Welcome to our rolling daily coverage of new routes alongside services that are scheduled to resume.
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Feb. 4
LCC Air Arabia is introducing flights between Sharjah (SHJ) in the UAE and Osh (OSS) in Kyrgyzstan. The route will lauch on Feb. 20, operating twice a week using Airbus A320s. The new service will become the second city that the airline flies to in Kyrgyzstan after Bishkek. Flights will depart Sharjah at 9.45 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays. The return service will leave Osh at 4.25 a.m. on Saturdays and Mondays.
Leisure carrier Jet2.com has confirmed the launch and resumption of several routes from UK airports. The airline said flights to Barcelona (BCN) would resume on Feb. 10, followed by Budapest (BUD), Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Prague (PRG) and Venice (VCE) the following day. Service to Amsterdam (AMS) resumes from Feb. 25, and Pisa (PSA) on March 28. In addition, Jet2 plans to add three new routes. Birmingham (BHX)-Barcelona (BCN) and Birmingham-Athens (ATH) will start on April 7 and April 14 respectively, each operating 2X-weekly. A Manchester-Athens route will also begin on April 14, with two flights per week.
Air France has confirmed that flights between Paris Orly (ORY) and New York John F Kennedy (JFK) will resume on March 27, operating 1X-weekly. On the same day, service between Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) will also be restored and be offered 5X-weekly. Additionally, for the second year running the SkyTeam alliance member will fly a seasonal CDG-Denver (DEN) route from May 4, operating 3X-weekly. Air France will therefore serve 14 destinations in the US during the summer 2022 season.
Turkish charter airline Freebird is expanding its operations between Turkey and the UK. Following the initial launch of a 2X-weekly Antalya (AYT) service from London Gatwick (LGW) commencing in May 2022, the carrier has now announced plans to double frequencies to 4X-weekly. In addition, it intends to start a 2X-weekly route between London Gatwick and Bodrum (BJV) in May. Head of UK sales Carl Denton said the growth follows strong demand for the leisure flights.
Starting Feb. 5, British Airways will fly from London City (LCY) to Chambéry (CMF) in the French Alps up to four times per week. The launch of the route comes a day after the UK airport welcomed BA’s new service to Salzburg (SZG) in Austria. Seasonal flights will be offered three times per week on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Feb.3
Air Nostrum, Iberia 's franchised airline for regional flights, is launching a new route linking Reus (REU) with Palma de Mallorca (PMI). Flights will initially be 2X-weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays from June 14 through Sept. 4. The route will be operated with CRJ 1000s with capacity for 100 passengers. Air Nostrum last served the route in the summer of 2007.
Blue Air is expanding its network in Portugal during summer 2022. From April 9, the Romanian carrier will connect Bucharest (OTP) and Funchal (FNC), Madeira. Flights will operate on Saturdays using Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Tickets are now on sale for JetBlue Airways’ new nonstop flights from Milwaukee Mitchell International (MKE) to Boston Logan (BOS) and New York John F. Kennedy (JFK). The flights begin on March 27 and will be operated seven days per week to both destinations. Service will be on board the airline’s new 140-seat Airbus A220 aircraft.
Jazeera Airways has resumed service to Muscat International (MCT) in Oman. The carrier will offer four flights per week from Kuwait (KWI). OAG data shows the airline will compete on the route with Oman Air and SalamAir, which provide 4X-weekly and 2X-weekly flights respectively.
IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG), has increased services to Colombia and Argentina from Madrid (MAD). There are now 14 flights per week now operating between Madrid and Bogota (BOG), up from 10 previously, while the 3X-weekly service to Cali (CLO) is maintained. It has also increased services between Madrid-Buenos Aires from eight to 10 flights per week, while services between London Heathrow (LHR) and Mexico City (MEX) have increase from 5X-weekly to 7X-weekly.
Feb. 2
Air Canada is to restart a 3X-weekly seasonal service between Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Budapest (BUD) this summer. OAG data shows flights will resume on May 3 using Boeing 787-9s, operating through until the end of October. “We have worked tirelessly with the airline and the Hungarian Tourism Board to make the resumption a reality and the all-important return of long-haul to our airport,” Budapest head of airline development Balázs Bogáts said. “This route will connect travelers from Budapest not only to Canada, but a series of other North American destinations, in both business and leisure sectors.” Budapest has also confirmed that SunExpress plans to launch a 1X-weekly route to the Hungarian capital from Izmir (ADB) in Turkey. There will be 35X-weekly flights between BUD and destinations in Turkey this summer, with SunExpress having a 13% market share.
