In the past week, several new airline routes have been launched or resumed. Among these, All Nippon Airways began a new service between Tokyo Haneda and Stockholm Arlanda on January 31. This Star Alliance route is initially operating three times weekly with a Boeing 787-8, set to increase to daily flights next winter. “The Japanese capital was Stockholm’s largest unserved Asian market,” according to reports.
Flyadeal, a Saudi low-cost carrier, has expanded its operations into South Asia by launching flights from Jeddah and Riyadh to Karachi on February 1. The airline now offers twice-weekly services from Riyadh and four weekly from Jeddah. The route is part of flyadeal’s strategy as “the wholly owned low-cost unit of Saudia has big ambition.”
LOT Polish Airlines introduced a new connection from Warsaw Chopin Airport to Lisbon on February 3. The route will be served five times weekly using Boeing 737-800 and MAX 8 aircraft, increasing to daily in the summer.
Air India Express inaugurated its first non-stop flight from Hyderabad to Phuket on January 31, marking the airline’s entry into the Thai market with six weekly flights operated by Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) launched five new routes in late January using Braathens Regional Airlines’ ATR 72-600s. These include connections to Sälen from Aarhus, Ängelholm, and Stockholm Arlanda, as well as a service between Stockholm Arlanda and Halmstad.
In domestic Indian aviation news, Star Air commenced two new routes to Jharsuguda using E175 aircraft: three weekly flights from Lucknow and four weekly from Raipur.
Warsaw Chopin Airport also saw the introduction of charter flights by SkyLine Express to Nha Trang in Vietnam starting January 28. These are scheduled until April with a reported high load factor on initial services.
EasyJet celebrated the anniversary of its Gatwick base on February 1, marking 23 years since it began operations there with an inaugural flight to Barcelona in 2002.
