Carriers see growth opportunities on low-demand routes
By DAVID CASEY
LOT Polish Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Nile Air are expanding their networks over the coming weeks on routes that have relatively low point-to-point demand but have the potential to generate much larger flows of transit traffic.
Mumbai, the densely populated city on India’s west coast, will receive new routes from two European carriers as LOT Polish Airlines begins nonstop flights from Warsaw Frederic Chopin (WAW) and Finnair opens service from Helsinki (HEL).
The routes come as airlines in Europe readjust their Asia-Pacific networks in response to the closure of Russia’s airspace, which is impacting flight paths to the region. Destinations in the Far East are being particularly affected.
Mumbai (BOM) joined LOT’s network on May 4 after a 40-year absence, becoming its second destination in India alongside Delhi. Flights between Warsaw and Mumbai will be operated twice a week using a mix of Boeing 787-8s and 787-9s.
The airline hopes the service will strengthen trade links between Poland and India, as well as provide a gateway to Europe for passengers originating in the South Asian country.
Prior to opening a Warsaw-Delhi route in September 2019, LOT previously served India’s capital from October 1985 to October 1992, while Mumbai was served until February 1982.
Although the airline was forced to suspend Delhi operations in March 2020 following the coronavirus outbreak, flights resumed in late March 2022 after a two-year hiatus. It is currently the only nonstop scheduled link between Poland and India.
Data provided by Sabre Market Intelligence shows that O&D traffic between Warsaw and Mumbai totaled just 13,577 two-way passengers in 2019, equivalent to fewer than 19 passengers per day each way. O&D traffic in the wider Poland-India market was 95,633 passengers during the year—about 9% of which was nonstop. Dubai (DXB), Frankfurt (FRA) and Doha (DOH) were the top three one-stop connecting markets. Although the Warsaw-Mumbai O&D demand was relatively small before the pandemic, LOT will be expecting its nonstop service to stimulate point-to-point demand, as well as attracting transit traffic across Europe and North America given the convenient flight times.
Turkish Airlines’ expansion in North America continues later this month when the carrier begins flying to Seattle, the northernmost major city in the US.
Service from the Star Alliance member’s Istanbul (IST) hub to Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) will operate four times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from May 27 using a 300-seat 787-9 aircraft.
Seattle will become the 12th US destination in the airline’s network and follows the introduction of routes to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) last September and Newark (EWR) in May 2021.
Scheduled flights to Denver and Detroit are also within Turkish Airlines’ sights and could launch before the end of the year. Prior to the pandemic, the carrier served nine US destinations—all of which have resumed and receive at least one flight per day. Sabre data show that O&D traffic between Istanbul and Seattle totaled 13,945 two-way passengers in 2019, while the wider Turkey-Seattle market was slightly larger at 15,587. All traffic was indirect in the absence of nonstop flights.
Although the point-to-point figure is relatively low for a long-haul route, like the LOT service to Mumbai, Turkish Airlines will be hoping to stimulate O&D demand through the direct flights, as well as targeting transit traffic through Istanbul.
Flights will depart IST at 2:05 p.m., arriving in SEA at 4:15 p.m. The return service leaves the Washington state city at 5:45 p.m. and arrives back in Istanbul at 3:25 p.m. the following day. OAG schedules data show that the timings will allow Turkish Airlines to offer one-stop connections to more than 70 destinations across its network.
Turkish Airlines is the fifth new international carrier to announce service to SEA since the start of the pandemic. Qatar Airways and WestJet began service in 2021, while Finnair begins service from Helsinki in June 2022 and Air Tahiti Nui launches in October 2022.
Egyptian carrier Nile Air is adding a new European route to its network with the launch of operations to Sweden’s capital Stockholm.
The airline plans to connect Cairo International (CAI) with Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from June 18 through Oct. 29. Flights will use Airbus A320 aircraft, providing 720 two-way weekly seats between the cities.
As well as catering to point-to-point demand, the service will enable connections to other destinations in Egypt served by Nile Air, including Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan. It will also allow onward international travel from Cairo to points in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Sudan.
Nile Air will become the first carrier to offer nonstop scheduled flights between Cairo and Stockholm since May 2014. According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, Ethiopian Airlines previously offered a route from its Addis Ababa (ADD) hub to Stockholm Arlanda via Cairo.
However, since Ethiopian Airlines suspended the service, Cairo-Stockholm has remained unserved. In recent years, the only Egypt-Sweden city pairs to receive direct flights have been Hurghada-Gothenburg, Hurghada-Stockholm, and Marsa Alam-Stockholm. The latest OAG data shows that Sunclass Airlines offered a 1X-weekly service between Hurghada (HRG) and Stockholm Arlanda, but the winter season route ended on March 23. Nova Airlines also operated once a week on the same sector until April 19. Nile Air will therefore become the sole carrier serving Egypt-Sweden nonstop once it begins CAI-ARN. O&D traffic between Cairo and Stockholm reached 24,600 two-way passengers in 2019—all of which was indirect. Sabre figures reveal that Istanbul (IST), Vienna (VIE) and Frankfurt (FRA) were the top one-stop markets. The wider Egypt-Sweden market had O&D traffic of about 48,000 two-way passengers during the same year.
Nile Air launched operations in March 2011 and operates a fleet of three A320s and two A321s. Stockholm will become the carrier’s fourth destination in Europe this summer in addition to Dusseldorf (DUS), Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
