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: Shenzhen - Dublin
Data
|
Carrier |
 |
|
Aircraft |
Boeing 787-900 |
|
Frequency |
Two weekly |
|
Start date |
25 February 2019 |
|
Distance |
9,793 km |
|
O&D traffic demand (year to 30 June 2018) |
338 |
|
Growth % YOY |
46.2% |
|
Average one-way fare $ (year to 30 June 2018) |
$631.20 |
Insight
Hainan Airlines is this month launching a new year-round direct service from Dublin in Ireland to Shenzhen in south-east China. Shenzhen will be Dublin Airport’s second destination in mainland China, as Hainan already operates a Dublin-Beijing service. Cathay Pacific also flies direct to Hong Kong.
Hainan entered the Irish market last June when it launched a service to Beijing via Edinburgh. On alternate days the service either operates direct between Dublin and Beijing or has a stopover in Edinburgh. This service currently operates twice a week, but will return to four times weekly for the summer season.
The new route to Shenzhen will operate on Mondays and Fridays, with a 289-seat Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner. Shenzhen was one of the world’s fastest-growing cities in recent decades and has a population of about 13 million. The city is a 30-40 minute bullet train ride away from both Hong Kong and Guangzhou and was ranked second in Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Cities to visit in 2019.
Route 2: London Heathrow - Tel Aviv
Data
| Carrier |  |
| Aircraft | Airbus A330-300 |
| Frequency | Daily |
| Start date | 25 September 2019 |
| Distance | 3,587 km |
| O&D traffic demand (year to 30 June 2018) | 991,317 |
| Growth % YOY | 11.1% |
| Average one-way fare $ (year to 30 June 2018) | $335.35 |
Insight
Virgin Atlantic is to launch flights between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv, starting on 25 September 2019. The five-hour service will operate daily between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion on an Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
The airline said that more than 180,000 seats will be available each year, enabling passengers from Tel Aviv to connect via London Heathrow to destinations throughout North America across its network and that of its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines. Cargo will also play an important role on this route, transporting fresh produce and high tech products from Tel Aviv products to markets in the US.
The competitive London – Tel Aviv market is currently served by four carriers, with British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines providing direct competition between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion. El Al Israel Airlines also operates from London Luton alongside easyJet and Wizz Air. In addition, easyJet provides services from London Stansted and London Gatwick.
Route 3: Mexico City - Cali
Data
|
Carrier |
 |
|
Aircraft |
Boeing 737-800 |
|
Frequency |
Four weekly |
|
Start date |
16 May 2019 |
|
Distance |
3,030 km |
|
O&D traffic demand (year to 30 June 2018) |
44,860 |
|
Growth % YOY |
16.4% |
|
Average one-way fare $ (year to 30 June 2018) |
$247.51 |
Insight
Mexico’s flag carrier Aeroméxico is adding its third destination in Colombia - and its fourth route - with a four-weekly service to Cali. The airline already operates services to Bogotá and Medellín, which opened in 2010 and 2015 respectively. The new route will start on 16 May 2019 on a Boeing 737-700 aircraft with capacity for 124 passengers.
Cali, located southwest of Bogotá in the department of Valle del Cauca, is currently unserved from Mexico. However, O&D traffic between the city and Mexico in the 12 months to 30 June 2018 was 94,464, a rise of 6.7 percent on the previous year. A total of 42 percent of passengers connected via Bogotá and 32 percent via Panama City.
The new route to Cali was announced at the same time as Aeroméxico confirmed it will begin Mexico City - Guayaquil on 1 May. Guayaquil is the airline’s second destination in Ecuador in addition to the country’s capital, Quito. Leading aviation consultancy ASM worked to secure the new route to Cali.
“Aeroméxico is incrementally introducing new routes to better serve the South American market,” María Fernanda Reséndiz, senior manager of corporate strategy and network planning at Aeroméxico told Routesonline. “The fact that we are opening Cali and Guayaquil at the same time shows how invested we are in developing the market.”
Source: Sabre Market Intelligence
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