New routes launched during the last week
(Tuesday 26 October – Tuesday 2 November)
Route of the Week:Transaero’s Moscow
Domodedovo to New York JFK
Transaero’s first flight to New York carried some important dignitaries. Cutting the ribbon are Transaero’s chairman Alexander Pleshakov along with Director General Olga Pleshakova, who were joined by JFK IAT’s CCO Janice Holden, Chief Marketing Officer Henk Guitjens and COO James Fazio. Flowers in Transaero’s colours decorated the cake baked by JFK IAT as the Russian airline launched its three weekly 747-400 flights.
As Transaero’s 306-seat 777-200ER arrived in Miami on its inaugural flight from Moscow Domodedovo, this creamy cake with the airline’s logo had been baked. After a speech by Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s President and CEO Bill Talbert, he was joined by Kostadin Botev, Transaero’s Regional Manager for North America; MIA’s Deputy Director of Operations Ken Pyatt; Captain Evgeny Nikitin, Transaero’s Director of the Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft division; Alexander Faifman, General Producer for Channel One in Russia; and MIA’s Deputy Director of Business Development and Retention Miguel Southwell to cut the ribbon.
Riga International Airport Chairman Krišjānis Peters cut the cake that welcomed Transaero’s new service, which makes it the fourth airline to fly between the capitals of Russia and Latvia. Transaero’s Deputy Air Operations Director Valery Zaitsev said: “We are very glad indeed to add the name of a very beautiful city to our airline’s route map; Riga.”
- Transaero launched 12 new routes in the last week out of Moscow Domodedovo (DME), St Petersburg Pulkovo (LED) and Novosibirsk Tolmachevo (OVB). The new routes included landmark international long-haul services to Miami (MIA) and New York JFK (JFK) in the US and also increased competition on flights to the Latvian capital Riga (RIX). Although Transaero becomes the fourth airline to fly between the two cities, this is the only route from Domodedovo until airBaltic later will be adding the same route as well. The Russian carrier’s fast growth even triggered our interest enough to fly over to Moscow and see them earlier this year.
Cake of the Week: Vote for your favourite!
This week, we have shortlisted four cakes that you, our readers, get to vote for. Do you fancy the rainbow, magic carpet, beach holiday or koala bears? Let the world know!
Vote for Cake 1 – AnadoluJet’s Ankara to
Moscow Domodedovo
Connecting the capitals of Turkey and Russia: Anadolujet’s new route was celebrated in Ankara with this remarkable cake.
- Anadolujet, Turkish Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary, launched three weekly flights to Moscow Domodedovo (DME) from its Ankara (ESB) base on 31 October.
Vote for Cake 2 – Air Arabia Maroc’s Casablanca
via Nador and Fez to Cologne/Bonn
Kerstin Schweitzer, Cologne/Bonn Airport’s Head of Business Development, Air Arabia Maroc’s COO Rohit Ramachandran, and Ulrich Stiller, the airport’s Director Marketing & Sales, displayed the impressive magic carpet cake, complete with a fez and Moroccan slippers, in front of the stylish tent put up at the gate. By the aircraft, they were joined by the crew, who were presented with flowers, and Gerhard Pilop from the airport’s Business Development department.
- Air Arabia Maroc launched a service from Casablanca (CMN), operating via either Nador or Fez, to Cologne/Bonn (CGN), the airline’s first German destination.
Vote for Cake 3 – Jetairfly’s Brussels to Colombo
and Male
Cutting the cake for Jetairfly’s new long haul route to Male in the Maldives via Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo are Jos Stroobants, Director Aviation Development Brussels Airport; Aryasinha Ravinatha Pandukabhay, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Belgium; Elie Bruyninckx, Chairman Jetairfly; and Marc Vandewal, Director Flight & Coach Holidays at Thomas Cook. The gentlemen then cut the ribbon for the new weekly service.
“A faBRUlous cake,” Brussels Airport’s Head of Aviation Marketing Léon Verhallen calls it. And it certainly has an extreme level of detail with little figurines holidaying in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
- Jetairfly launched a weekly service from Brussels (BRU) to Colombo (CMB) and Male (MLE) on Saturday 30 October with its B767-300ER. Two of the TUI company’s B767-300ER’s are flown in a neutral livery (as shown on the cake above), reflecting its co-operation with rival Thomas Cook on the long haul flights out of Belgium.
Vote for Cake 4 – China Southern’s Guangzhou
to Brisbane
China Southern’s arrival in Brisbane was attended by the airline’s President Tan Wan Geng and the airport’s CEO Julieanne Alroe. Ms Alroe said a direct non-stop connection to mainland China was long overdue, given the huge popularity of Queensland for Chinese visitors and the growing investment partnerships between Australia and China.
