New routes launched during the last week (Tuesday 23 March – Monday 29 March):

Route of the Week
Emirates’ Dubai to Tokyo Narita

Emirates’ Tokyo Narita services were inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Kosaburo Morinaka, CEO Narita Airport; Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ Divisional SVP Commercial Operations Worldwide; Saeed Ali Al Nowais, UAE Ambassador to Japan; and Hisashi Kataoka, Japanese ministry of transport. Japan was also Emirates’ theme at this year’s Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest day of horse racing, which took place at the newly opened Meydan Racecourse.

• Emirates was the second Middle Eastern airline to launch flights to Tokyo Narita (NRT) on 28 March. Its five weekly flights from Dubai (DXB) will be operated with 777-300ERs. Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ Divisional SVP Commercial Operations Worldwide commented: “It is wonderful to finally arrive at Narita International, as an airline we have always stated it was our intention to one day operate non-stop between Dubai and Tokyo and that day has now arrived.”

Cake of the Week – vote for your favourite

Out of Cork, the franchise agreement with Aer Arann was celebrated with a cake, here shown to the camera by Aer Arann’s media & communications manager Gina Kelly, cabin attendant Melanie Fitzgerald and Aoife Horgan, Cork Airport’s aviation marketing officer. Joining them were Alan Long, Shannon & Cork base manager Aer Lingus; Kevin Cullinane, aviation marketing manager Cork Airport and John Cronin, Aer Lingus. Meanwhile, in Doncaster/Sheffield, Chris Harcombe, aviation development manager and Mike Morton, airport director from Robin Hood Airport welcome the first Aer Lingus Regional flight from Dublin, emphasising the new connectivity with the US through Aer Lingus’s Dublin hub.

Vote for Cake 1 – Aer Lingus Regional – Cork to Glasgow

• Aer Lingus Regional is the new Aer Lingus brand operated with Aer Arann’s ATR72s, as described in greater detail in this week’s airline analysis. The new routes to start on 28 March because of this new partnership are from Cork (ORK) to Glasgow (GLA) six times weekly as well as from Dublin (DUB) to Doncaster/Sheffield (DSA) and Durham Tees Valley (MME) six and five times a week respectively. Aer Arann’s CEO Paul Schütz commented: “With our franchise partner we have created a product that offers a customer-focussed schedule with increased frequency and both regional and trans-Atlantic connectivity.”

This week’s new route between Casablanca and Montpellier – operated by Air Arabia Maroc – was celebrated with a number of impressive looking cakes that we are sure tasted great! In the departure hall, Mohamed Benboubker, head of commercial Air Arabia Maroc; Cyril Reboul, chairman of the board MPL Apt; and Pascal Bigot, routes development manager, cut the cake. A press conference was held by Georges Freche, president of the region Languedoc-Roussillon; Rohit Ramachandran, COO Air Arabia Maroc; and Abdelfattah El Kadiri, Moroccan consul in MPL.

Vote for Cake 2 – Air Arabia Maroc – Casablanca to Montpellier

• Air Arabia Maroc began flying three weekly A320 flights from Casablanca (CMN) to Montpellier (MPL) on 28 March. This is the airline’s fourth French destination from its Casablanca base, from where the airline now offers a total of 12 destinations.

Juha Järvinen, VP Commercial Blue1, and Aapo Pölhö, Finnish Ambassador to Belgium, cut the ribbon to inaugurate Blue1’s flights between Helsinki and Brussels. They were then served a cake so big that they required help cutting it by SAS’ GM Belgium & Luxembourg Stefan Larsson.

Vote for Cake 3 – Blue1 – Helsinki to Brussels

• Blue1 began flying from Helsinki (HEL) to Brussels (BRU) on 28 March. The 11 weekly flights code-share with its Star Alliance partner Brussels Airlines and will be operated with 84-seat RJ85s. After Brussels Airlines suspended the route in October last year, the route has been left a Finnair monopoly, with 25 weekly flights.

Chris Butler, operations director for LHR Terminal 4, raised a glass for the new route - the first non-stop connection between the UK and Taiwan - together with China Airlines’ chairman Philip Wei, Madame Chang and President Hung Hsiung Sun.

