Cuba is a strategically important destination for the Chinese government as it was the first Latin American country to recognise the People’s Republic of China and to establish trade relations and China is currently Cuba’s second largest trading partner after Venezuela with bilateral trade of bilateral of over $1.3 billion in 2014.
The US adventure will start from December 2, 2015 with the start of the Medellin – Miami route and followed from December 16, 2015 by the Bogota – Miami link. Both markets will be served on a four times weekly basis using Airbus A320 equipment.
United currently has 22 787s in its fleet and will receive three more before the end of this year. These include a mix of 787-8 and larger 787-9 variants which allow the carrier to fit the right-sized aircraft to its existing and new markets. The aircraft is being used at San Francisco International Airport to support the growth of United hub operation from where it provides nearly 280 daily flights to more than 90 destinations in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
If the speculation is true, Aer Lingus will be the only airline offering a direct flight between Europe and Hartford Bradley International Airport, branded as the ‘Gateway to New England’. In fact the airline will be the sole carrier to serve the facility from outside North America with existing links limited to just domestic services in the US and flights into Canada.
Flight schedules for a new five times weekly link from Frankfurt have already been loaded into the GDS for launch in late April 2016, just a week before British Airways launches its new London - San José operation.
Optimised for non-stop flights to the US, the aircraft, designated A350-900ULR (Ultra-Long Range), will include a modified fuel system to increase the fuel carrying capacity, an increase in Maximum Take-Off Weight, plus aerodynamic improvements, enabling service to the US West Coast, as well as to New York.
The latest update of the airline’s inventory for 2016 shows the cancellation of any future bookings for the Port of Spain – London Gatwick route with effect from January 12, 2016. This would mean the last flights on the three times weekly route will operate from the Caribbean on January 9, 2016 and from the UK on January 10, 2016.
The new passenger operation will launch in December 2015 and will grow to a five destination network by the middle of January 2016. All the flights will be operated using a 184-seat Boeing 757-200 and National has partnered with Tourico Holidays to package flights with hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities, vacation homes and more alongside its seat-only offering.
The new route will complement the carrier’s existing US network of Newark Liberty, New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare and will be its longest non-stop service at a distance of around 7,670 miles and a 16 hour flight time. It will be served by a Boeing 777-200LR and will operate on a three times weekly basis from December 2, 2015.
The new route to Paris will commence in May 2016 and will supplement the existing London route operated by rival carrier, American Airlines. The daily flight will launch on May 12, 2016 and will be operated using a 164-seat Boeing 757-200ER in conjunction with the airline's joint venture partners Air France, KLM and Alitalia.
Finnair resumed non-stop scheduled services between its Helsinki hub and the US city of Miami in December 2014, introducing a three times weekly operation using an Airbus A340 from December 16, 2014 until March 21, 2015 and will resume the route later this year.
These days, terminals are offering a plethora of brands, tempting passengers to purchase anything from essential toiletries to designer clothing. So what is the rationale behind this explosion in retail offerings, and is it what passengers want? Routesonline spoke to Vantage Airport Group to find out.
Europe Airpost has been operating at Dublin Airport since 2010 and is the only charter airline that has an aircraft based year-round in Ireland. The scheduled service to Nova Scotia will again operate weekly from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Dublin and then continue to Halifax, Nova Scotia with a 130-seat Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
The Transportation Department’s Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection approved the recommendation saying that “if safe and secure,” the department could let airlines make their own decision on mobile phone use inflight. This could mean the end of the ban of inflight connectivity over US airspace, leaving airlines with the freedom to listen to their passengers if they wish to.
July 2015 was the first time that more than 2.3 million passengers travelled through BWI Marshall in one month. The previous monthly record for passenger traffic at BWI Marshall was July 2012 with 2.22 million passengers.
The new route has been very significant in terms of enhancing regional connectivity, growing the economy, attracting inward investment and encouraging inbound tourism to the North East of England. But it is more than just about connecting Newcastle to Newark and the wider New York area.
Although not formally advertised by the airline as yet, the proposed four times weekly flights between Keflavik International Airport, serving the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, and both Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal and Lester B Pearson International Airport in Toronto are displayed in its website booking engine. This displays four times weekly links on each route launching from May 12, 2016 for Montreal and May 20, 2016 for Toronto.
According to its application, Volaris intends to use either Airbus A319 or A320 equipment on the route and services will commence “shortly after all approvals are obtained”. This will be its first international route from Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, which it currently serves from Mexico City, Monterrey and Tijuana.
Ahead of this year's World Routes forum, Routesonline is providing another look at our series of articles on the leading airlines and airports and most used aircraft types across regions of the world last year. Here we look closely at the airlines of North America and highlight the region's top performers.
The new weekly seasonal flight will commence from December 19, 2015 and will operate every Saturday through to April 30, 2016 and will act as an alternate access point into Orlando and the many attractions within its vicinity. It will be the third longest Dash 8 scheduled turboprop flight in the world.
Ahead of this year's World Routes forum, Routesonline is providing another look at our series of articles on the leading airlines and airports and most used aircraft types across regions of the world last year. Here we look closely at the airlines of the Caribbean and highlight the region's top performers.
Ahead of this year's World Routes forum, Routesonline is providing another look at our series of articles on the leading airlines and airports and most used aircraft types across regions of the world last year. Here we look closely at the airlines of South America and highlight the region's top performers.
As revealed exclusively by our schedules blog, Airline Route, on the morning of September 14, 2015, WestJet plans to introduce flights to London Gatwick from Calgary, Edmonton, St John’s, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, the latter’s first regular transatlantic service to the UK since Zoom Airlines served the market in September 2008.
Subject to obtaining the necessary government approvals, Air Canada rouge, the operator’s leisure business, will introduce a four times weekly link between Montreal and Casablanca from June 3, 2016. The route will be operated using a 280-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft offering a choice of premium and economy cabins and will continue through to October 17, 2016.
Analysis of the route that forced out United Airlines chief executive officer Jeffrey Smisek and two other executives this week by Routesonline reveals that few passengers flew it and it was unlikely to be profitable.
