Nigel Mayes is the senior vice president, consulting & product development at ASM. Nigel has more than 15 years’ experience in route development and is responsible for product development at ASM.
The sister company to Routes, ASM is the world‘s leading route development consultancy and has supported the creation of new air services since 1993.
Route 1: Aarhus – Manchester
Image: Cityjet
Data
|
Carrier |
 |
|
Aircraft |
CityJet CRJ900 |
|
Frequency |
Three weekly |
|
Start date |
1 April 2019 |
|
Distance |
887 km |
|
O&D traffic demand (year to 30 June 2018) |
1,408 |
|
Growth % YOY |
-15.3% |
|
Average one-way fare $ (year to 30 June 2018) |
$181.82 |
Insight
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has added the 11th destination from its Aarhus base with a service to Manchester in the UK. Flights will operate by 90-seat Bombardier CRJ-900 regional aircraft three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting on 1 April 2019. Although O&D traffic between Aarhus and Manchester is relatively small, Manchester is Denmark’s second largest outbound market in the UK after London with 176,740 passengers in the 12 months to the end of June 2018. The new route is likely to prove popular with football supporters given that Manchester United in particular have a large fan base in Denmark. As reported by Airlineroute, the service will not operate from 27 June to 18 August following the end of the current Premier League season and prior to the start of the next one. SAS will also hope to attract business travellers, while many Danish tour operators feature destinations in the north of the UK, such as the Lake District and Yorkshire.
Route 2: Paris CDG – Belgrade
Image: ASL Airlines
Data
| Carrier |  |
| Aircraft | Boeing 737-700 |
| Frequency | Two weekly |
| Start date | 24 June 2019 |
| Distance | 1,423 km |
| O&D traffic demand (year to 30 June 2018) | 121,839 |
| Growth % YOY | 4.4% |
| Average one-way fare $ (year to 30 June 2018) | $149.04 |
Insight
ASL Airlines France will launch a direct flight between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Belgrade, the capital and largest city in Serbia, on 24 June 2019. The twice weekly service will operate on Mondays and Thursdays until 5 September using Boeing 737-700 equipment. Air Serbia currently operates twice daily between Belgrade and Paris Charles de Gaulle, while Wizz Air serves Paris-Beauvais from Belgrade three times per week. The planned launch of ASL Airlines’ new seasonal route further intensifies competition between the two cities, with Air France also set to begin a daily flight from CDG to Belgrade from 31 March 2019. Air France will also codeshare with partner Air Serbia on its 14 weekly flights.
Route 3: Moscow Vnukovo – Ostend
Data
|
Carrier |
 |
|
Aircraft |
Boeing 737-800 |
|
Frequency |
Three weekly |
|
Start date |
7 March 2019 |
|
Distance |
2,600 km |
|
O&D traffic demand (year to 30 June 2018) |
0 |
|
Growth % YOY |
N/A |
|
Average one-way fare $ (year to 30 June 2018) |
N/A |
Insight
Pobeda, the low-cost subsidiary of Aeroflot Group, is launching its first route to Belgium with a service to Ostend from its home hub at Moscow Vnukovo. Flights will be operated three times per week from 7 March 2019 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Aeroflot operates a route from Brussels to Moscow Sheremetyevo, while Brussels Airlines also flies from Belgium’s capital to Moscow Domodedovo. However, Ostend is currently unserved from any points in Russia. Pobeda will be hoping its low fares will stimulate two-way leisure demand, attracting passengers from the north of France and south-west of the Netherlands in addition to Belgian travellers.
Source: Sabre Market Intelligence
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