Vienna
from London Gatwick
From 17 September 2015, British Airways will fly to Vienna, Austria, operating from London Gatwick. There will be four flight a week over the winter.
Tuesday 31 March 2015
SAS launches four new European routes
On 29 March, Edinburgh Airport welcomed SAS’ four weekly flights from Copenhagen, a route served by a mixed fleet of the airline’s A319s and A320s. Celebrating the achievement are: Mats Jannson, Duty Station Manager UK, SAS; and Jane Montgomerie, Key Account Manager, SAS.
On 29 March, celebrations continued at Riga Airport with a cake and a ribbon cutting on the apron, this time for SAS’ 11 weekly flights from Stockholm Arlanda. This route is already operated by airBaltic and Norwegian.
On 30 March, Gothenburg Airport celebrated with a great cake and a ribbon cutting at the gate the launch of SAS’ twice-weekly flights to Bergen.
- SAS continued to expand its European network with the addition of four routes during the course of last week. With the longest sector being the 1,360-kilometre route from Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) to Budapest (BUD), and the shortest being launched again from Stockholm Arlanda (ARN), but this time to Riga (RIX) at 465 kilometres, the Star Alliance member will face competition on three airport pairs from easyJet, Norwegian and airBaltic. Commenting on the route launch from Copenhagen, Gordon Dewar, CEO, Edinburgh Airport, said: “Scandinavia is proving to be an increasingly popular destination for Scottish passengers and we’re delighted to welcome SAS back to Edinburgh to launch this new service to Copenhagen, as well as the return of services to Oslo and Stockholm. We’re about to commence with our summer schedule and it looks set to be our busiest yet. These new services from SAS offer passengers convenience, comfort and choice and we’re looking forward to working closely with the airline to give our customers the very best choice of how they can travel to Scandinavia and beyond.”
| Launched | From | To | Aircraft (WF) | Competition (WF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar | Copenhagen (CPH) | Edinburgh (EDI) | A32S (4) | easyJet (5), Norwegian (5) |
| 30 Mar | Gothenburg (GOT) | Bergen (BGO) | EQV (2) | |
| 29 Mar | Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) | Budapest (BUD) | B73S (4) | Norwegian (5) |
| Riga (RIX) | AT7 (11) | airBaltic (25), Norwegian (3) |
South African Airways touches down at Abu Dhabi
On 29 March, South African Airways was greeted with a water arch salute upon arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport, a route which originated from Johannesburg.
- South African Airways increased its intercontinental offering with the addition of daily flights from its Johannesburg(JNB) base to Abu Dhabi (AUH) on 29 March, a route served by its 222-seat A330-200s. The 6,293-kilometre sector to the capital of the UAE is already flown by Etihad Airways with daily flights. Commenting on the route launch, Nico Bezuidenhout, acting CEO, SAA, said: “The addition of Abu Dhabi to our international route network delivers not only an important new destination for our customers, but also sees SAA increase its Asian network substantially. The codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, as well as the twice-daily frequency on the route, should generate significant volume and positive returns for both South African and UAE business and tourism travel volumes, with onward network end points increasing greater reach.”
Virgin Australia Airlines connects three domestic points
On 30 March, Virgin Australia Airlines’ inaugural flight from Darwin was welcomed with the traditional water arch salute at Alice Springs. The thrice-weekly services continues onto Adelaide.
- Virgin Australia Airlines increased its domestic network with the addition of two new routes on 30 March, both of which are operated by its 176-seat 737-800s. The airline introduced thrice-weekly flights from Darwin (DRW) to Alice Springs (ASP), which continue onto Adelaide (ADL). While the 1,305-kilometre sector from Darwin to Alice Springs is flown twice-daily by Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia is also providing direct competition on the Alice Springs-Adelaide route, as it flies daily. Interestingly, Qantas (daily) and Jetstar Airways (six times weekly) are flying directly between Darwin and Adelaide. Commenting on the route launches, Ian Kew, CEO, Northern Territory Airports, said: “Adding services on this important route creates options for Territory travellers, as well as inbound tourism and business segments. With a total of 41 weekly return services to the Northern Territory, Virgin Australia Airlines and its partner airlines are now well positioned to enhance international visitor opportunities to the Northern Territory.”