Vote for Cake 4 – China Airlines – Taipei to London Heathrow

• China Airlines has launched the first non-stop connection between Taiwan and the United Kingdom. On 28 March, the airline launched three weekly flights from Taipei (TPE) to London Heathrow (LHR), flying on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays on A340-300s. The historic inaugural flight of the airline’s sixth European route had an amazing 100% load factor – 276 passengers. China Airlines’ Chairman Philip Wei commented: “The latest addition to the China Airlines network highlights our commitment to the UK market, and our ongoing work to strengthen Taiwan’s position as one of Asia and the Pacific’s leading aviation hubs. China Airlines is proud to play a part in promoting further growth by adding the UK as our latest destination.”

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO flydubai, and H.E. Mohammed A. Ahli, Director General Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, arrived in Muscat on flydubai’s inaugural flight to the Sultanate of Oman, where they were greeted by Ismail Ali Albanna, EVP Dnata; H.E. Mohammed bin Sakhar Al-Amri, Undersecretary of Civil Aviation Affairs Oman; and Sheikh Salim Said Al Fanna Al Araimi, Chairman Galfar Group of Companies as well as – an enormous cake!

Vote for Cake 5 – flydubai – Dubai to Muscat

• The LCC flydubai has launched two daily flights between Dubai (DXB) and Muscat (MCT). Mohammed bin Sakhar Al-Amri, Undersecretary of Civil Aviation Affairs Oman, commented: “This is an extremely important route between two highly significant cities in the Middle East. Oman has become a magnet for local, regional and international tourism and there is a constant demand from UAE travellers to come and enjoy our natural beauty and attractions. With each passing year that demand grows and flydubai’s low cost service will certainly help to boost the number of visitors this region receives.”

There was a Great Barrier Reef theme as Bruce Moffat, Pacific Blue's regional sales manager New Zealand and Simon Moutter, CEO Auckland Airport, cut the cake to signal the launch of services between Auckland and Cairns.

Vote for Cake 6 – Pacific Blue – Auckland to Cairns

• Pacific Blue, the New Zealand subsidiary of Virgin Blue, launched twice-weekly flights between Auckland (AKL) and Cairns (CNS) using 737-800s. Simon Moutter, CEO Auckland Airport, said: “With two world heritage attractions, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest, right on its door-step, we’re hoping more Kiwis take advantage of the chance to have an amazing holiday in Cairns or Port Douglas, and in turn more tourists catch a flight from Cairns to Auckland to come and see what New Zealand has to offer.”

Ryanair’s new base at Faro in Portugal's Algarve created much local excitement. The airline’s personnel director Eddie Wilson was on site and declared that the new base “offers passengers 30 routes and will deliver 1.3million passengers p.a. which will sustain 1,300 local jobs.”

Ryanair opened its 34th base at Leeds Bradford last Thursday with 14 new routes, meaning it now operates a total of 17 from the airport. Tony Hallwood, LBIA commercial director, told anna.aero: “Over the next 12 months the Ryanair services will generate one million passengers with two based aircraft. 1,000 local jobs will be sustained in the region, with increasing inbound business and tourist traffic. The new Ryanair base is important not just for Leeds Bradford Airport, but for the whole region. We are working with ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ to ensure we raise the profile of the region and underpin the local economy.” Tony is pictured with Ryanair’s Dara Brady; Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, and Ryanair’s calendar girls.

Vote for Cake 7 – Ryanair – Leeds/Bradford to 14 destinations

Janita Govinden, Ryanair's marketing manager for France, and Cyril Reboul, chairman of the board Montpellier Airport, cut the cake to mark the launch of Ryanair's new Leeds/Bradford-Montpellier route.

Vote for Cake 8 – Ryanair – Leeds/Bradford to Montpellier

• Ryanair is, as usual, the largest route launcher with 27 new routes, including one new base at Leeds/Bradford (LBA), which is detailed in this week’s airline analysis. In addition to the just over half of the routes that are launched out of Leeds/Bradford, Faro (FAO) is a new base for the airline and has seen the launch of five new routes (although one is shared with Leeds/Bradford). Heitor da Fonseca, Member of the Board of Directors of ANA commented: “Ryanair’s based operations at Faro will be an important catalyst for economic activity in the region. First of all it is a sign of commitment from the main European low cost airline to the potential of the Algarve and it offers a unique opportunity to affirm the Algarve region as a high quality tourism destination within Europe.”