At the Guangzhou end of the new Brisbane route, celebrations were also grand. The Australian Consul General, Grant Dooley, spoke to the gathered dignitaries.
- China Southern launched three new routes in the last week, all of which are intercontinental and operated with A330-200s. From Guangzhou (CAN), the airline now flies to Brisbane (BNE) in Australia and Lagos (LOS) in Nigeria. The latter route, which is operated via Dubai, is a return to Nigeria’s largest city for the airline, which first flew from Beijing in 2007. From Beijing (PEK), the airline now is connected with Jeddah (JED) in Saudi Arabia, a route that also is operated via Dubai. “The beauty of a service such as this is that is a good balance between inbound and outbound demand, with China featuring highly on the list of destinations for Brisbane residents with more than 23,000 making the trip last year,” Julieanne Alroe, Brisbane Airport’s CEO and MD, said and added: “Tourism will be a big winner with more than 158,000 Chinese visitors to Queensland last year, up 14% on the previous year despite the GFC, and making China one of Queensland’s largest inbound tourist markets and forecast to grow at double digit rates in the coming years.”
A selection of the rest of this week’s new routes
For a full list of the week’s new routes, please refer to the spreadsheet.
The Ukraine ambassador to Denmark, Mykhailo Skuratovskyi (himself a newcomer), cuts the ribbon to open AeroSvit’s Kiev-Copenhagen route helped by CPH VP Sales, Carsten Nørland, and Yevgeniy Ivanov, AeroSvit’s Sales Manager Europe.
- AeroSvit, the subject of this week’s airline analysis, launched four new routes out of Kiev Borispol (KBP) in the last week. The route with the highest frequency was to Copenhagen (CPH), which is served daily against SAS’s only three weekly flights.
After being sent off from Berlin by Till Bunse, Head of Marketing and Public Relations at Berlin Airports, Matthias von Randow, representative of airberlin’s Board of Directors, and Greg Delawie, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Germany… (Photo: Günter Wicker/Berlin Airports)
…the airberlin A330-200 got a wet welcoming at Miami International Airport. The ribbon inaugurating the return flight was then cut by Marcello Korner, Air Berlin Deputy Station Manager Miami; Maria Portuondo, Air Berlin Area Manager North America; Consul General of Germany, Countess Eva Alexandra Kendeffy; Kristina M. Harmon, Air Berlin Sales Manager Southeast USA; Nelly Castaneda, Air Berlin Regional Station Manager for Miami and Fort Myers; and Ken Pyatt, MIA’s Deputy Director of Operations.
- airberlin launched seven new routes in the last week. One of the additions was a long haul route, the twice-weekly service between Berlin Tegel (TXL) and Miami (MIA).
Air Canada was welcomed back to New Orleans by Iftikhar Ahmad, the airport’s Director of Aviation; Mary Beth Romig, Mayor’s Office - City of New Orleans; Graziella Cabrera, Air Canada Regional Sales Manager; Maria Manzella, Tourism Sales Manager, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitor’s Bureau; Zulfi Sadeque, Consul & Senior Trade Commissioner of Canada in Dallas; Patricia Denechaud, Honorary Consul of Canada in New Orleans; and Deborah Williams, United Airlines General Manager.
- Air Canada relaunched services to New Orleans (MSY) from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) on 30 October. Last time the airline operated the route was at the time of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The airline now flies daily with 75-seat CRJ705s.
The First Officer got the honour of cutting the cake as Air India’s 777-300ER arrived in Toronto after its maiden journey from Delhi.
- Air India launched two new routes in the last week; one domestic and one international. The latter was a daily intercontinental service between Delhi (DEL) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
ANA was one of four airlines to launch flights between Tokyo Haneda and Taipei Songshan.
- ANA was one of four airlines to launch flights between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Taipei Songshan (TSA) in the last week. Two flights a day are operated between the two city airports.
bmibaby’s MD Julian Carr (right) couldn’t resist going to Cologne/Bonn Airport for a quick photo opportunity when a cake like this was on offer. Kerstin Schweitzer, Cologne/Bonn Airport’s Head of Business Development, offered the cake, while Gerhard Pilop from the same department held the trademark CGN speech balloon. The crew did not leave empty-handed either, but were given these nice flower bouquets.
- bmibaby continued its expansion into the German market as it launched six weekly flights from its East Midlands (EMA) base to Cologne/Bonn (CGN). Notably, this route connects the headquarters and main bases of bmibaby and its sister LCC germanwings. The route was operated by mainline bmi until August 2009. Prior to bmi’s entry, between 2004 and 2007, easyJet flew between the two airports.
Readers familiar with Mandarin may find video coverage from the launch interesting.
- China Airlines also launched the Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Taipei Songshan (TSA) route with two daily flights.
Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, cut the ribbon for Copenhagen Airport’s new low-cost pier CPH Go, which saw the launch of easyJet’s new Basel route. Thomas Haagensen, easyJet’s Regional General Manager Northern Europe, spoke and told anna.aero how impressed he was with the facility.
Gothenburg Landvetter Airport’s Director Aviation Business & Deputy Managing Director Brett Weihart and Marketing Project Manager Gunilla Thorstenson showed off the Brandenburger Tor cake that celebrated easyJet’s second route to the West Swedish airport. The new service from from Berlin Schönefeld operates three times a week.
- easyJet added 11 new routes, including the airline’s first service to Zagreb (ZAG) as the Croatian capital got a link on the airline from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Gothenburg (GOT), which only was added to the easyJet network in September, got connected with Berlin Schönefeld (SXF), which – although it faces no direct competition – competes indirectly with airberlin’s services to Berlin Tegel. Out of Basel (BSL), easyJet grew its network to Copenhagen (CPH), which just inaugurated its low-cost pier CPH Go. easyJet is the launch customer at the pier and anna.aero is in the process of writing a dedicated magazine on CPH Go, which soon will become available to you, our readers.
EVA Air’s new route from Taipei Songshan to Tokyo Haneda got a big party in Taipei. The city’s mayor was there to lead the celebrations.
- EVA Air was one of many airlines to begin flying to Tokyo Haneda (HND), the subject of this week’s airport analysis, in the last week. The Japanese capital’s city airport has just had a new runway and an international terminal opened. The two daily A330-200 flights from Taipei Songshan (TSA) face ANA, JAL and China Airlines, all operating with the same frequencies.
This JAL aircraft was a new sight against the Taipei skyline.
- JAL also launched flights between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Taipei Songshan (TSA), which operate twice a day.
Jetairfly’s first flight between Brussels Charleroi and Toulon was celebrated with a rugby theme. The 133 departing passengers were welcomed by two howling rugby teams; the Charleroi Black Stars and RTC Toulon. A video was even made of the unique route launch celebration.
- Jetairfly launched two weekly flights from Brussels Charleroi (CRL) to Toulon (TLN) on the French south coast on 29 October. Flights operate on Fridays and Sundays.
- jetBlue launched three routes out of Washington Reagan (DCA). Boston (BOS) and two Florida destinations saw the arrival of the E-190 operator on 1 November.
- Jin Air, the South Korean low-cost carrier, on 26 October launched five weekly flights between Seoul Incheon (ICN) and Clark (CRK) in the Philippines. The flights compete with Asiana’s daily services.
Ish Jalal, Qatar Airways’ Country Manager Vietnam, the airline’s CEO Akbar Al Baker and Marwan Koleilat, SVP East Asia and South West Pacific, all spoke at a packed press conference in Hanoi.
- Qatar Airways expanded its Vietnamese presence with the launch of four weekly flights from Doha (DOH) via Bangkok (BKK) to Hanoi (HAN). The airline already serves Ho Chi Minh City.
…Maastricht (cut by Paula Barbosa, Marketing Aviation Executive, and Álvaro Leite, Marketing Aviation Manager)…
…Bologna (cut by Márcia Canedo, Marketing Aviation Executive, and Alvaro Leite, Marketing Aviation Manager)…
...and Rodez.
In Lappeenranta in Finland, which Ryanair serves as a ‘St Petersburg North’, celebrations were due when the low-cost carrier added a new route from Brussels Charleroi.
The four new Ryanair flights from Leeds/Bradford were celebrated by Ryanair’s Laura McCormack and LBIA’s Commercial Director Tony Hallwood. The Yorkshire airport is now connected with Barcelona El Prat, Düsseldorf Weeze, Fuerteventura and Gdansk.
Ryanair’s first flight from Madrid was welcomed to Ancona.
- Ryanair launched 81 new routes in the last week, which included its new base at Seville.
The cake welcoming WestJet to New Orleans was cut by Kim Priez, Vice President of Tourism, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Robert Palmer, WestJet Public Relations Manager, Patricia Denechaud, Honorary Consul of Canada in New Orleans, Aimee Quirk, Mayor’s Office - City of New Orleans, and Iftikhar Ahmad, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Director of Aviation. Ahmad was then handed a WestJet model aircraft by the first flight’s captain and representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- WestJet launched three new routes in the last week. One of them launched only a day after Air Canada began operating the same route. The low-cost carrier now serves New Orleans (MSY) from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) four times a week against Air Canada’s daily flights.
I don’t see Ryanair’s STN-PDV (London-Plovdiv) first flight on November 2nd.
Pictures in http://www.bgspotters.net
Please refer to the downloadable spreadsheet for the full list of Ryanair routes launched, including the Plovdiv service.