New routes launched during the last week
(Wednesday 3 – Monday 8 November)

Route of the Week:
Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul Atatürk to Washington Dulles

Turkish Airlines’ CEO Dr Temel Kotil himself flew over to Washington to cut the ribbon for the new service that connects with alliance partner United’s hub. After cutting the ribbon, being flanked by Handan Çörekçi, Turkish Airlines' Washington Manager and Namık Tan, Turkish Ambassador to the US, Dr Kotil joined Lynn Hampton, President and CEO of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, in exchanging gifts.

• Turkish Airlines launched a landmark route on 6 November. The fast-growing airline now flies five times a week between its Istanbul Atatürk (IST) hub and Washington Dulles (IAD), its third US destination after New York and Chicago. At Dulles, the Star Alliance carrier connects with its alliance partner United’s hub. Flights are operated with 228-seat A330-200s.

Cake of the Week:
Ryanair’s Brussels Charleroi to Larnaca

This impressive 3D cake that even includes the mountains of Cyprus was baked to welcome Ryanair’s first service to the island nation. The first flight’s captain was Pavlos Attalides, a Cypriot and former Cyprus Airways pilot (20 years) and operations manager at Eurocypria (10 years). Nowadays Stansted-based captain Attalides was welcomed to Larnaca by Maria Kouroupi of Hermes Airports’ marketing department and Ken Hassard, executive manager commercial and marketing.

• Ryanair launched 13 new routes in the last week. Some of these are a continuation of the airline’s opening of its bases in Seville (SVQ) and Valencia (VLC), the latter base being relaunched. In fact, Ryanair has operated two of the Valencia routes in the past; both Paris Beauvais (BVA) and Santiago de Compostela (SCQ). Oujda (OUD) in eastern Morocco, which gets two new routes, and Larnaca (LCA) in Cyprus are both new destinations for Ryanair.

The rest of this week’s new routes

Betty van de Nobelen, Brussels Airport’s Passenger Marketing Manager, joined Captain Mostafa Lakhdar and his Air Arabia Maroc crew in celebrating the arrival of the airline. The crew received “noblesse oblige”, a gift box of Belgian chocolates. Passengers on the nearly full first flight were also seen off with a box of Belgian chocolates each, albeit somewhat smaller.

• Air Arabia Maroc on 2 November moved its Belgian operations from Brussels Charleroi to Brussels Airport (BRU). The airline’s three weekly flights from Casablanca (CMN) operate twice-weekly via Fez (FEZ) and once weekly via Oudja (OUD).

Mayor route launch: Mayor Gérald Tremblay of Montreal spoke as Air Canada’s third route to Phoenix, a seasonal weekend service, arrived. Joining him were airport director Danny Murphy and the Mayor of Phoenix, Phil Gordon, who all were eager to indulge in Canadian maple cream cookies. Mayor Gordon said: “Canada represents our fastest-growing international market, and we welcome Air Canada’s decision to invest in additional air service at Phoenix Sky Harbor.”

• Air Canada launched two new routes in the last week. From Montreal (YUL), a seasonal service to Phoenix, AZ (PHX) began on 6 November. The two weekly Saturday and Sunday flights will operate until 30 April next year. From Vancouver (YVR), the airline added flights to the Mexican capital the following day. The twice-weekly Mexico City (MEX) service, which operates Saturdays and Sundays only, will increase in frequency to daily from 1 December. Prior to Mexicana’s bankruptcy, the airline used to operate the route daily. Both routes are operated with 120-seat A319s and neither faces any direct competition.

• Air Europa on 4 November added two weekly 186-seat 737-800 flights, on Thursdays and Sundays, between Tenerife Sur (TFS) and Paris Orly (ORY). The Spanish SkyTeam carrier competes on the route with Iberia’s and Transavia.com France’s each weekly flights, the former which launched also launched the route this week (see below).

298 passengers boarded the first flight between Berlin and Dubai after Joachim Hunold, CEO airberlin; Mohammed Ahmed Al Mahmood, Ambassador of the UAE to Germany; and Rainer Schwarz, CEO Berlin Airports, cut the ribbon. The gate area was turned into a desert landscape with live Middle Eastern music and belly-dancing. Dr Schwarz remarked: “People from Berlin and Brandenburg have had to wait for a direct service to Dubai for a long time – but that day is finally here. We are now moving another step closer to the people and markets of the world.”

