The Most Notable New Airline Routes This Week

Welcome to my 106th weekly routes newsletter! I am back after a trip on BA EuroFlyer’s new London Gatwick to Sharm El Sheikh service. I’ve covered a few subjectively exciting examples this week, some of which I would have analyzed and celebrated were I here. As you’ll see, there is a bit of a theme of ‘two’. Why not sign up and receive my newsletter in your email inbox every week?

LOT Polish’s 2nd Poland-Seoul route

You would be forgiven for thinking that it is illogical for there to be non-stop flights between Wrocław and Seoul, but there are. The weekly service began on November 3rd using the Boeing 787-8 and -9. It is its second route from Poland to South Korea (it also has Budapest-Seoul).

The operating LOT aircraft is based in Warsaw and routes Warsaw-Seoul-Wrocław-Seoul-Warsaw. The new non-stop service means that Warsaw-Seoul flights have reduced from five weekly to four.

Booking data shows that approximately 33,000 people flew between Wrocław and Seoul in 2019, when the South Korean capital was by far Wrocław’s largest unserved long-haul market. It was three times larger than number two, Toronto. Demand is driven by numerous South Korean companies located in/around Poland’s sixth most populous city, with 5,000+ South Koreans living there in 2020.

Malaysia Airlines: two new India routes

On November 8th, Malaysia Airlines commenced flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Punjabi city of Amritsar, followed by Kuala Lumpur to Thiruvananthapuram the next day. Both are served four weekly using the 737-800.

When Ahmedabad starts on December 1st, Malaysia’s flag carrier will serve a record nine Indian destinations. That is more than Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, although fewer than the Singapore Airlines Group when Scoot is included.

Malaysia Airlines is the third carrier to Amritsar, joining AirAsia X (four weekly) and Batik Air Malaysia (three to four weekly). However, it is the only operator to Thiruvananthapuram, which was last served by Malindo (now Batik Air Malaysia) in 2020.

Airlines often begin routes when others either exit the market or reduce capacity, yet the opportunity remains enticing. Also, when a market is growing nicely and warrants more service.

Arajet’s 2nd Canadian destination

After Santo Domingo-Toronto commenced on October 24th, it was the turn of Montreal on November 7th. Using the 185-seat 737 MAX 8, of which it now has six, the 1,878-mile (3,022 km) route to Quebec was unserved following Air Transat’s exit in 2020. Arajet runs four weekly, with the flight schedule varying by day to maximize connectivity.

The point-to-point market is tiny, with fewer than 6,000 roundtrip passengers in the first nine months of 2023, although it will easily stimulate demand. But as you know, Arajet revolves around connecting passengers over its Santo Domingo hub. While its network is small, passengers can travel to an increasing number of places, including Santiago de Chile, among the world’s longest MAX routes.

Luton to Cairo gets two airlines

You know what they say about two buses coming at once? The same sometimes applies to airlines and routes, too. Wizz Air has inaugurated the 2,190-mile (3,524 km) link from London Luton to Cairo Sphinx, the pretty new airport serving the enormous Egyptian capital, using A321neos.

The next day, easyJet took off, variously using A320neos/ceos, its first route to the Giza airport. Curiously, neither launch was celebrated by Luton.

Wizz Air operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and returns home to Luton at the fun time of 01:25. easyJet runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with a slightly more leisurely arrival time of 22:50/23:15. Despite this, it is easyJet which, generally speaking, has lower fares. Will it blink first?!

London-Cairo now has four carriers and a record 34 weekly flights this winter. The above are joined by British Airways and EgyptAir from Heathrow to Cairo International, both operating double daily. BA uses A320neos and A321neos, while it is the 777-300ER and A320neo for EgyptAir.

American: Phoenix to Jacksonville

The November 6th launch might make you think, ‘So what?’ But it is an important addition, not least because it is the first time the 1,786-mile (2,875 km) market has had non-stop service. More than this, it runs daily using the A320, a pretty high frequency.

Generally arriving in Florida around 22:55, the aircraft remains overnight and leaves at 07:30. Interestingly, there are also overnight flights on November Saturdays and Sundays. They leave Arizona at 23:15 and arrive at 05:04+1 before departing at 07:30.

While American will obviously target those traveling to the Western US generally, Jacksonville-Phoenix had around 53,000 roundtrip point-to-point passengers in January-September 2023 (about 98 daily each day).

It was the Florida airport’s third-largest unserved domestic market (after Los Angeles and Seattle) but became the largest from Phoenix after the October 14th launch of New York LaGuardia-Phoenix by Delta. It is Saturday only due to LaGuardia’s perimeter rule.

Take off: airBaltic’s 2nd Dubai route

Like other carriers in the Northern Hemisphere, airBaltic switched to winter schedules on October 29th. And like the others, it inaugurated various routes on and around that date.

Perhaps the most exciting and different was Vilnius to Dubai. In the first nine months of 2023, around 15,000 roundtrip point-to-point passengers flew indirectly, rising to 17,000 to the whole UAE.

Covering 2,542 miles (4,090 km), it is only airBaltic’s 11th longest route and uses the carrier’s A220-300s (what else?). The medium-haul airport pair is served twice-weekly, rising to three weekly around Christmas/NY. It operates overnight, leaving Lithuania at 23:55 and returning at 14:35 the next day. Flying into the wind, the longest return leg has so far taken 6h 49m (!).

Lynx Air begins 1st of two Tampa routes

On November 10th, Lynx introduced Toronto Pearson to Tampa, a brand-new airport for the Canadian carrier. It generally has three to four weekly 737 MAX 8 flights and is one of four carriers in the 1,095-mile (1,761 km) market, the highest number to date. There are 35 departures in the first week of December. Lynx joins Air Canada Rouge (20), Porter (daily; also new), and WestJet (four).

A week later, on November 17th, Lynx will take off from Montreal to Tampa. Also four weekly, it will join Air Canada/Air Canada Rouge’s three weekly flights, although it later rises to a max of 13 weekly. Significantly, it will be the first time that it has had two operators since Air Transat exited the market in 2019.