether this is to be counted as a new route, since both Glasgow-Southampton and Southampton-Glasgow already are operated. It is, however, the first time that flybe enables connections between the Scottish city and the German financial capital. Flights operate six times a week with Q400s. Non-stop services between Glasgow and Frankfurt last operated in 1997, when Lufthansa dropped its service.
- Hainan Airlines launched a seasonal route between Beijing (PEK) and the Thai resort of Phuket (HKT) on 31 July. The three weekly 737-800 flights will operate until the end of October and reinstate the link between the two airports that was dropped after China Southern’s brief operation of the route last winter. The only year-round service between mainland China and Phuket is on Shanghai Airlines from Shanghai Pudong.
- Hong Kong Express on 29 July launched its seventh destination in mainland China. The airline now serves Ningbo (NGB), south of Shanghai, from its Hong Kong (HKG) base. Flights operate twice a week with 737-800s, competing with daily services on both Dragonair and China Eastern.
- Kingfisher Red, the low-cost brand of Kingfisher Airlines, began serving Ludhiana (LUH) in Punjab in northernmost India, from its Delhi (DEL) hub on 1 August. The daily service, which is operated with ATR aircraft, competes with Indian Airlines’ also daily ATR flights. Manoj Chacko, Kingfisher’s EVP Commercial, commented: “Besides catering to the small and medium enterprises segment, this new route is expected to cater to the needs of various industries like the garments industry, sports goods industry, bicycle manufacturers, steel rolling mills and the like.”
- Lufthansa launched a new Turkish route out of Munich (MUC) on 1 August. Bursa (YEI), south of Istanbul, is now served three times a week with A319 aircraft. Notably, the service is scheduled to operate overnight with a 04:10 departure from Bursa for the return sector. From September, the aircraft used will change to E-195s. This is the second scheduled route at the airport, which otherwise only has a domestic connection with Ankara on Anadolujet. For Munich Airport, Bursa is the 11th Turkish airport to be served from the Bavarian airport.
- Mihin Lanka, the Sri Lankan state-owned low-cost carrier, launched a new service from its Colombo (CMB) base to Gaya (GAY) in northeast India – an airport we have long waited to report on a new route from. It can be presumed that the route is aimed at religious travel, as nearby Bodh Gaya is a pilgrimage destination for Buddhists, which form the majority of the population of Sri Lanka. The route, which began on 1 August, will operate once a week with the airline’s 176-seat A320 aircraft. The return leg operates via Varanasi (VNS), another holy city in northeast India.
- Pegasus Airlines entered the Italian market on 30 July, when the airline launched flights to both Milan Bergamo (BGY) and Rome Fiumicino (FCO) from its Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) base. Both routes will be operated on a daily basis with 189-seat 737-800s. The Rome route competes with Blu-express’s six operations a week and Corendon Airlines’ weekly flight, while Blu-express also serves Milan Malpensa with six weekly flights. Further indirect competition at Istanbul Atatürk comes from Turkish Airlines and Alitalia.
- South African Airways launched a new route to Mozambique on 2 August. From Johannesburg (JNB), Airlink-operated ERJ135s serve Tete (TET) in the northeast of the country on a twice-weekly basis. This is the first regular, international air service at Tete. The route becomes South African Airways’ fourth destination in its neighbour country Mozambique, already serving Maputo, Beira and Pemba.
- Sichuan Airlines on 27 July relaunched flights to Seoul Incheon (ICN) from its Chengdu (CTU) base, a route that it had dropped in June 2008. The airline now flies twice a week between the capitals of Sichuan Province and South Korea using 164-seat A320s, competing with Asiana’s daily flights. On the same day, the airline continued its international focus as it launched services to Malé (MLE) in the Maldives. Flights are scheduled with the unusual frequency of operating every four days, irrespective of day of the week, using A330-200 equipment. This makes Sichuan Airlines the second carrier to serve the Maldivian capital from China, after China Southern’s twice-weekly service from Guangzhou. China Eastern also used to operate flights from Shanghai Pudong in 2007-2008.
- Spanair added a seasonal service to Dubrovnik (DBV) from Madrid (MAD) on 29 July, reflecting the later summer holiday season in southern Europe. The two weekly A320 services will operate until 30 September, competing with Iberia’s five flights a week. The launch comes just under a month after the airline launched Dubrovnik flights from Barcelona .
- Spirit Airlines further expanded its network to Colombia on 28 July, when the low-cost carrier added Barranquilla (BAQ) – its fifth Colombian destination – to its Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) network. The three weekly 145-seat A319 flights to the Colombian port city on the Caribbean Sea compete with AIRES’ daily flights, which only launched at the end of March this year .
- TACA launched a new route from its San Salvador (SAL) hub in El Salvador to Guayaquil (GYE), the largest city in Ecuador. The three weekly flights will be operated with 124-seat A319s. This is the first time the two airports are linked since Eastern Air Lines’ flights in 1989. TACA’s Peruvian subsidiary already serves Guayaquil from Lima and Cali in Colombia, while the Costa Rican subsidiary Lacsa dropped its San José route in January 2009.
- Transaero became the third airline in a short period of time to take on Aeroflot’s previous monopoly on the Moscow-Hong Kong market, as it launched a weekly service between Moscow Domodedovo (DME) and Hong Kong (HKG) on 30 July. 306-seat 777-200s will be used, competing directly with Cathay Pacific’s three weekly flights and indirectly with Aeroflot’s five and Hong Kong Airlines’ three weekly flights at Moscow Sheremetyevo. Transaero on the same day also launched two weekly 767-300ER flights from Domodedovo to Varadero (VRA), the Cuban resort town east of Havana. This is the airline’s first flight to Cuba, while Aeroflot long has flown between Sheremetyevo and Havana, currently with a frequency of four flights a week.
Other celebrations in the last week
flybe and Leeds/Bradford airport celebrated Yorkshire Day by greeting the first flight of the day to the airport. Laura Jurgens, the airline’s sales manager North England, presented the first disembarking passenger - Merissa Hargeaves – with a bouquet of locally grown Polar Star flowers, an alternative to the out-of-season Yorkshire Rose, while the airport provided passengers with Yorkshire Tea.
One Comment
I’m afraid you have forgotten a route that was launched down under! It’s totally ok-we’re often forgotten down here
. Virgin Blue on Monday 2 August launched their direct daily flights between Sydney and Ayers Rock/Uluru. The route launch flight was operated by a full Boeing 737-800, but normally it will be operated by a 104-seat Embraer 190. Prior to the commencement of services, Qantas and QantasLink were the only airlines to service Uluru. On the Sydney route, Qantas was the only operator, operating its daily Boeing 737-800 service on the route. Virgin Blue previously operated services to Alice Springs from Sydney and later Adelaide, although these services were cancelled in 2005. Uluru is the airline’s second Northern Territory destination and will be a fierce competitor to Qantas’ previous monopoly on the destination.