Jetstar Airways commences three new routes
On 30 March, Wellington Airport welcomed Jetstar Airways’ four weekly flights from Melbourne with a suitcase-shaped cake. Getting ready to cut the cake’s first slice are: Grant Kerr, Head of New Zealand, Jetstar; and Matt Clarke, CCO, Wellington Airport.
- Jetstar Airways introduced three new routes, all of which are flown utilising its 180-seat A320s. On 29 March, the Australian LCC, commenced services from Cairns (CNS) to Denpasar (DPS) and from Gold Coast (OOL) to Perth (PER) with thrice-weekly and six times weekly departures respectively. On both routes, Jetstar will face no direct competition from any other operator. Moreover, on 30 March, the airline commenced four weekly flights on the 2,588-kilometre sector from Melbourne (MEL) to Wellington (WLG), a route already flown by Air New Zealand and Qantas, both with daily departures. Commenting on the New Zealand route, Steve Sanderson, CEO, Wellington Airport, said: “Melbourne is Wellington’s fastest growing and now most competitive route. It has extensive onward connections throughout Australia, Asia and Europe. The stronger link with Melbourne’s four million residents and two cities renowned for their events will be great for travellers. The market between Wellington and Melbourne has been growing at 6% per annum over the last eight years. The new service will add 75,000 seats to Wellington’s international market.”
Brussels Airlines starts three new European routes
On 29 March, Billund Airport celebrated the arrival of Brussels Airlines from Brussels, a sector served 11 times weekly. Passengers on the inaugural flight were delighted with chocolate cookies.
- Brussels Airlines expanded its European network with three new airport pairs from its Brussels (BRU) base during the course of last week. Firstly on 29 March, the Star Alliance member added 11 weekly flights to Billund (BLL) using its 74-seat Q400s (operated by Flybe), while on the same day it introduced thrice-weekly departures on the 777-kilometre sector to Bordeaux (BOD), utilising its 133-seat A319s. Secondly, on 30 March, the airline started thrice-weekly flights to St Petersburg (LED), using its 133-seat A319s. While this route will face no direct competition, the service to Denmark is already flown by British Airways’ (SUN-AIR) four weekly flights and the link to France is operated by easyJet’s four weekly departures.
SmartWings adds Moscow Sheremetyevo from Prague
On 29 March, Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport greeted the arrival of SmartWings from Prague with a special ceremony, including a ribbon cutting by Lukas Dvorak, SmartWings’ representative in Moscow.
- SmartWings, the subsidiary of Travel Service Airlines, introduced a new route to Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) from its Prague (PRG) base on 29 March. The 1,667-kilometre sector to the Moscow gateway will be served daily by SmartWings’ 189-seat 737-800s. Competition on the sector is provided by Aeroflot (four times daily) and Czech Airlines (18 times weekly).
Germania expands seasonally with four new routes
On 25 March, Germania touched down at Paphos with three seasonal routes from Berlin Schönefeld, Bremen and Hamburg, all of which are served weekly.
- Germania added four new seasonal routes on 25 March, of which three are operated to Paphos (PFO) in Cyprus. With the longest sector being the 3,383-kilometre service from Kassel-Calden (KSF) to Hurghada (HRG), and the shortest being inaugurated from Berlin Schönefeld (SXF) to Paphos (PFO) at 2,470 kilometres, Germania will face no direct competition on any of the four new additions. Commenting on the arrival at Paphos, Wes Porter, CEO, Hermes Airports, said: “We are very happy with the airline’s decision and we look forward to working with Germania to make this operation a success. We are certain that the travelling public will appreciate and take advantage of the unique offers of Germania.”
| Launched | From | To | Aircraft (WF) | Competition (WF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar | Berlin Schönefeld (SXF) | Paphos (PFO) | B73W (1) | |
| Bremen (BRE) | ||||
| Hamburg (HAM) | A319 (1) | |||
| Kassel-Calden (KSF) | Hurghada (HRG) | |||
| Source: OAG for w/c 31 March 2015. WF = Weekly frequencies. | ||||
Turkish Airlines plane crash lands in Nepal
A Turkish Airlines flight with 238 passengers on board has crash-landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. The crash-landing in the morning was said to be due to bad weather.04 Mar 2015, 4:07PM IST
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