Three airlines are entering new markets already served by rivals
By DAVID CASEY
Flydubai, Air Premia and Air Canada are each extending their networks, entering markets that are already served by one or more competitors.
Dubai-based flydubai is growing its Africa network to 11 destinations across 10 countries, with CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith saying the LCC expects to add more routes as its fleet expands.
The airline plans to start its first service to Kenya early next year, launching flights to the coastal city of Mombasa in the southeast of the country along the Indian Ocean. The move will see the airline go head-to-head with Kenya Airways on the 2,280-mi. (1,981-nm) sector.
Flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Mombasa’s Moi International Airport (MBA) will commence on Jan. 17, 2024, operating four times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Emirates Airline will codeshare on this route, opening more options for connections through DXB.
In the Dubai-Mombasa market, Kenya Airways offers four nonstop flights per week using Boeing 737-800s, operating on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The service has a Nairobi (NBO)-MBA-DXB routing alongside the airline’s 6X-weekly NBO-DXB nonstop.
Kenya’s flag carrier started flying from Mombasa to Dubai in December 2022, becoming the sole airline to connect the Kenyan city with the Middle East region by nonstop flights. Prior to that, Mombasa and Dubai were linked by direct service until March 2019, when Rwandair ended its 3X-weekly Kigali (KGL)-MBA-DXB service in favor of increasing KGL-DXB from 4X-weekly to daily.
Rwandair’s exit from the market came shortly after Qatar Airways opened a 4X-weekly Doha (DOH)-MBA route, which operated using Airbus A320s from December 2018 until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. However, Mombasa is yet to return to the oneworld alliance member’s network.
Flydubai will likely be targeting leisure passengers on the new route to Mombasa. Cargo will also be a factor, offering increased belly capacity for the export of seafood and fresh produce to the Middle East.
Looking at the traffic flow on Qatar Airways’ service from Doha to Mombasa in 2019, there were 22,381 one-way passengers traveling on the route. Of those, 94% of passengers traveled from destinations behind Doha, with just 5.5% of traffic being local.
Flydubai’s existing points in Africa comprise Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Alexandria, Egypt; Asmara, Eritrea; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Entebbe, Uganda; Hargeisa, Somaliland; Juba, South Sudan; Mogadishu, Somalia; and Zanzibar, Tanzania.
The airline has a fleet of 46 737 MAX 8s, three 737 MAX 9s and 30 737-800s, with a further 137 737 MAX 8s on order. Al Ghaith said in May that the carrier was in talks with both Boeing and Airbus about increasing its narrowbody orderbook.
A third US route is being launched by Air Premia in December, adding to the South Korean airline’s existing services to New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Flights from Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN) to Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) are scheduled to start on Dec. 31, operating four times per week. Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows the route will be served using Boeing 787-9s with a flight time of 8 hr. and 50 min. on the outbound leg.
In the Seoul-Honolulu market, the hybrid airline will face competition from Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Korean Air serves the market daily at the present time using 777-300ERs, while Asiana and Hawaiian each offer five flights per week aboard 777-200LRs and Airbus A330-200s, respectively.
O&D traffic in the Seoul-Hawaii market totaled 255,000 two-way passengers during 2022, Sabre market Intelligence data shows, compared with 402,000 in 2019. The figure for the first six months of 2023 was around 170,000 passengers.
If the ICN-HNL route launches as planned, Honolulu will become Air Premia’s third US destination alongside service to LAX and EWR, which commenced in November 2022 and May 2023, respectively.
The airline also flies to four other international cities, linking its ICN base with Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Airport, and Tokyo Narita Airport. Routes to Paris and San Francisco are also understood to be under review.
Air Premia has a fleet of four 787-9s in service. The aircraft are configured in a two-class cabin, with 56 premium economy seats and 253 in economy.
A Montreal-Madrid connection is being launched by Air Canada next summer as the Star Alliance member plans a full recovery of its pre-pandemic transatlantic capacity. The airline says the move aims to take “full advantage” of the robust recovery in its largest international market.
The year-round service linking Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) will commence on May 1, 2024, operating five times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Air Canada will deploy a 255-seat 787-8s on the 3,450-mi. (2,998-nm) sector.
The airline launched flights from Montreal to Spain in summer 2014, connecting the largest city in Canada’s Québec province with Barcelona. Service between YUL and Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) currently runs at five roundtrips per week onboard A330-300s, before switching to 4X-weekly with 787-8s during the winter 2023-24 season.
Data provided by OAG shows that YUL-BCN is one of three Spanish routes offered by Air Canada at present, alongside year-round service to MAD and seasonal flights to BCN from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). In the Montreal-Madrid market, the carrier will provide competition for Air Transat, which offers a 4X-weekly summer service using A321neos.
Alongside the new Madrid service—its second to the Spanish capital—the carrier intends to increase frequencies on 17 transatlantic routes, compared with the summer 2023 season, as well as bringing forward four seasonal service resumptions. A total of 51 routes to 30 cities in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India will be offered during summer 2024. Italy forms a focus for the expansion, with more flights from YUL to Milan, Rome and Venice, and from YYZ to Rome and Venice.
