New route announcements and returning services across Europe
TUI fly is expanding its offer from Antwerp in Belgium with three new routes. From June 30, the carrier will connect the city with Tenerife in Spain, followed by Antalya in Turkey on July 1, and Heraklion in Greece on July 2. All three routes will be 2X-weekly using Embraer E195-E2s. With the launch of the new services, TUI fly will offer 11 routes from Antwerp during the summer season, including flights to Spanish destinations Ibiza, Murcia and Palma de Mallorca, as well as Split in Croatia.
British Airways subsidiary BA Euroflyer plans to launch a 4X-weekly London Gatwick-Sharm El Sheikh service from Nov. 3, decreasing to 3X-weekly from Dec. 15. The route will be BA’s first Avios-only flight, on which 100% of the seats are exclusively available to Executive Club Members as reward seats.
Spanish carrier Air Nostrum will resume domestic flights between Castellón and Seville on June 1. Service will be twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays through Oct. 15. The route was first launched in summer 2021 and operated for six weeks, before being increased to a 20-week operation period in 2022. Air Nostrum also flies from Castellón to Madrid.
Qatar Airways’ flights to Birmingham, England, will resume on July 6, operating daily throughout the summer season. The route from Doha will be operated using Boeing 787-8s with 254 seats: 22 in business class and 232 in economy. The airline last served Birmingham in March 2020 but suspended flights at the onset of the pandemic. The planned resumption has been timed to cater for travelers attending the British Formula 1 Grand Prix on July 9 at Silverstone.
Virgin Atlantic has expanded its codeshare with Indian LCC IndiGo. The airlines first launched the partnership in September 2022 covering 16 destinations in India. A further 18 points have now been added to the codeshare agreement, including such cities as Allahabad, Goa Mopa, Jodhpur and Lucknow. Alex McEwan, country manager South Asia at Virgin Atlantic, says: “By combining IndiGo’s vast network with Virgin Atlantic’s three daily services between the UK and India, we offer a range of connections to and from India’s most popular destinations.”
JOE PRIES
Lufthansa will resume Airbus A380 flights in June after a three-year hiatus. From June 1, daily service from Munich to Boston will restart. The outbound A380 flight to Boston will operate as LH424, and the inbound back to Munich as LH425. From July 4, a second A380 route will be reinstated, connecting Munich and New York John F. Kennedy. The outbound will operate as LH410 and return to Munich as LH411. By the end of 2023, four A380 aircraft will be deployed from Munich.
Iceland’s Play has confirmed the addition of Amsterdam to its summer 2023 schedule. The airline’s flights from Reykjavik will take off on June 5, operating 5X-weekly. “Amsterdam is one of Europe's biggest hubs and a vital destination for our via operations between North America and Europe,” Play CEO Birgir Jónsson says.
China’s Hainan Airlines has increased frequencies between Beijing Capital and Manchester, England. The airline is now offering four flights per week using Airbus A330s between the cities, up from 1X-weekly previously. The rise restores the route to the same number of frequencies offered before the pandemic. “The economic benefits of more regular flights between Manchester and Beijing will be significant, whether that be in terms of trade, tourism or inward investment,” Manchester Airport MD Chris Woodroofe says.
Delta Air Lines has returned to London Gatwick Airport after a 15-year absence with a route from New York John F. Kennedy, further heightening competition in the New York-London market. The SkyTeam alliance member will serve the sector daily using Boeing 767-300s, operating alongside its existing double-daily service to London Heathrow onboard Airbus A330neos and 767-400s. The addition of Gatwick will see Delta offer 10,400 two-way weekly seats between the cities—up by 59% on this time in 2019.
Fly Kıbrıs Havayolları (Fly KHY) has launched its first commercial services. The carrier intends to fly from Ercan International Airport in Northern Cyprus to Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey. The routes will be operated using Freebird Airlines’ Airbus A320s.
Irish ULCC Ryanair has opened a new base in Ibiza. The carrier will base one aircraft on the island and offer 35 routes, including a new service to Liverpool, as well as increasing frequencies on seven other routes. More than 385 weekly flights are expected to be operated during the summer 2023 season, an increase of 13% compared to 2022, and Ryanair is forecasting it will transport 2.3 million passengers to and from Ibiza each year. Ryanair currently holds a 24% market share in Ibiza.
Transavia France has added Izmir to its network of destinations, starting flights to the Turkish city from Paris Orly. The carrier will operate two flights per week between the cities every Saturday and Sunday until Oct. 28 using Boeing 737-800s.
Turkish Airlines and RwandAir have signed a new codeshare agreement. Turkish Airlines currently offers daily flights between RwandAir’s Kigali base and its own home hub in Istanbul. The partnership will provide onward connections for passengers from both Kigali and Istanbul. “This landmark move will not only allow our customers to access the 124 countries served by Turkish Airlines but will improve connections for inbound travelers to Africa via our extensive continental network,” RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo says.
Wizz Air is opening a new route from London Luton Airport to Brasov in Romania. Flights will start on Aug. 2, operating 3X-weekly. Known as one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe, Brasov is often referred to as the “gateway to Transylvania.”
Air Mauritius will resume nonstop operations to Geneva in Switzerland from Oct. 2. Flights will be 2X-weekly using a 288-seat Airbus A330neo aircraft. The route will operate through Jan. 12, 2024. “We believe that it will contribute to boost tourist arrivals from Switzerland, Italy, southern Germany and France,” CEO Krešimir Kučko said. “Direct long-haul operations have traditionally been our strength to secure competitive leverage and we are currently exploring other similar opportunities to expand our network.”
Transatlantic carrier Norse Atlantic Airways has unveiled four new routes from London Gatwick. Flights to Washington Dulles will launch on June 1, operating up to six times per week, with a daily route to Los Angeles starting on June 30. Service to San Francisco will start the following day, operating 3X-weekly, and a 5X-weekly link to Boston will be added on Sept. 2. “The Norse team are disruptors,” CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen said. “This marks an important day for the UK aviation industry and for consumers as we celebrate serving more destinations to the US from London Gatwick this summer than any other airline.”
