New route announcements and returning services from across the Asia-Pacific region
Delta Air Lines is starting its first-ever scheduled service to New Zealand later this year as competition on routes between the Pacific Ocean island nation and the US begins to heat up. The Atlanta-based carrier will add flights from its hub at Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) starting Oct. 28. Service on the 10,480-km (5,659-nm) sector will be daily using Airbus A350-900s. OAG data shows that Air New Zealand is therefore the sole operator of AKL-LAX flights at the present time, serving the route 10 times per week using Boeing 777-300ERs. Air Tahiti Nui also provides a 3X-weekly one-stop service, with an Auckland-Tahiti (PPT)-Los Angeles routing.
Cebu Pacific is set to resume its Manila (MNL)-Melbourne (MEL) route at the end of March. Flights will initially run three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting March 27 using Airbus A330s. “We know we have an expansive Filipino community in Melbourne and are pleased to be able to offer them, as well as local Australians looking for somewhere new and exciting to explore, the opportunity to fly direct to Manila and explore the Philippines with our widest domestic network,” said Carmina Romero, Cebu Pacific director for corporate communications.
AirAsia has begun to “aggressively” reopen direct flights to China. The airline commenced the resumption of eight routes from Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) from Jan. 26 to Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Kunming, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Changsha and Macao. In addition, service from DMK to Hong Kong (HKG) will rise from 4X-weekly to daily, starting March 1.
ZIPAIR TOKYO
Japanese carrier Zipair Tokyo is to expand service to Singapore (SIN) during the summer travel season. The airline will increase frequencies from Tokyo Narita (NRT) from 5X-weekly to daily, starting March 26. Additionally, the airline will increase Tokyo Narita-Honolulu (HNL) from 3X-weekly to daily from March 26 through April 2 and April 26 through May 8.
Western Australia’s state government support has enabled Aviair to expand service between Broome (BME) and Derby (DRB) from four flights per week to potentially up to 35 per week. The flights are currently the only means of public transport in and out of Derby. Aviair has relocated pilots and aircraft from Kununurra and Adelaide to support the expanded air services. The Derby to Broome air route is subsidized by the state government, with flights first introduced in August 2021.
Emirates Airline is increasing capacity from Dubai (DXB) to Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL) in Australia. The airline will also restart services to Christchurch (CHC) in New Zealand via Sydney. From March 26, Melbourne will increase from two to three daily services via Singapore, with a third direct service also set to begin to Sydney from May 1. The two additional services will operate on a three-class Boeing 777 300ER. The Christchurch service via Sydney also begins on March 26 using Airbus A380s.
Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines has opened a new route between Taipei Taiwan Taoyuan (TPE) and Hanoi (HAN), Vietnam. Service will be daily using Airbus A321neos, with a flight time of about 3 hours. OAG data shows the airline is entering an already competitive market served by five other carriers. China Airlines and EVA Airways each offer a double-daily service on the route, while Vietjet flies daily. Vietnam Airlines also serves the sector 5X-weekly and Bamboo Airways 3X-weekly. Of the 27,000 two-way weekly seats currently available, Starlux will have a 9.7% capacity share of the market.
ROB FINLAYSON
Dammam will become the second destination in Saudi Arabia to be served by Indian carrier Vistara, the joint venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group. The airline is expanding its network to the Middle East country from March, adding to its inaugural route between Mumbai (BOM) and Jeddah (JED) that launched in August 2022. Flights between Mumbai and Dammam (DMM) will begin on March 1 using Airbus A320neos. The 2,498-km (1,349-nm) sector will be served daily.
Etihad Airways plans to increase Abu Dhabi (AUH)-Jakarta (CGK) from daily to double-daily. The route will rise to 14X-weekly from Oct. 1 using a mix of Boeing 787s and 777s.
Hawaiian Airlines will resume flights to Fukuoka (FUK), nearly returning to its pre-pandemic roster of Japanese airports served. From April 28, the carrier will operate 3X-weekly Airbus A330 service between Honolulu (HNL) and FUK. That will leave Sapporo (CTS) as the one pre-pandemic Japanese market still unserved by Hawaiian. “We’re delighted to be returning to Fukuoka as we lead the way in reconnecting travel between Hawaii and Japan,” Hawaiian senior VP-global sales and alliances Theo Panagiotoulias said in a statement, adding that the airline remains “steadfast in our commitment” to the Japanese market.
