SAS Scandinavian Airlines plans to add two U.S. routes from regional destinations in Denmark and Sweden using narrowbodies during April.
Starting on April 27, passengers will be able to fly nonstop between New York Newark (EWR) and Aalborg Airport (AAL), located in the Jutland region of northern Denmark. Flights will be offered three times per week using A321LR aircraft.
The following day, service connecting Gothenburg (GOT) in Sweden to Newark will also begin. This sector will receive three weekly frequencies aboard A321LRs.
With 157 seats onboard its single-aisle A321LRs, including 22 in business and 12 in premium economy, SAS will offer 942 two-way weekly seats to New York from both Aalborg and Gothenburg during the summer 2023 season.
The two new routes to Newark mark a departure from the Star Alliance member’s traditional network strategy, which has concentrated on serving North America from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.
Taiwanese carrier Starlux is also expanding to the U.S. in April with nonstop flights to Los Angeles (LAX), becoming its first destination outside Asia.
The airline, which began commercial operations in 2020, has been seeking to launch long-haul flights to the U.S. from for Taipei Taoyuan International (TPE) for more than two years since securing a foreign air carrier permit from the U.S. Transportation Department in April 2021.
After twice pushing back the planned start date, the inaugural Taipei-Los Angeles service will take off on April 26 using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Flights will initially be offered five times per week, rising to daily from June.
Starlux’s entry to the 10,919-km (5,896-nm) sector will see it offer almost 4,300 two-way weekly seats once frequencies become daily. By early July, data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that Starlux will have a 17.2% capacity share of the market, behind EVA Air on 55.2% and China Airlines on 27.6%.
Other airlines entering new markets for the first time in April include Vietnamese LCC Vietjet, which will begin flying to Australia. The carrier’s first scheduled nonstop route will link Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Melbourne (MEL) from April 8, followed by Ho Chi Minh City-Sydney (SYD) on April 12. Service to both MEL and SYD will be 3X-weekly using Airbus A330-300s.
Data from Vietnam’s General Statistics Office found that bilateral trade between Vietnam and Australia reached a record at $12.4 billion in 2021, while air freight exports of Victorian products to Vietnam were valued at $113 million in 2021-22, up 77% on the previous 12 months.
Brazil’s Azul is also growing its long-haul network with its first flights to France. The carrier counts Portugal’s capital Lisbon (LIS) as its sole European point at the present time, but scheduled service to Paris Orly (ORY) will begin on April 26. The nonstop connection from Sao Paulo Viracopos-Campinas (VCP) will operate six times per week using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Azul has sought to expand its network to France in the past, starting a codeshare agreement with Aigle Azur in July 2018 that covered the latter airline’s newly launched service between Paris Orly and Sao Paulo. However, Azul said it was pausing the deal just nine months later and Aigle Azur ceased operations in September 2019.
Azul will be the sole operator of VCP-ORY flights but will face indirect competition in the wider Sao Paulo-Paris market with two other operators. Air France provides two flights per day to Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) using A350-900s and 777-300ERs, while LATAM Airlines Group serves the same sector daily with 787-8s and 787-9s.
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