Marjan Schöke, Marketing Manager at Berlin Airports; Ken N. Osinde, Kenyan Ambassador to Germany; and Detlef Altmann, Director Tourism Sales at airberlin, cut the ribbon for airberlin’s new link between Berlin and Mombasa.

• airberlin launched five new routes in the last week. Its Swiss operations saw the launch of leisure flights between Basel (BSL) and Palma de Mallorca (PMI) on 4 November as well as from Zurich (ZRH) to Alicante (ALC) on 5 November. Both routes are operated twice-weekly, the former with A319s against easyJet’s weekly operation and the latter with A320s. From Berlin Tegel (TXL), the airline launched two new routes with its 303-seat A330-200s. On 3 November, it began flying three times a week to Dubai (DXB) and the following day, a weekly service to Mombasa (MBA) began. Notably, Emirates does not serve Berlin and has voiced displeasure with the restrictive Germany-UAE air services agreement.

• Alaska Airlines launched another Hawaiian route from California on 7 November. The airline now flies daily from San Diego, CA (SAN) to Kahului, HI (OGG) on Maui with 157-seat 737-800s. The route used to be operated by both Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines until 2008 and Hawaiian flew again during the peak months this summer.

• Armavia launched two new routes out of its Yerevan (EVN) hub in the last week. On 5 November, the airline began serving Donetsk (DOK) in eastern Ukraine with a weekly service on its 50-seat CRJ200. This follows last week’s launch of flights to Dnepropetrovsk.

• Azul began operating between Belo Horizonte (CNF) in the southeast of Brazil and Belem (BEL) in the north of the country. Flights operate daily with 118-seat E-195s. While this is the only non-stop service between the two airports, both TAM and TRIP operate the route as a one-stop service via Maraba and Carajas respectively.

Oliver Dersch, Munich Airport’s director traffic development, and Anna Fritz from the airport’s marketing department, wearing a lovely blue dirndl, welcomed bmibaby’s flight from Cardiff. Departing passengers were treated with a bit of Britain – Walkers Shortbread labelled to commemorate the occasion – by marketing manager Sonja Durmis and Ms Fritz.

• bmibaby continued its German expansion and relaunched its service between Cardiff (CWL) and Munich (MUC) on 5 November. The service, which the low-cost airline last served in 2003, will operate twice a week from the Welsh capital until the start of the next summer season, when frequencies increase to three weekly flights.

Alan Peever, General Manager of British Airways at Gatwick, and Gatwick Airport’s CEO Stewart Wingate celebrated the new service to Cancun.

Big celebrations were due at the Cancun end, where the arrival of the major carrier was a highly welcomed event.

• British Airways expanded its London Gatwick (LGW) network on 3 November when it launched two weekly flights to Cancun (CUN), using 777-200ER aircraft. Competition comes from leisure airlines Thomson Airways’ four flights a week and Thomas Cook Airlines’ two weekly flights.

For the first flight, China Airlines used a 747-400 on its new Taipei to Qingdao route. The deputy mayor of Qindao, Wang Guangzheng, handed over a model sailing boat to a clearly chuffed president of China Airlines, Sun Huang-Hsiang.

• China Airlines launched two weekly flights from its Taipei (TPE) hub to Qingdao (TAO) on the east coast of mainland China on 3 November. Flights are operated with 313-seat A330-300s.

• Condor launched four new routes in the last week, two routes to the Canary Islands from Paderborn (PAD), a new base for the airline, and two long haul services out of Frankfurt (FRA). From Paderborn, the airline launched two weekly flights to Las Palmas (LPA) on 3 November and two days later a weekly service to Tenerife Sur (TFS). Both routes are operated with A320s. From Frankfurt, the airline flies weekly to Kochi (COK) in India via Bahrain (BAH) with 757-300s as of 4 November. On the 7th, the first flight to Bangkok (BKK) launched in competition with twice-daily flights on Thai and daily on Lufthansa. Condor’s flights will operate every two weeks and the 767-300ER service includes a tech stop in Bahrain on the return.

Alexander Schroll, Munich Airport’s Director Traffic Development (third from right), and his dirndl marketing colleagues welcomed the Donavia crew to Munich with roses.

• Donavia expanded its German network on 6 November as the airline launched two weekly flights between its Rostov-on-Don (ROV) base and Munich (MUC). The only other German route from Rostov is Frankfurt, which is operated by both Donavia and Lufthansa.

