Our top five stories on Routes Weekly: Gulf Air's European and North American ambitions; Air Canada and Air China joint venture; London Heathrow expansion moves closer; LATAM Airlines plans Munich service; Route rundown and more.
A week after International Airlines Group bought a minority stake in long-haul low-cost carrier Norwegian, with a view to launching a full takeover of the Scandinavian carrier, Routesonline takes a look at the growth of transatlantic services from Europe to the US and Canada, and how lower fares have impacted this market.
Routesonline provides an update on the operations of the Airbus A380. We also reveal the network size of each operator and the top destinations served by the aircraft type.
Qantas will on Saturday launch a daily service linking London and Perth, becoming the first non-stop regular link between the UK and Australia. Routesonline looks in more detail at what is set to become one of the world’s longest flights.
This week: Air India will resume services to Tel Aviv, Hainan Airlines to launch second UK destination, and Delta to link Cleveland to its Salt Lake City hub.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the world’s busiest airport, according to preliminary traffic figures, but Beijing Capital is closing the gap. The statistics - which reveal the top 20 airports by passenger numbers - also show there is no stopping China’s rapid growth, with 12 new airports beginning commercial air service during 2017.
Routesonline's latest analysis of the European aviation industry, examining the top routes, airlines, airports and aircraft that are leading the market.
According to reports, Croatia Airlines is selling its London Heathrow Airport mid-morning slots on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, retaining afternoon and evening slots on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The sold slots will pass to Delta Air Lines from April 1, 2017 and will enable the US major to grow its joint transatlantic network with Virgin Atlantic from London’s largest airport.
The flights from Aberdeen and Edinburgh to London Heathrow will be Flybe’s first ever scheduled flights into the UK’s largest airport and the world’s second largest international gateway, and will complement the carrier’s well-established London City flights from the two Scottish airports.
When British Airways first announced its plans to serve Leeds Bradford many observers so the decision as little more than as an avenue to protect the carrier’s pool of slots at the heavily-congested Heathrow Airport. However, the London Heathrow - Leeds Bradford route is currently among its best performing domestic markets with traffic up 18.4 per cent over the first ten months of 2016.
Around two million passengers a year fly between Australia and the UK (O&D demand for 12 months to October 2016) and the famous Kangaroo Route has been one of the most competitive air corridors in aviation history with tens of airlines competing for traffic via various points across Asia and more recently the Middle East.
Data from air service development consultants, Airport Strategy & Marketing (ASM) suggests that British Airways is initially taking tentative steps into the New Orleans when it launches flights between London Heathrow and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport next year. A demand forecast from the consultancy on the route shows expected demand outweighing available capacity from the day of launch.
The bosses of Emirates Airline and International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), the parent of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, have hit out at what they describe as the over-inflated cost to deliver a possible new Runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