Tiger Airways has launched three new routes from Brisbane – to Melbourne, Adelaide and Rockhampton. Queensland Minister for Tourism Peter Lawlor, Tiger Airways CEO Shelley Roberts and Brisbane Airport CEO Julieanne Alroe led the celebrations with a ribbon and cake cutting. Alroe said: “Tiger’s decision to add Brisbane to its already expansive network indicates their confidence in the region as a hub for tourism and business, and is good news for domestic tourism.”

Vote for Cake 9 – Tiger Airways – Brisbane to three destinations

• Tiger Airways Australia entered a new Australian airport by launching three new routes out of Brisbane (BNE), all on 28 March. Adelaide (ADL) and Rockhampton (ROK) each gets one daily flight, while Melbourne (MEL) now has three daily connections on the airline. The service to Rockhampton is notably the airline’s first intra-state route.

This remarkable cake, made for Transavia.com’s launch of flights between Madeira and the Portuguese mainland, was cut by Roberto Santa Clara, Madeira Islands Airports (ANAM) deputy director; Helene Abraham, Transavia VP commercial; Conceição Estudante, Madeira regional tourism and transport secretary; and Fernando Vieira, Porto Airport director.

Vote for Cake 10 – Transavia.com – Porto to Funchal

• Transavia.com launched four weekly flights between the domestic Portuguese destinations Porto (OPO) and Funchal (FNC) in Madeira on 28 March. The route competes with TAP Portugal’s 23 weekly flights.

Ruben Sicking, ops director Brussels Airport; Richard Eason, political/economic counselor US Embassy to Belgium; and Greg Kaldahl, VP resource planning United Airlines, cut the cake for United Airlines’ inaugural Chicago service into Brussels. Upon arrival, passengers (and there were plenty of them at a 93% load factor) were greeted with breakfast and handed small gifts of Belgian chocolate.

Vote for Cake 11 – United Airlines – Chicago O’Hare to Brussels

• United Airlines launched two trans-Atlantic routes in the last week. The daily services from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Brussels (BRU) on 767s complement its existing flights from Washington Dulles to the Belgian capital, where its new Star Alliance partner Brussels Airlines is based. The route is operated in competition with American Airlines’ also daily flights. Daily flights have also been launched by United between Washington Dulles (IAD) and Madrid (MAD), using A330-200s operated by Aer Lingus. These flights are up against Iberia’s three weekly services between the two airports.

The rest of this week’s new routes

• As part of Aer Lingus‘s reassessment of its London Gatwick (LGW) base, the airline launched twice-daily services to Cork (ORK) on 28 March, using A320s. The airline already serves London Heathrow four times daily from the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland. The new Gatwick flights compete with Ryanair’s daily service.

• AeroMexico has launched daily flights from Mexico City (MEX) to San José (SJO) in Costa Rica on 26 March. The 737 service competes with LACSA’s daily and Mexicana’s 11 weekly flights.

• AeroRepública, Copa Airlines’ Colombian subsidiary, on 26 March launched four weekly E-190 flights from Bogotá (BOG) to Guayaquil (GYE) in Ecuador, competing with Avianca’s twice-daily F100 services.

• Aerosvit launched four weekly flights between Kiev Borispol (KBP) and Bucharest Otopeni (OTP) on 29 March. The Ukrainian and Romanian capitals will be linked with ERJ145s, having been left unserved since February 2009, when Carpatair pulled out of the route.

• 737 operator Air Busan, the regional subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, started daily flights between its Busan (PUS) home base and Fukuoka (FUK) in Japan on 28 March. This is the airline’s first international destination, only previously operating domestic high-frequency shuttle services from Busan to Seoul Gimpo and Jeju.

Air Canada launched its new Calgary-Tokyo service to the beat of Japanese drums. The only direct link between Alberta and Asia, the service is operated three times weekly using 767-300 aircraft. Air Canada has invested significantly in the Calgary market over the past year, strategically responding to strong demand. The first Japanese passengers were welcomed to Calgary with a cowboy theme – and a chocolate fountain!

• Air Canada added flights to Tokyo Narita (NRT) from its third Canadian airport. Calgary (YYC) follows Vancouver and Toronto Pearson with three weekly 767-300 services that started on 27 March. The airline also commenced flights from Montreal (YUL) to Iqaluit (YFB) on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, operating daily via Ottawa (YOW) with CRJ705s. “Air Canada is now giving Albertans travelling on business or leisure, as well as freight forwarders non-stop convenience to a major Asian gateway. In addition, our new service to Tokyo offers a multitude of connecting flights with our Star Alliance partners to key destinations throughout Asia,” said Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada President & CEO.