On 4 November, Lyon Airport received its fourth easyJet aircraft and three more routes were instantly launched. A cake was baked to celebrate and François Bacchetta, easyJet’s country manager for France, delivered the welcome speech, while a delighted Philippe Bernand, CEO Lyon Airports. (©O.Chassignole/Aéroports de Lyon)

• easyJet launched six new routes in the last week, three of which were from Lyon (LYS). Both Geneva (GVA) and London Gatwick (LGW) saw the launch of flights to Egypt, with Luxor (LXR) being a new destination for easyJet.

• germanwings expanded its Hannover (HAJ) base on 6 November, when it launched a weekly flight to Las Palmas (LPA) on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands with its A319s.

• Iberia on 6 November launched a weekly A321 service between Tenerife Sur (TFS) and Paris Orly (ORY), competing with Air Europa’s four weekly flights launched this week (see above) and Transavia.com France’s also weekly service.

The first passenger on Indonesia AirAsia’s route to Bangkok, Maria Ursula, was welcomed at check-in in Surabaya. Boarding passengers were handed goody bags to commemorate the opening of the route.

• Indonesia AirAsia on 7 November launched a new route between Indonesia’s second-largest city Surabaya (SUB) and the Thai capital Bangkok (BKK). Flights operate four times a week with A320s.

Jet Airways team at DEL lit the inaugural lamp for the new Colombo service at the brand new T3 terminal, while passengers were greeted to the gate area with gifts.

• Jet Airways launched two routes to Colombo (CMB) on 5 November. The airline now flies to the Sri Lankan capital from both Delhi (DEL) and Mumbai (BOM). Each route is operated daily with 737-800s. Competition comes from Sri Lanka Airlines, which operates both routes with the same frequency.

This has nothing to do with the new Prague route or even Newcastle, but Jet2.com now has its own, brand-new in-house baggage handling team at Leeds/Bradford, which is what we do have a picture of.

• Jet2.com on 5 November launched two weekly flights between Newcastle (NCL) and Prague (PRG). In summer, the frequency increases to three weekly flights. The route was operated by easyJet between August 2003 and January 2009.

The deputy mayor of Guilin, He Liangjun, celebrated the new route together with Jetstar Asia’s CEO Chong Phit Lian. Traditional costumes put even more glamour to the event.

• Jetstar Asia launched two weekly A320 flights between Singapore (SIN) and Guilin (KWL), the airline’s third mainland China destination after Haikou and Shantou. “Guilin is a fantastic addition to our leisure network and provides yet another great Asian travel option for Singaporeans and connecting Jetstar, Qantas and international interline customers through our Singapore hub,” said Jetstar Asia’s CEO Chong Phit Lian. “As a popular tourist destination welcoming 18 million visitors last year, Guilin until now it has only been accessible for Singaporeans transiting through cities such as Hong Kong, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. The new Jetstar service at just over three and half hours will halve the current travelling time required from Singapore.”

• Lufthansa on 3 November expanded its African presence with the launch of a new route operated by PrivatAir. Its 56-seat 737-800s now fly five times a week between Frankfurt (FRA) and Pointe Noire (PNR) in the Congo (Republic of), stopping en-route in Libreville in Gabon. The airline used to serve Gabon’s capital with its mainline fleet and it should be noted that Lufthansa does not have traffic rights between Libreville and Pointe Noire. Lufthansa becomes the second European airline to serve oil-rich Pointe Noire after Air France, which has flown from Paris CDG since 2004.

• Norwegian expanded into Morocco in the last week, as it launched flights to the country from its three bases Oslo (OSL), Copenhagen (CPH) and Stockholm (ARN). It notably also launched its first route out of Oslo Torp (TRF), complementing its Alicante (ALC) services from both Gardemoen and Rygge airports in the Oslo area. Ryanair competes on the route, also offering one weekly flight.

• The Tunisian airline Nouvelair on 4 November launched a new service between Tunis (TUN) and Moscow Domodedovo (DME). The capitals of Tunisia and Russia will be connected once a week, on Thursdays, with the airline’s A320s.

• Rossiya, which is set to merge with Aeroflot, began operating the Moscow Sheremeteyevo (SVO) to Berlin Schönefeld (SXF) route on 5 November, in spite of being a St Petersburg-based enterprise. The weekly A320 flight is taken over from Aeroflot, which in turn reduces its operations by one weekly frequency. Combined, the two airlines operate three flights a day. Altogether, seven airlines operate between the city pairs.

