Welcome to my 134th 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.
WestJet’s new European route
Canada’s second-largest airline has inaugurated its last new European route in 2024. It is from Halifax to Edinburgh, WestJet’s new third-shortest transatlantic service. The 2,321 nautical mile (4,298 km) link runs three times weekly until mid-October using the 174-seat 737 MAX 8.
While the Scottish capital has not had Halifax flights before, Glasgow has. WestJet flew that airport pair between 2015 and 2019 and again in 2022. However, it ended all flights to Glasgow and shifted an hour or so east to Edinburgh, from which Calgary, Halifax, and Toronto are served.
The start of Halifax-Edinburgh came a day after WestJet resumed Halifax-Dublin. Although it initially operated in 2019, the pandemic meant it didn’t return until 2022. It is the carrier’s second-shortest European service, with only St John’s-London Gatwick covering less distance.
Air Greenland to Iqaluit
Consider Air Greenland’s launch this week as the most unusual and exciting. After a 10-year absence, it recommenced service between Nuuk and the Canadian city of Iqaluit in the geographically enormous but minimally populated territory of Nunavut.
To make the route even more interesting, it deploys the 37-seat Dash 8-200 – a rare variant – on the 446 nautical mile (826 km) link, primarily over water. It is the only scheduled route between Greenland and Canada.
Operating weekly, flights leave Nuuk at 14:55 and get to Iqaluit at 14:00 – a case of arriving before you have left. Returning, they depart at 15:15 and get back at 20:15.
It is worth mentioning that the US hasn’t been served since 2007, when Air Greenland briefly flew from Kangerlussuaq to Baltimore using the 757-200. Designed for tourism, it lost lots of money and ended soon after it started. The aircraft and crew remained overnight in Maryland and flew during the day back to Greenland.
Jetstar Asia to Broome
In perhaps the most eyebrow-raising development this week, Singapore now has non-stop flights to eight Australian airports. This is because of the launch of flights to Broome in the remote Kimberley Region of Western Australia.
Jetstar Asia serves the market twice-weekly until the end of October. Flight 3K161 departs from Singapore at 10:00, and 3K162 arrives back at 20:15; it is well-timed for the local market.
The 1,579 nautical miles (2,925 km) link was served minimally in 2018 and 2019 by now-defunct SilkAir, Singapore Airlines’ narrowbody unit. It partnered with multiple Western Australian organizations (read: heavily subsidized).
It is presumably a similar setup this time. However, while eight roundtrip services existed in 2018/2019, there are now 36, which is a considerable capacity increase. Let’s hope they are sufficiently full and do well enough to return.
Related
Jetstar Asia Opens Singapore Changi To Broome With Airbus A320s
Jetstar Asia has opened a new international gateway from Singapore into regional Western Australia with flights to Broome.
Five routes, one hub, one day
On June 27, United Airlines – or rather its United Express unit – commenced double daily flights from Washington Dulles to Harrisburg, Mobile, State College, and Wilkes/Barre-Scranton. A triple daily service to Philadelphia joined them. All five routes use 50-seat ERJ-145s, while Philly also sees the E175.
Only Dulles-Mobile, Alabama, is new. The others, all in Pennsylvania, were last served from the Virginia hub in 2022. They switched to Newark and kept similar frequencies but shifted to three-class CRJ550s, whose seats include 10 in first class. The routes are back at Dulles on far less premium equipment.
Related
United Airlines Begins 5 Washington Dulles Routes On 1 Day
They are among the carrier’s shortest routes from Dulles.
Porter’s first US flights from Montreal
What can be done with large, longer-range, and more fuel-efficient regional jets continues to fascinate. Porter has demonstrated this by commencing its longest and second-longest new routes with its 132-seat Embraer E195-E2s. Unfortunately, I could not find any celebratory launch photos.
Related
Up To 6h 12m: Porter Airlines Begins Its New 1st & 2nd Longest Embraer E195-E2 Routes
They cover more distance than several transatlantic routes.
On June 27, it started a four-weekly operation from Montreal to Los Angeles, covering 2,149 nautical miles (3,981 km) each way. The distance was surpassed the next day when Montreal-San Francisco took off. The route is served three times weekly and is 2,206 nautical miles (4,086 km). It has a considerable block time to California, with flights operating into the wind, of 6h 12m.
Edinburgh sees double to Istanbul
The Scottish capital has welcomed Pegasus as its latest airline, and the airport now has two non-stop routes to Istanbul. On June 27, Pegasus inaugurated flights to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, on the Asian side of the enormous city. It joins Turkish Airlines to Istanbul Airport.
Photo: Edinburgh Airport
Pegasus initially has three weekly flights, four from July until October, and two during the winter. The route will see the A321neo (the first roundtrip was on it), the A320neo, and, on just four occasions this year, the 737-800. In contrast, Turkish Airlines operates 10 to 11 weekly to its hub, nearly always on the A321neo.
Edinburgh became Pegasus’ fourth UK airport. It joins London Stansted, Manchester, and Birmingham, the latter of which was served from December 2023. In August 2024, Pegasus has 82 weekly UK departures (each way) on a 10-strong network to Türkiye. The UK is the carrier’s second most-served international country after Germany.
Related
Scots Can Bag £1 Flights To Istanbul With Edinburgh’s Newest Airline
A new low-cost airline, Pegasus, is set to make its debut in the Scottish capital next month.
Then there’s…
Many other routes have started in the past week or so. Among the long list was Austrian on Vienna to Boston; American between New York JFK and Tokyo Haneda (resumed after last served in 2013; it has materialized because of the carrier’s Pacific Joint Business agreement with JAL); Gulf Air to Munich; and Ethiopian to Warsaw.
Aeromexico began flights from Mexico City to Raleigh Durham, Salt Lake City, Tampa, and Washington Dulles; Qatar Airways to Hamburg; Etihad Abu Dhabi-Denpasar Bali; Rex Perth to Adelaide and Melbourne; SKY between Santiago de Chile and Salvador; and Viva Aerobus Monterrey-San Francisco, Monterrey-Miami, and Merida-Miami.
flydubai launched flights to Lahore and Islamabad (no photos yet); Pacific Coastal began Kelowna-Comox using the always exciting Beech 1900; Air Arabia Sharjah-Athens; Copa Panama City-Tulum (among two others recently); easyJet Nice-Malta, Porto-Mahon, and more; and Chongqing Airlines from its namesake city to Male, Maldives, via Colombo.
China Southern introduced Guangzhou to Budapest, Istanbul Airport, London Gatwick, and more; Jetstar Brisbane-Avalon; and Chalair Southampton-Caen (on the Beech 1900!).
Qatar Airways now serves Goa Manohar rather than the older Dabolim; Wizz Air has inaugurated Sofia-Herkalion and others; and Transavia has stationed its third Boeing 737-800 at Brussels. Additional routes for Transavia include Bari, Marrakech, and Thessaloniki.
Want more?
Among numerous other launches, Breeze has started Tampa-Pensacola, its first time in Pensacola; Nile Air Cairo-Bergamo; SalamAir Salalah-Baghdad and Muscat-Delhi; and India’s Star Air from Nanded to Pune and Nagpur.
Juneyao now serves Manchester from Shanghai Pudong; Romania’s FlyLili is on Brasov-Stuttgart; and Dresden has gained its first Monastir flight in six years.
Uzbekistan Airways is in Burgas; Lufthansa City’s first flight (Munich-Birmingham) has taken off; Hainan has resumed service from Beijing Capital to Prague; China Eastern is back on Xian-Budapest…
That’s all for this week’s example selection. See you next time.