• Air China launched two new routes on 28 March, one domestic and one international. Chengdu (CTU) is now linked four times weekly with Tengchong (TCZ) on A319s, while Beijing (PEK) received three weekly flights to Manila (MNL) with 737-800s. The latter competes with Philippine Airlines’ five weekly flights aboard A330s and A320s.

Dresden has the honour of being the third German destination for Air Dolomiti, which focuses on Italy-Germany traffic. Captain Marco Passetini and his fellow crew members are here welcomed by the airport fire brigade, followed by flowers and gifts. (Photos: Michael Weimer/Dresden Airport)

• The Lufthansa subsidiary Air Dolomiti launched six weekly (daily, except Saturdays) flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Dresden (DRS), using 50-seat ATR-42s, on 28 March. This is the airline’s first route to Dresden, its third German destination. The airline’s Italy-Germany network has previously been limited to feeding its parent’s Munich and Frankfurt hubs.

• Air Macau, which after the recent demise of Viva Macau is Macau’s only local airline, is among the many new airlines gaining entry to Tokyo Narita (NRT) on 28 March. Its three weekly flights from Macau (MFM) will be operated with A321s.

• Air Malta has launched flights between its Sicilian focus city Catania (CTA) and Frankfurt (FRA) on 28 March. The three weekly flights are operated with A319s, competing with airberlin’s also three weekly services.

airBaltic’s VP corporate comms Janis Vanags was welcomed to the red carpet in a snowy Umeå by the airport director Karin Larsson-Tängdén and, in the background, Umeå’s municipal commissioner Marie-Louise Rönnmark.

• airBaltic launched three new routes on 29 March. From the airline’s fast-expanding main base in Riga (RIX), three weekly 737 flights will operate to Manchester (MAN), while Umeå (UME) in northern Sweden receives four weekly Fokker 50 services that operate via Vaasa (VAA) in Finland. The airline’s relaunched Vilnius (VNO) base had four weekly flights to Dublin (DUB) added with 737-500, competing with Aer Lingus’s also four flights a week. Star1 also serves the route seasonally. Tero Taskila, CCO airBaltic, commented the Umeå launch: “airBaltic will become the first airline in history to link Umeå and Riga – two cities that have been nominated to become Europe’s cultural capitals in 2014. airBaltic has worked hard to expand its list of destinations in Scandinavia. We want to allow people from the region to visit Latvia or to use Riga as a transit airport”.

Ulrich Topp, manager airline marketing Düsseldorf International Airport, and Martina Alves, airberlin’s marketing manager west, got up early to see off the first flight to Bilbao, which departed on time at 06:30. The crew who had the honour of taking the first A319 to the largest city in Basque Country were lead by captain Eckhard Berdelmann. Michael Blümel was first officer, while the cabin was attended by Adrian Rieck, Sören Schubach and Nicole Brewing.

• airberlin has launched an entire nine routes in the last week. Along with the two Stuttgart (STR) routes, Bilbao (BIO) is the only high-frequency route, while the two Tel Aviv (TLV) routes are handed over from TUIfly as part of the two airlines’ new cooperation. The high-frequency, business-oriented service between Stuttgart and Milan Malpensa (MXP) competes with Lufthansa’s 16 weekly Fokker 100 flights.

AIRES now serves Fort Lauderdale from three Colombian airports and plans to add a fourth route from Cartagena in June, giving the Colombian community in South Florida even more choice.

• The Colombian carrier AIRES just launched three new routes, one domestic and two international. On 26 March, the airline began serving Valledupar (VUP) in northern Colombia daily from its main base in the country capital Bogotá (BOG). The airline has further increased its flights into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) in Florida. Successfully already servicing the airport from Bogotá, the airline now also flies four times weekly from Cali (CLO) and daily from Barranquilla (BAQ) as of 25 and 26 March respectively. All flights use 737-700s with a capacity of 148 passengers.

• Alaska Airlines has continued its launch of Hawaiian flights from northern California. Sacramento (SMF) saw the launch of daily flights to Kahului/Maui (OGG) on 26 March, using 737-800s.

