Take-offs & Landings
Loganair to start Carlisle flights; will offer around 53,000 seats this year on 52 weekly flights to Belfast City, Dublin and London Southend
Loganair has confirmed that in partnership with the Stobart Group it will begin flights from Carlisle, linking the UK city to Belfast City, Dublin and London Southend. Jonathan Ford takes a look at the preliminary schedule and weighs up the true cost saving between Carlisle and London on air and rail services.
Qatar Airways confirms London Gatwick return; will grow four times faster than Emirates in UK this year, although capacity still way behind
Qatar Airways has announced that it will return to London Gatwick in S18 with a twice-daily service, adding to its already confirmed Cardiff route. With the airline now present at six UK airports, Jonathan Ford looks at the carrier’s past developments from the UK and reveals the likely top connecting destinations for Gatwick passengers.
Ryanair calls time on Glasgow where it is currently the third biggest airline; more than one aircraft being lost as 19 routes are poised to close
Ryanair has confirmed that it will close its Glasgow base for W18/19, leaving just Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick as bases in Scotland. The airline stated APD as part of the reason for the closure, but schedules indicate that Glasgow was more of an operational challenge for the airline. Jonathan Ford discovers more.
Frontier Airlines bolsters Austin network with announcement of 14 more domestic routes, with schedules indicating it will base two A320s
On 8 February Frontier Airlines confirmed a further 14 routes would be launched from Austin for this year’s upcoming summer season, adding to the five new services already confirmed for S18. Jonathan Ford looks at which services will begin, and how quickly the airline has expanded from the Texan city in recent years.
Ryanair set to become Jordan’s third largest airline once all routes to Amman and Aqaba have begun; carrier’s second Middle Eastern market
Ryanair on 4 February announced that it will begin its first operations to Jordan in March with a route from Paphos to Amman, followed with a further 13 services at the start of W18/19. Jonathan Ford looks to see what state the Jordan to European market is currently in, and what Ryanair’s impact will be on the nation.
Swoop swings into the Canadian market with low fares and five initial routes, however schedules suggest that there’s room for more
Swoop, a ULCC created by WestJet, announced its first routes on 1 February, with it basing aircraft in Abbotsford and Hamilton. Schedules show that three aircraft are needed at first, but evidence suggests that a fourth may also be required, meaning more routes are likely to be confirmed soon. Jonathan Ford takes a closer look behind Canada’s latest airline.
WestJet shakes things up on the transatlantic front from Halifax by announcing its first 737 MAX 8 routes – London Gatwick and Paris CDG
WestJet has announced that from April it will begin daily flights from Halifax to London Gatwick and Paris CDG, marking its first operations to the French capital. The news means that the carrier will be the first to link North America to mainland Europe using 737 MAX 8s. Jonathan Ford investigates further.
BA in the market for more A380s; Dubai and Phoenix possible new routes with type
British Airways’ parent IAG is apparently back in the A380 market, following Emirates’ recent $16 billion deal for the superjumbo. We take a look at where BA currently flies with the type, where it may use any future aircraft and whether Iberia will get any.
Wizz Air to open Vienna base with three based aircraft and 17 new routes; appears at first not to target easyJet or Eurowings
Wizz Air has announced that it will begin serving Vienna from April, with the base opening in June when it will station one A320, with two A321s joining the new operation from November. While the airline is planning 17 routes from Vienna, it appears its strategy is to avoid easyJet and Eurowings.
Norwegian adds Amsterdam, Madrid and Milan Malpensa to its transatlantic network; over 4.7 million passengers now flown to US
Norwegian has confirmed that Amsterdam, Madrid and Milan Malpensa will be its next European gateways for transatlantic flights. The result means that in S18 the carrier will operate 61 US routes from 16 European airports. We take a look at the airline’s development in recent years between the two markets.
flyadeal joins Saudi Arabian domestic sector scramble; Dubai to be first international route in 2018?
Launched on 23 September, flyadeal, the sister LCC of Saudi Arabian Airlines, is the flag carrier’s attempt to combat the growing presence of other carriers like flynas and SaudiGulf Airlines. We look at where the fledgling carrier is presently operating and try to understand where it might fly to next.
Jet Airways launches flights from Bengaluru to Amsterdam – anna.aero joins the celebrations at the Netherlands hub
On 29 October Jet Airways commenced daily flights from Bengaluru to Amsterdam, the carrier’s third Indian route to the European gateway after Delhi and Mumbai, with it also serving Toronto Pearson. anna.aero was invited by the Netherlands airport to join in on the Indian celebrations.