As the countdown to Routes Americas 2018 continues, Routesonline analyses the top 20 busiest air routes in the Americas region by passenger numbers, with the number one in the list a one-hour flight costing less than $100.
This week: Air France returns to the Nairobi market; the first service by a Chinese carrier from Qingdao to Western Europe; and Interjet’s first Canadian services from the famous Mexican leisure destination Cancun.
This marks the return of the two routes after a four year absence and will be the only direct long-haul services to be offered from Bristol Airport. The move is part of the holiday company’s strategy to ensure customers across its home UK market can fly more easily from their local airports.
The airline, founded in 2010, has launched a route from Los Angeles International Airport to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This direct service will tap into a growing market that has been unserved since 2014.
Falcon Holidays and Thomson Holidays will operate its new charter programme from Dublin with a Thomson Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which includes Premium Club. The new service to Montego Bay will begin on June 12, 2016, while the new Cancun link will begins on June 13, 2016.
After taking delivery of its first Airbus A321 from the Air Lease Corporation, Mexican carrier Volaris has announced plans for a number of domestic routes operated with the new aircraft.
Thomas Cook Airlines will further expand its UK long-haul programme in summer 2016 building on the airline’s growing long-haul summer programme this year, which sees its first flights to New York and Miami from May 2015. Next year’s programme will see further growth at Manchester and more frequencies from Glasgow, London (both Gatwick and Stansted airports), Belfast and Cardiff.
The predominantly leisure markets will be served by the new ‘Jump’ business of the carrier which will see Lufthansa CityLine fly up to 14 Airbus A340-300s reconfigured in a higher-density, three-class, 298-seat arrangement under the Lufthansa brand.
The growth into Belize with regular flights to Philip S W Goldson International Airport in Belize City, will add a second destination in Central America, a seventh country, and the 96th city to the Southwest route map.
LAN Airlines welcomed its first 787 in August 2012 and has a total of 22 787-8s on order and a further four larger 787-9s. It currently operates a fleet of six examples all configured in a two-class arrangement with 217 seats in Economy and 30 in Premium Business.
UK leisure carrier Thomas Cook Airlines is to launch new long-haul links to the United States from London Stansted, Manchester and Glasgow as part of its expanded summer 2015 programme. The long-haul growth will be supported by a major investment in upgrading its Airbus A330 fleet to offer a much higher level of comfort to Transatlantic passengers.
Alaska Airlines introduced service to Mexico in 1988 and operates more non-stop flights between the US West Coast and Mexico than any other carrier, flying an average of 1.5 million passengers a year.