• Alitalia launched two new routes out of Rome Fiumicino (FCO) on 28 March. Vienna (VIE) is now served 12 times weekly with CRJ900s, while Malaga (AGP) gets daily flights with A320s. Competition on the Vienna route comes from Austrian Airlines and niki, both flying 13 times a week each, while the Malaga route competes with Vueling’s nine flights a week.

• Armavia launched two weekly flights to Tel Aviv (TLV) from Yerevan (EVN) on 28 March. The 1,245 kilometre route is to be operated with CRJ200s.

• Blue Air has launched five routes at the start of the summer season. The domestic Romanian route from Bucharest Baneasa (BBU) to Timisoara (TSR) is operated by Direct Aero Services using Saab 340s. The Stuttgart route has been operated in the past, then routed via Sibiu.

• bmi launched two routes out of London Heathrow (LHR) on 28 March, although both strictly speaking only are frequency increases within Lufthansa Group. bmi’s two daily A320 services to Vienna (VIE) coincide with Austrian Airlines reducing from four to three daily flights, while bmi’s four daily A319 flights to Berlin Tegel (TXL) replace Lufthansa’s three daily flights that in fact already were operated by bmi.

• bmibaby relaunched four weekly flights from East Midlands (EMA) to Barcelona (BCN) on 28 March. The route was operated by easyJet until it shut its East Midlands base down in early January this year. bmibaby also previously operated the route between March 2002 and June 2004. The airline also launched three weekly flights between Jersey (JER) and Bournemouth (BOH) on 29 March. Crawford Rix, MD bmibaby, commented: “We are proud to introduce another new route to our flying programme from Jersey Airport, and we are confident that the new direct route to Bournemouth will be just as popular as the other services that we operate from the island.”

• Bulgaria Air launched three weekly flights between Sofia (SOF) and Milan Malpensa (MXP) on 29 March, using BAe146s. The route competes with easyJet’s also three weekly flights.

Cathay Pacific has introduced a four times weekly service from Hong Kong to Milan Malpensa, which is operated using a 777-300. Leading the ribbon cutting ceremony were SEA’s David Crognaletti, and Cathay Pacific’s Chris Daniells, country manager Italy and Philippe de Gentille-Williams, general manager Europe. Silvia Tagliaferri, commercial director Italy & Malta, Cathay Pacific, also presented a gift to the Captain, crew and all passengers on the first arriving flight at Malpensa.

• Cathay Pacific has increased its European network by adding flights from Hong Kong (HKG) to Milan Malpensa (MXP). The four weekly 777-300 flights commenced on 28 March, 24 years after the airline began serving Rome. Cathay Pacific’s CEO Tony Tyler inaugurated that route as well, then in the capacity of Manager Italy and France, although claiming that his “hair was a bit thicker and darker than it is today”.

• China Eastern resumed its flights from Shanghai Pudong (PVG) to both London Heathrow (LHR) and Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) on 28 March. The London route was dropped in March last year, while the Moscow route only had been operated briefly between July 2004 and February 2005. Heathrow is served four times weekly in competition with Virgin Atlantic’s daily flights and British Airways’ five weekly, while Aeroflot competes to Sheremetyevo with daily flights against China Eastern’s three weekly flights. Both new routes are flown with A330-200s.

Miss Duan at China Southern’s Xinjiang branch passed this photo on to us. A meeting was held about the airline’s new routes out of Ürümqi.

• China Southern began serving Shenzhen (SZX) by the Pearl River delta from Ürümqi (URC) in northwest China on 28 March. The uncontested route will be served daily with 757-200s.

• Cimber Sterling began flying the summer holiday route between Billund (BLL) in the Danish mainland and Antalya (AYT) in Turkey on 28 March. The weekly service will be operated with 737-700s, increasing to twice weekly in June. From Copenhagen (CPH), the airline on 28 March also started flying 10 weekly ATR42 flights to London City (LCY), a route it previously flew on behalf of SAS. On 29 March, Copenhagen saw the start of two weekly flights to Belgrade (BEG), which is helped by the abolished visa requirements for Serbians, and three weekly flights to Madrid (MAD). Both routes are flown with 737-700s.

• Cirrus Airlines on 29 March began flying between Frankfurt (FRA) and Hof/Plauen (HOQ), on the border between Bavaria and Saxony. The 15 weekly flights (three daily Monday-Friday) are flown with Dornier 328s. The route was operated with the same frequency by Contact Air on behalf of Lufthansa until 26 March, then using ATR42s.