• Royal Jordanian increased its Russian network as it launched a weekly service from Aqaba (AQB) on the Red Sea to Moscow Domodedovo (DME). The port and resort city gets a weekly connection with A319 aircraft, complementing the airline’s Moscow flights from its Amman hub.

RwandAir’s CEO John Mirenge celebrated the new route with the captain of the newly delivered 737-500. A great party was followed by the first flight taking off for Mombasa and Dubai.

• RwandAir made use of its newly delivered 737-500s and on 3 November launched three weekly flights from its Kigali (KGL) base via Mombasa (MBA) on the Kenyan coast to Dubai (DXB). The landmark route is the fast-expanding airline’s first service outside the African continent.

• SAS on 6 November launched the first scheduled route between northern Sweden and the UK. From Luleå (LLA) in northernmost Sweden, the Scandinavian flag carrier will fly once weekly to London Heathrow (LHR), using 123-seat 737-600s.

• Southwest launched five new routes in the last week, all of which face competition.

• Thomson Airways increased its presence in the Canary Islands and launched a weekly service out of Doncaster/Sheffield (DSA) to Lanzarote (ACE) on 7 November, using 189-seat 737-800s.

• Transavia.com launched a new service out of Billund (BLL) on 6 November, when the airline launched a weekly Saturday flight to Las Palmas (LPA) on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria. Flights compete with Cimber Sterling’s also weekly Saturday service.

• United launched a service between Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD) and Pensacola, FL (PNS) on 4 November. The daily ERJ-145 service competes with American Eagle’s two weekly flights and complements United’s existing services from Washington Dulles.

• UTair launched a new domestic route out of its Moscow Vnukovo (VKO) base on 8 November. Vladikavkaz (OGZ) in the Caucasus region is now served daily with 737-500s, competing directly with Kuban Airlines’ four weekly flights and indirectly with services from Moscow Domodedovo on S7 (daily) and Ural Airlines (four weekly).

• Vueling reaffirmed its commitment to the French market by adding two weekly flights from Ciudad Real (CQM) in central Spain to Paris Orly (ORY) on 3 November. Vueling currently also operates Barcelona flights to Ciudad Real.

To the delight of WestJet’s Toronto Pearson staff, there was a Cuban band to celebrate the airline’s first flight to Santa Clara on 5 November.

A relaxing Cayman-themed area was set up by WestJet’s check-in desks in Toronto to celebrate the new service to the Cayman Islands, which exceed Air Canada’s number of weekly flights. The major new route also received a welcoming on the Grand Cayman end of the route, where speeches and ribbon cutting took place.

• WestJet launched nine new routes in the last week. Two of the destinations are brand new to the airline; Grand Cayman (GCM) in the Cayman Islands and Santa Clara (SNU) in Cuba, both launched from Toronto (YYZ).

Xiamen Airlines was delighted to inaugurate its third route to Macau. The Special Administrative Region is now connected with Quanzhou three times a week.

• Xiamen Airlines on 5 November launched three weekly flights between Quanzhou (JJN) in the southeast of mainland China and the Special Administrative Region of Macau (MFM). The 737-800 flights are the airline’s third route to Macau after Hangzhou and Xiamen.

Other recent route launches

An Egypt-themed cake was baked to celebrate LOT Polish Airlines’ new route to Cairo, while passengers were handed goody bags.

Our geography expert readers will recognise that the Syrian flag is shaped after the country, as Warsaw Airport celebrated LOT’s new service to Damascus, which launched last week.

• LOT Polish Airlines continued its southeastern expansion on 27 October, when the airline launched three weekly 737-400 flights from Warsaw (WAW) to fellow Star Alliance member Egyptair’s Cairo (CAI) hub. The airline last operated the route in 1997.

Last week’s new Ryanair route between London Stansted and Plovdiv, which serves Bulgaria’s ski resorts, was celebrated at Bassingbourn Snowsports Centre by Paul Haynes, Airline, Route and Marketing Manager at Stansted Airport, and Ryanair’s Laura McCormack, who excellently illustrated how much better off British skiers are going to Bulgaria than staying at England’s dry ski slopes.

Cimber Sterling arrived in Amsterdam last week, as the airline launched flights from Copenhagen.