50 New Routes Starting In November 2023

Asian routes being launched by European carriers LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa and Norse Atlantic Airways are among some of the more eye-catching services starting in November 2023 as the northern winter season gets underway.

LOT plans to connect Wroclaw, a secondary city in western Poland, with South Korea’s capital Seoul once a week from Nov. 3 using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The service will be the airline’s third to Seoul Incheon (ICN) and marks its return to international flying from Wroclaw Airport (WRO) after an absence of two years. It will also become the Polish airport’s only long-haul route and first nonstop link to Asia.

LOT has served the South Korean market since October 2016 when Warsaw Chopin-ICN opened, data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows, while flights from Budapest, Hungary, commenced in September 2019. Although the WRO-ICN route marks a departure from LOT’s traditional long-haul strategy, the Wroclaw region is home to a number of South Korean companies, including electronics manufacturer Heesung.

Fellow Star Alliance member Lufthansa is also opening a new link to Asia this month with flights connecting Munich International Airport and Bengaluru, India. Operations will start on Nov. 3 utilizing an Airbus A350-900. Flights will be offered three times a week, departing from the German city on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Bengaluru will become Lufthansa’s third destination in India served from Munich, joining the airline's existing daily flights to Delhi and Mumbai, also operated with A350-900s. The launch of the Munich-Bengaluru route was initially planned for March 2020, but was postponed due to the onset of the pandemic. Lufthansa already operates daily flights to Bengaluru from Frankfurt.

Meanwhile, Scandinavian carrier Norse Atlantic Airways will debut its first Asia route on Nov. 2, linking Norway’s capital Oslo and Bangkok twice a week during the winter season. The Oslo-Bangkok market was last served by Thai Airways and Norwegian before the pandemic. However, Thai Airways is yet to return, and Norwegian has ended all long-haul services.

Elsewhere, a host of new international services to Australia will begin in November, including Batik Air’s flights between Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia, and Adelaide; Vietnamese LCC Vietjet’s route linking Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport and Perth Airport; and Tianjin Airlines’ connection between Chongqing, China, and Sydney.

U.S. carrier United Airlines is also bolstering its Australian network with the inauguration of Los Angeles-Brisbane flights, commencing on Nov. 29 aboard 787-9s. The airline will provide competition for Qantas, which resumed the route in November 2021 after pausing flights during the pandemic. Before the COVID-19 crisis, Virgin Australia also used to provide nonstop service between the cities.

Another notable new route starting in November is Turkish Airlines’ launch of flights to Detroit. Starting on Nov. 15, the Star Alliance member intends to offer three flights a week to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport from its Istanbul Airport hub. Service will be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays using 787-9 aircraft.

The U.S. has been a major growth market for Turkish since the pandemic, with the carrier adding capacity to existing points and launching routes to Newark, New Jersey, in May 2021, Dallas-Fort Worth in September 2021 and Seattle in June 2022.