The first passengers on City Airline’s flight to Malaga were given a pre-flight drink of Swedish apple cider and sweets. The Malaga flight is the first of a range of flights being launched by the Gothenburg-based carrier, which is in the process of expanding from its previous regional status.

• City Airline launched its first route with its newly delivered 125-seat MD87 fleet on 29 March. Three weekly flights between Gothenburg Landvetter (GOT) and Malaga (AGP) marked the first launch of flights on the larger aircraft, by far exceeding the airline’s previously largest 50-seat ERJ-145s. Further launches and analysis of the airline is soon to follow, so stay tuned with the coming issues of anna.aero. Lars Håkansson, City Airline’s sales and marketing director, commented: “It is always fun to be able to open a new route, but it feels a little extra exciting this time, because we now have begun City Airline’s venture from Göteborg Landvetter Airport. We are now looking forward to inaugural flights to a range of new destinations in Europe and not the least our new domestic route to Västerås-Umeå.”

Approaching Munich’s majestic terminal building: Continental has added its fourth German destination, making use of the connectivity it now has with its new alliance partner Lufthansa.

• Continental Airlines is making use of its new status as a Star Alliance member airline and launched flights from its Newark (EWR) hub to alliance partner Lufthansa’s Munich (MUC) hub on 27 March. The daily flights are operated with 174-seat 767-200ERs. Munich becomes the fourth German city to be served with daily flights to Newark by Continental after Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg; the airline also operates daily service between Frankfurt and Houston. Munich is the 30th destination in Continental’s overall trans-Atlantic network. Lufthansa already serves Newark with daily flights as well as daily services to New York JFK.

• CSA Czech Airlines began its six weekly flights from Prague (PRG) to Manchester (MAN) on 28 March. The Monday-Saturday flights compete with Jet2.com’s five weekly and bmibaby’s four weekly flights.

A press conference was held about the new easyJet domestic route between Paris CDG and Toulouse in the latter airport’s brand new terminal; Hall D.

• easyJet launched six new routes across its network in the last week, all on 28 March.

Etihad launched a five times weekly service from Abu Dhabi to Tokyo on 27 March, becoming the first Middle Eastern carrier to operate to the Japanese capital, albeit by a small margin. Nick Nishiyori, Etihad Country Manager in Japan, James Hogan, CEO Etihad and Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) held a press conference for the new, important route before Khalifa Al Mazroui, chairman Abu Dhabi Airports Company, joined James Hogan for a photo opportunity in the airline’s impressive first class suites, while Ahmed Hussein looked on.

• Etihad was the first Middle Eastern airline to launch flights to Tokyo Narita (NRT) on 27 March. The airline will serve the Japanese capital with five weekly flights using A330-200s from its Abu Dhabi (AUH) hub.The service adds to the five flights per week that the airline offers to Nagoya. James Hogan, Etihad CEO, said: “Japan is a key market for Etihad and will be an important focus in 2010.” Annual trade between the UAE and Japan currently totals US$29.21 billion. There are around 350 Japanese companies operating and more than 3,500 Japanese expatriates living in the UAE. In addition to business travellers, Hogan believes that “the variety of high profile attractions opening in Abu Dhabi in the coming years, including Ferrari World, The Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, will be very attractive to Japanese leisure travellers.”

The lucky EVA Air crew who got to serve on the new route between Taipei and Toronto Pearson were given flowers to mark the occasion.

• EVA Air launched three weekly flights between Taipei (TPE) and Toronto (YYZ) on 28 March, using 777-300ERs. The airline already serves Canada through Vancouver, a route on which it competes with local rival China Airlines.

Linking two iconic motorcycle events: Shaun Browne, aviation director Bristol Airport, Stacey Goodes and Becky Carswell from RHL Activities and a clearly delighted captain Antoine Maloret from flybe celebrated the launch of the new service between Bristol and the Isle of Man which will link the Isle of Man TT and the Weston Beach Race.

• flybe launched three weekly Q400 flights between Isle of Man (IOM) and Bristol (BRS) on 28 March. Gareth Hockey, MD RHL Activities, which organises the Weston Beach Race, commented: “Flybe’s new flight links two of the world’s most iconic motor cycle events – the Isle of Man TT Race and the Weston Beach Race – so this route will please motorcycling enthusiasts in the South West and the Isle of Man.”