British Airways (BA) is introducing a new destination to its London Heathrow (LHR) short-haul network with the launch of a route to Nuremberg (NUE) in Germany. Flights will initially operate 4X-weekly from March 27, increasing to 6X-weekly from May 1. Service will then reduce to four times per week during the winter season. “Nuremburg offers something for everyone, ranging from sightseeing in the sunshine to exploring the German markets at Christmas, so we hope our customers take full advantage of this new destination to our network,” BA director of networks and alliances Neil Chernoff said.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has announced the launch of two new routes from Kyiv Boryspil (KBP) to Alicante (ALC) and Oslo (OSL), as well as the resumption of two long-haul services. Flights to Oslo will begin on June 1, operating 3X-weekly, while a 2X-weekly service to Alicante starts on June 3. UIA said Toronto (YYZ) would also return to its network on June 1, operating twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and flights to New York John F Kennedy (JFK) would restart on June 2, operating 4X-weekly. In addition, service to Delhi (DEL) will increase to 5X-weekly from June 1. All three long-haul routes will be onboard Boeing 777-200ERs.
Feb.1
Transavia France has inaugurated its new Stockholm (ARN)-Lyon Saint-Exupéry (LYS) route. The LCC plans to offer one flight a week on Saturdays during the winter season. “This new service will allow ski and mountain lovers to enjoy their vacations in the French Alps while at the same time benefit from a quality low-cost offer,” Transavia France CCO Nicolas Hénin said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Jan. 29 to mark the launch of the route.
Canadian ULCC Swoop has operated its maiden service between Abbotsford International (YXX) and Los Cabos (SJD) in Mexico. The route will be offered once a week. Beginning March 12, Swoop will also add Mazatlán (MZT) to its nonstop flying schedule from Abbotsford, the third destination in Mexico following Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and Los Cabos. “We’re pleased to add another warm-weather getaway option for residents of the Fraser Valley, with Los Cabos topping our growing list of nonstop destinations available from Abbotsford,” said Shane Workman, head of flight operations at Swoop.
Jan. 31
AirAsia X (AAX) is resuming commercial flights between Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Sydney (SYD) from Feb. 14. Service will initially be 1X-weekly on Mondays until March 22, departing KUL at 7.25 p.m. and arriving in SYD at 6.30 a.m. the following day. The return flight departs the Australian city at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesdays and arrives back in Kuala Lumpur at 2.15 p.m. the same day. "Following our travel downtime over the last two years, and the recent completion of our restructuring process, we are thrilled to be able to relaunch and commence our gradual return to the skies,” AAX CEO Benyamin Ismail said. “Without any domestic routes AAX has been significantly affected by the pandemic. We now see light at the end of this long tunnel, and we are working hard to operate again in all of our key markets.”
Meanwhile, AirAsia celebrated the launch of its inaugural flights between Kota Kinabalu (BKI) and Kuala Terengganu (TGG) on Jan. 31. The Malaysia domestic route will operate once a week on Sundays. Alongside the latest Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Terengganu route, the LCC has also recently launched Kuching-Langkawi, Johor Bahru-Bintulu and Penang-Sibu as part of its efforts to help rejuvenate domestic tourism. “These new routes will strengthen our tourism footprint in Malaysia and set the scene to prepare for the return of international travel soon, as it provides more options for international visitors to travel between various tourism hotspots in Malaysia,” AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said.
Starting from Feb. 1, Bangkok Airways will increase its direct service between Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Phnom Penh (PNH) in Cambodia to 2X-daily to support the increasing travel demand between the two cities. Flights will be operated by Airbus A319 or A320 aircraft. The flights from BKK will depart at 8.50 a.m. and 5.20 p.m., with the return services leaving PNH at 10.55 a.m. and 7.25 p.m.
Scoot has resumed a 4X-weekly passenger service from Singapore (SIN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and plans to restart a 2X-weekly service between Singapore and Hanoi (HAN) on Feb. 22. The restoration of flights follows Vietnam’s decision to reopen its borders to international passengers from select countries, including Singapore.
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