Welcome to our rolling daily coverage of new routes alongside services that are scheduled to resume.
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May 25
US carrier Avelo Airlines has launched nonstop service between Hollywood Burbank (BUR) and Boise (BOI). The new route will operate on Mondays and Fridays using a 189-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft. "There is a special bond between LA and Boise as an increasing number of Southern Californians relocate to Southwestern Idaho," Avelo chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said. According to the airline, more than 50,000 people have relocated to Idaho over the past five years and Californians represented 46% of those resettling in the area.
Japan's Zipair is increasing service between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Seoul Incheon (ICN). Starting June 1, the LCC will offer six flights per week through Oct. 29. The route will operate from Tuesday to Sunday, departing NRT at 8.55 a.m. and arriving in ICN at 11.25 a.m. The return service leaves at 12.55 p.m. and arrives back in the Japanese capital at 3.30 p.m. Zipair said the schedule from Oct. 30 onwards would be announced at a later date.
Qantas has restarted five routes on its trans-Tasman network: Sydney (SYD) to Queenstown (ZQN) and Wellington (WLG); Melbourne (MEL) to Christchurch (CHC) and Wellington; and Brisbane (BNE) to Christchurch. Services from Melbourne and Brisbane to Queenstown recommence on 18 June. The addition of these flights will see Qantas return to its full pre-COVID trans-Tasman network. Flights to New Zealand are operated by a mix of 737-800 and Airbus A330 aircraft.
May 24
Viva Aerobus is launching a service from Guadalajara (GDL) in western Mexico to Colombia’s capital Bogota (BOG). The route will start on Oct. 22, operating twice a week using a mix of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. The ULCC will become the sole carrier to serve the destinations nonstop once the route launches. Guadalajara-Bogota will become Viva Aerobus’ fifth route to Colombia alongside flights to Bogota and Medellín (MDE) from both Cancun (CUN) and Mexico City (MEX).
Effective June 18, Venezuelan carrier Conviasa will begin scheduled service from the country’s capital Caracas (CCS) to Tehran (IKA) in Iran. Service will be once every other week departing CCS on alternate Saturdays. The return flight is on Tuesdays. Flights will be carried out onboard A340-300 and A340-600 aircraft.
Finnair will lease an A320 and crew from DAT for the summer season. The aircraft will be operating selected frequencies between Helsinki (HEL) and Copenhagen (CPH) in June, and on routes from Helsinki to Oulu (OUL) and Lisbon (LIS) between July and October. “We are preparing for a busy summer season, and this agreement with DAT supports our target of ensuring stable and reliable operations as travel is now picking up,” Finnair CCO Ole Orvér said.
May 23
Spanish LCC Vueling is opening two new routes from London Gatwick (LGW). The carrier, owned by International Airlines Group, will launch flights to Jerez (XRY) in Spain from July 1 and Genoa (GOA) in Italy from July 3. Frequencies will be 2X-weekly and 3X-weekly respectively. “Vueling has scheduled a total of 113 destinations in 31 countries until Oct. 29, 2022, reaching a very similar level of operations to 2019,” said Carolyn Prowse, chief customer, strategy and network officer. “We are very excited to see a progressive development of business this year and to keep expanding the airline’s offering across Europe.”
Delta Air Lines and Greek carrier SKY Express have announced an interline agreement. Effective May 19, Delta customers flying from Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS) and New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) to Athens (ATH) in Greece will then be able connect to 34 points across Greece and Cyprus operated by Sky Express. Destinations available to Delta customers from the US include Crete, Mykonos and Santorini. “Greece is one of the most sought-after destinations this summer for American travelers. And with trade and tourism flows increasing between our countries, Delta’s partnership with Sky Express gives our customers more versatility when it comes to planning the perfect Greek getaway,” says Perry Cantarutti, Delta’s senior vice president of alliances.
UK regional carrier Eastern Airways has launched service to Jersey (JER) in the Channel Islands, commencing with direct flights on May 21 from both Humberside (HUY) and Teesside (MME) in England. The seasonal routes will operate weekly on Saturdays through late September.
Vistara has inaugurated direct daily flights between Delhi (DEL) and Coimbatore (CJB), which serves the industrial cities of Coimbatore and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, India. The airline will also start daily direct service on the Mumbai (BOM)-Coimbatore route starting May 27, and double daily flights on Bengaluru (BLR)-Coimbatore starting June 3. “With Coimbatore emerging as a key hub for trade and commerce besides being a preferred tourist destination, it’s a city that the discerning travelers are increasingly flying to,” Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan said.
Air Canada has launched flights between Montreal (YUL) and San Diego (SAN). The nonstop service will be 3X-weekly during the peak summer travel season. The airline also serves San Diego from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR), which resumed in March 2022 and August 2021, respectively.
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