• germanwings launched three routes out of Cologne/Bonn (CGN) over the weekend. Flights to Copenhagen (CPH) will operate six times weekly, while Friedrichshafen (FDH) gets 12 weekly flights and Madrid (MAD) daily connections. Talking exclusively to anna.aero about the Copenhagen route, the airline’s spokeswoman Angelika Schwaff stated that the forward bookings have been very impressive, with a fair share of passengers making use of the airline’s Cologne/Bonn connection facilities and onward, largely Mediterranean network.

• Hamburg International launched weekly flights from Cologne/Bonn (CGN) to Olbia (OLB) in Sardinia on 24 March, using its A319s.

• Horizon Air on 26 March began flying between Spokane, WA (GEG) and Sacramento (SMF) and San José (SJC) in California with its Q400s. The routing used is GEG-SMF-SJC-GEG + GEG-SJC-SMF-GEG.

Welcoming the Jeju Air’s first flight to Nagoya: The Japanese airport now is linked with Seoul Gimpo in addition to the network carriers that serve Seoul Incheon.

• Jeju Air has expanded its Japanese operations by launching daily flights from Seoul Gimpo (GMP) to Nagoya Chubu (NGO) on 29 March. The airline already serves Osaka Kansai from both the city airport and Seoul Incheon, while it also offers flights to Kitakyushu from Incheon. Although Jeju Air is the only airline to operate between the two airports, ANA, Asiana and Korean Air all fly between Nagoya and Seoul Incheon.

Cutting the ribbon in Trivandrum for the new route to Dammam: Airport director V.N. Chandran inaugurated the daily Jet Airways service in the presence of area manager Anil Srinivasan and station manager Arun Daniel.

• Jet Airways on 28 March launched daily 737-800 flights between Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) (TRV) in southernmost India and Dammam (DMM) in Saudi Arabia. Its low-cost brand Jet Airways Konnect the same day launched daily flights from Delhi (DEL) to Dehradun (DED) on ATR-72s.

No need for us to comment – Bordeaux Airport’s routes manager Catherine Caraglio and commercial development director Jean Luc Poiroux have already captioned their image for us.

• Jet4you.com launched three weekly services between Casablanca (CMN) and Bordeaux (BOD) on 29 March. The 737-800 services will compete with Royal Air Maroc’s daily flights.

• On 29 March, Jetstar launched four weekly flights from Sydney (SYD) to Nadi (NAN) in Fiji using A320s.

The first international route out of Delhi, but only the beginning: Kingfisher will launch four more international services in April – to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai and Kathmandu. The London Heathrow launch was celebrated in a grand fashion and the first lucky passenger was given a range of gifts to commemorate the important event.

• Kingfisher Airlines launched daily flights between Delhi (DEL) and London Heathrow (LHR) on 28 March using A330-200s. The airline already serves London Heathrow from Mumbai since January 2009 and has previously also flown from Bangalore, but this route was suspended in September last year. Kingfisher faces considerable competition on the new route. Jet Airways and Virgin Atlantic also fly daily, while Air India offers 10 weekly flights and British Airways operates twice daily. Kingfisher Airlines’ Chairman and CEO Dr. Vijay Mallya said: “I am delighted to announce the launch of Kingfisher Airlines’ maiden international service out of New Delhi. International traffic demand in and out of India remains robust and the unique ties between Britain and India generate attractive additional opportunities.”

Tamur Goudarzi-Pour, Lufthansa GM Central Europe; Michal Marzec, Director of Warsaw Chopin International Airport; and Maria Kowalewska, Lufthansa GM Poland, cut the ribbon ahead of Lufthansa Italia’s first service to Poland. The route is operated 12 times per week (double daily on working days; once daily on weekends) on A319s seating 136 passengers. Warsaw is the 13th destination for the airline brand, and the third in Central Eastern Europe.

The Contact Air Fokker 100 used for Lufthansa’s first flight from Stuttgart to Athens bore the Star Alliance livery. Guenter Daxhammer, Contact Air VP Flight Ops & Training; Felix Redeker, Lufthansa's head of services & ops Germany South; and Christian Wulf, Stuttgart Airport's head of aviation marketing were happy to be on site for the important launch.

• Lufthansa, including its subsidiaries and franchise partners, has launched 12 new routes in the last week. Miami (MIA) from Munich (MUC) is a resumption, as Lufthansa used to serve this route in the winters of 2004 and 2005. Three weekly flights to Tashkent (TAS) will notably be operated by Privatair.

