Welcome to my 133rd weekly routes article! I have analyzed subjectively exciting services that began in the past week or so. As usual, multiple other example launches are listed at the bottom. Click here to see the last jam-packed edition.
This article is about choosing services that intrigue or are particularly significant, not covering them all.
Singapore Airlines to London Gatwick
The Star Alliance member has become the latest airline to join London Gatwick’s ever-expanding portfolio. Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ lower-cost unit, last served the airport pair via Bangkok in 2021/2022.
Singapore Airlines’ new non-stop service covers 5,873 nautical miles (10,876 km) each way. Fights run five times weekly on the A350-900, although daily slots were requested but not granted. It will hope to expand in the future. At the time of this writing, there are no celebratory launch photos.
The start of Gatwick flights expands Singapore Airlines’ European passenger network to 14 destinations. The airline primarily serves the UK’s second-busiest airport because it could not obtain more slots at the required times at Heathrow, from which it has four daily departures.
Etihad launches 7 routes
In the past 10 days, Etihad inaugurated Abu Dhabi to Antalya (June 15), Nice (June 15), Santorini (June 15), Jaipur (June 16), Mykonos (June 17), Al Qassim (June 24), and Denpasar Bali (June 25). They join Abu Dhabi-Malaga (June 2). Photos from some launches are shown below.
Santorini and Mykonos are tagged with Athens. They are served triangularly, routing Abu Dhabi-Santorini/Mykonos-Athens-Abu Dhabi. Note that Etihad has served Jaipur, Nice, and Malaga before.
Jaipur is one of 11 Indian cities in Etihad’s network and one of 16 within South Asia. The Rajasthani destination is served four times weekly on the A320 and A321. It was previously on the carrier’s route map between 2014 and 2018. Jaipur does not have flights by Qatar Airways, Emirates, or flydubai, the latter being Emirates’ narrowbody partner.
Copa introduces three new routes
On June 21, Copa inaugurated flights to Raleigh Durham, its 16th US destination. The route operates four times weekly on the 160-seat 737-800. For connectivity to/from Latin America, flights depart from Panama at 08:56 and arrive back at 19:46 (during the largest arrivals bank). Bogotá, Lima, and São Paulo will be popular markets.
Four days later, on June 25, Copa began flying to Florianopolis, its seventh Brazilian airport and number 38 in South America. At 2,835 nautical miles (5,250 km), it is Copa’s sixth-longest route. It runs three times weekly on the 737-800 (not the MAX 8). Flights leave Panama City at 15:21 and get back at 06:31+1. Miami, Orlando, and NYC will be key. Finally, Panama City-Tulum begins on June 26, the day after the article was published.
Royal Air Maroc from Casablanca to…
The Moroccan flag carrier commenced two routes from its Casablanca hub in one day: Abuja (June 22) and Naples (June 22). Manchester was due to start on June 23, but the first flight was canceled due to the airport’s power outage. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any celebratory photos of the two routes that did begin.
Royal Air Maroc has previously served two of the three destinations: Manchester (2017-2020) and Naples (2017-2021). It is the only operator on all routes except to the Italian city, to which it competes directly with Air Arabia Maroc.
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying
Abuja is Royal Air Maroc’s second destination in Nigeria after Lagos. It is 1,673 nautical miles (3,098 km) from Casablanca and is served three times weekly by the 737-800. To feed flights elsewhere, especially those in the UK and the US, flights leave Morocco at 01:15 and return at 11:55.
Air India is back in Zurich
It has taken 20+ years, but Air India has returned to Switzerland. This is because of the launch of Delhi to Zurich, which runs four times weekly on the 787-8. Fellow Star Alliance member SWISS also serves the airport daily on the A330-300. However, they don’t appear to codeshare.
Air India’s European network comprises 16 routes from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, Kochi, and Mumbai. Some 10 European airports are served: Amsterdam, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Milan Malpensa, Paris CDG, Vienna, and, once again, Zurich.
Alaska Airlines’ new longest route
While the launch went somewhat under the radar, Alaska Airlines has a new longest non-stop service. It is from Anchorage to New York JFK, covering 2,942 nautical miles (5,448 km) each way. This is 342 nautical miles (633 km) longer than the cut-off point I use in articles for long-haul. It covers more ground than multiple JFK routes to the periphery of Europe.
The airport pair was first served by Delta in the COVID-hit 2021, with Alaska Airlines now the only non-stop carrier on it. It runs daily with the 159-seat 737 MAX 8. The operating period is very short, with the last summer flight leaving Anchorage on August 19.
AS607 departs Alaska at 20:00 and arrives in JFK at 07:03+1 (7h 3m). Returning, AS615 leaves at 09:45 and arrives back at 13:30 (7h 45m). Flightradar24 shows that the flight time back to Anchorage has thus far taken between 6h 58m and 7h 37m (!).
Then there’s…
Many other routes have started in the past week or so. Among the long list was Akasa Air beginning Mumbai-Riyadh; Wizz Air on London Gatwick-Varna, Bucharest-Leipzig (marking its return to Leipzig), Budapest-Stuttgart (its first Stuttgart flight), and more; SꓘY launching Santiago de Chile to Belo Horizonte and Brasília; and LATAM on Santiago-Orlando.
Iberojet is now flying between Madrid and Mauritius and Orlando; flyadeal has introduced Riyadh-Dubai Al Maktoum, its only route to the airport; Kenya Airways has returned to Maputo; and Norwegian has started Stockholm Arlanda-Billund, Oslo-Montpellier, and more.
Iran Airtour has introduced Tehran-Sochi using the MD-82 (!), along with flydubai from its namesake city on the less exciting 737-800; Pegasus Cologne-Gaziantep; and TUIfly Hannover-Burgas and Bulgaria Air Prague-Varna.
Air Montenegro has launched Ostrava-Podgorica and Turkish Airlines Rize to Al-Qassim. Avelo has celebrated its first anniversary at various airports, including Daytona Beach, Greenville/Spartanburg, and Manchester (New Hampshire)…
That’s all for this week’s example selection. See you next time.