• niki has continued its expansion with the launch of three flights from Vienna (VIE) on 26 March. Barcelona (BCN) and Nice (NCE) each get daily flights, while Copenhagen (CPH) is served with six flights a week. All are served with A320s.

• Norwegian launched a batch of eight routes, all on 28 March, with the major part out of its Bergen (BGO) base. The domestic Danish route launched from Copenhagen (CPH) to the island of Bornholm (RNN) is in line with the airline’s attack on Cimber Sterling, which operates 45 flights a week on the route.

• Philippine Airlines launched flights between Manila (MNL) and Riyadh (RUH) in Saudi Arabia on 28 March. The four weekly flights, operating with 747-400s, compete with Saudi Arabian Airlines’ also four weekly services.

• Royal Air Maroc launched three weekly 737-500 flights from Casablanca (CMN) to Verona (VRN), the airline’s fifth Italian destination, on 28 March.

• Royal Brunei reinstated services between Bandar Seri Begawan (BWN) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG) on 28 March. The four weekly 767-300 flights between the oil rich country and the oil dependant counterpart mark the resumption of the services that the airline dropped in April 2008.

• Royal Jordanian began serving Medina (MED) in Saudi Arabia from its Amman (AMM) hub. The flights will operate twice-weekly with E-195s, arriving into Medina at 00:45 and departing one hour later.

• Singapore Airlines has begun serving Munich (MUC) from its Singapore (SIN) hub. The five weekly flights, which were launched on 28 March, are operated with 777-200ER aircraft and compete with Lufthansa’s also five weekly flights. The Singapore Airlines flight continues on from Munich to Manchester (MAN).

• The Lithuanian low-cost airline Star1 launched two weekly flights between Vilnius (VNO) and Edinburgh (EDI) on 28 March. The airline’s CEO Martynas Laivys commented: “This is a completely new route from Vilnius and from Lithuania, in general. Our decision to connect to the Scottish capital city was prompted by an abundant community of students and employees from Lithuania, to whom we will offer this convenient connection. We also believe that Edinburgh will attract tourists from Lithuania and contribute to new tourist flows to Vilnius”. The Lithuanian Ambassador to the UK Oskaras Jusys agrees: “Various Scottish universities have big groups of students from Lithuania. We believe that Aberdeen University alone last autumn accepted more than one hundred graduates from Lithuania. In addition to students, thousands of Lithuanian citizens are employed in various industries in Scotland. Thus, no doubt the new route will facilitate the accessibility to the homeland of all these people.”

• Swiss launched two weekly flights from Zurich (ZRH) to the Macedonian capital Skopje (SKP) on 28 March. The A320 service is operated on behalf of the airline by Edelweiss.

• TAROM launched two new routes from its Bucharest Otopeni (OTP) base on 28 March. Nice (NCE) will see the airline fly twice weekly in competition with Blue Air’s three weekly flights, while Riga (RIX) receives four weekly flights.

• Ukraine International began flying between Kiev Borispol (KBP) and Odessa (ODS) on 29 March. The route will be operated six times weekly with 737-500s.

Geert Van Dessel, Brussels Airport’s Manager Aviation Marketing, welcomed Vueling's first flight from Vigo with a gift of Belgian Easter chocolates to the Vueling crew, who gladly obliged.

• Vueling launched three weekly flights between Vigo (VGO) and Brussels (BRU) on 29 March. This is the airline’s fourth Spanish airport from which it offer services to Brussels, already flying from Barcelona, Valencia and Seville. Brussels is also the airline’s first international route from the Galician airport, from where its only other route is to its main base in Barcelona. The airline has also launched two weekly services between the new airport in Lleida (ILD) in Catalonia and Paris CDG (CDG). This is not only the first international route for the airline at the airport, but it is the first international route for the whole of Lleida airport, which so far only has seen a service on Vueling from Palma de Mallorca.

• Welcome Air launched a weekly service on 28 March from Graz (GRZ) to Cologne/Bonn (CGN) using Dornier 328s.

• Wizz Air on 23 March launched three weekly flights between Oslo Torp (TRF) and Riga (RIX), notably neither of which is a base for the airline. On 28 March, the airline continued its expansion by commencing flights between Prague (PRG) and Bari (BRI) twice-weekly..