Qatar Airways announces new route to Edinburgh

By BA Staff

Qatar Airways will begin five flights weekly to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh effective 28 May 2014.

The new route will be served by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in a two-cabin configuration, offering passengers 22 Business Class and 232 Economy Class seats.

QR 027 departs Doha (DOH) at 08:00 on all days except Tuesdays and Thursdays and arrives Edinburgh (EDI) at 13:15
QR 028 departs Edinburgh (EDI) at 14:45 on all days except Tuesdays and Thursdays and arrives Doha (DOH) at 23:40

In 2013, Qatar Airways has launched eleven destinations to date – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Chengdu (China), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Ta’if (Saudi Arabia) and most recently Clark Manila International Airport (Philippines).

Over the next few weeks and months, the airline will expand its network with services to Hangzhou, China (December 20, 2013), Sharjah and Dubai World Central, both in the UAE (March 1, 2014), Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014) and Miami, USA (June 10, 2014).

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Wizz Air Ukraine annouces third base in Lviv

By BA Staff

Wizz Air Ukraine, announced today its third base which will open on 30 April 2014 in Lviv to Ukrainian travellers and visitors with one new based Airbus A320 aircraft, the 5th in the Ukraine. In addition to the existing routes to Venice Treviso, Dortmund and Milan Bergamo, Wizz Air Ukraine announced five new routes to Barcelona Girona, Naples, Kutaisi**, Rome, and Valencia.

The airline’s latest growth brings more low fares to Ukrainian travellers and visitors and shows that Wizz Air Ukraine is committed to air travel development and job creation. The new aircraft will support a total of 8 routes and increase seat capacity to over 300 thousand seats in 2014. Seats on the five new routes are already on sale on wizzair.com, starting from as low as UAH 309* (one way with all taxes included).

The flight schedule is below:

Wizz Air Ukraine Route Network From LVIV
To	Starts	Days	Fares from*
Barcelona Girona	30-Apr	Wed,Sun	UAH 419
Naples	30-Apr	Wed,Sun	UAH 309
Kutaisi**	1-May	Tue,Thu,Sat	UAH 419
Rome	1-May	Tue,Thu,Sat	UAH 309
Valencia	2-May	Mon,Fri	UAH 419

* One way price including taxes.

**Subject to regulatory approval

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Cebu Air Pacific grows Visayas hub passengers by up to 33%

By BA Staff

The Philippines’ leading low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) increased operations from its Visayas hubs, in line with its continued push for more tourism and trade in the destinations it flies to. From January to August 2013, the number of passengers through the airline’s Iloilo hub went up by 33%, while guests to and from its Cebu hub increased by 15%. Cebu remains the airline’s second largest hub, with over 2.3 million CEB passengers passing through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in the first 8 months of the year.

Late last year, CEB doubled the routes it offered to and from the Iloilo International Airport. It provided direct connectivity to Tacloban, Puerto Princesa and General Santos, and pioneered the first international flights out of Iloilo to Hong Kong and Singapore. Previously, CEB only flew from Iloilo to Manila, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.

CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog had this to say about the upgrades:

“We hope that our direct air linkages empower everyone to travel in the fastest way possible, and discover tourism and trade opportunities all over the Philippines. Cebu Pacific will always explore how else it can assist in the country’s tourism agenda, with the delivery of more brand-new aircraft until 2021,”

CEB currently operates more than 2,200 weekly flights to over 90 routes or city pairs. The airline flies to 34 domestic and 22 international destinations. Its newest international routes include Manila-Phuket, launched last August 16, 2013, and Manila-Dubai, to be launched on October 7, 2013.
CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 27 Airbus A320, 2 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 47 aircraft is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2013 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 15 more Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 4 Airbus A330 aircraft.  

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Scoot to Launch Low Cost Flights Between Singapore and Hong Kong

By BA Staff

Scoot, the high density, low cost wing of Singapore Airlines, announced the launch of flights, subject to regulatory approval, from Singapore to Hong Kong, making Hong Kong the fast-growing airline’s 12th destination. Starting 15th November 2013 you’ll be able to fly Scoot to Hong Kong and tickets will go on sale from 30 September 2013 at 0900 hrs. Services will start five times weekly and ramp up to daily in December.


Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot, said:

Scoot is thrilled to fly between Singapore and Hong Kong, linking these two exciting and vibrant cities. Singapore travelers love Hong Kong for its distinctive cuisine and unique shopping experience. With Scoot’s low fares, you’ll have plenty of cash left in your wallet to indulge in Hong Kong’s dim sum delights. And once you’re fuelled up, you can exercise away those extra calories with a day of unbeatable shopping options. For the budget-conscious traveler, flying with Scoot is an easy choice to make. Whatever your travel plans are in Hong Kong, Scoot is delighted to be a part of it. Soak up the Scootitude flying experience the moment you step onto our aircraft and find out why flying Scoot is such a unique travel adventure. It’s time to start Scootin’ outta here to Hong Kong!

The flight schedule is below:

Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2	Depart 0130 hrs
Hong Kong International Airport	Arrive 0525 hrs

Hong Kong to Singapore
Hong Kong International Airport	Depart 0650 hrs
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2	Arrive 1035 hrs

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Alaska Airlines Inaugurates New Flights Between Portland, Ore., and Dallas/Fort Worth

By BA Staff

Starting today, Alaska Airlines will inaugurate nonstop service between Portland, Oregon and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Joe Sprague, the airline's vice president of marketing, had this to say about the route:

"Portland-Dallas is the eighth new route we've added from the Rose City since June of last year. Our customers will not only enjoy convenient nonstop flights, but also seamless connecting opportunities throughout North America via our partner American Airlines at its hub in Dallas/Fort Worth."

The schedules for the new service are as follow:

Start Date	City Pair	Departs	Arrives	Frequency
Sept. 16	Portland - Dallas	10:15 A.M.	4:04 P.M.	Daily
Sept. 16	Dallas - Portland	5:00 P.M.	6:59 P.M.	Daily

To celebrate the new service, Alaska Airlines is offering a one-way fare of $129*. Fares must be purchased by Sept. 19, require a 14-day advance purchase, and are valid for travel from Sept. 30 through Nov. 20, 2013. 

Alaska Airlines has inaugurated service from Portland to seven other destinations since June 2012, including Atlanta, Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Fairbanks, Alaska, Bozeman, Mont., Pasco, Wash., and Santa Barbara, Calif.

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United Airlines announces new routes from its Chicago hub at O'Hare International Airport

By BA Staff

United Airlines plans to announce a new nonstop service from its Chicago Hub at O'Hare International Airport to Elmira, N.Y., and State College, Pa using its United Express regional brand. The airline also plans to begin new service from Chicago to Topeka, Kan., subject to government approval. Terminal 1 houses the United Airlines hub and departures for some of its Star Alliance partners. United's hub at O'Hare is its second largest, and serving over 150 destinations with 570 flights per day in conjunction with United Express

Elmira and Topeka are both new destinations in United's route network. United currently serves State College from its hub at Washington-Dulles. 

Karen Catlin, United's managing director for Midwest and Canada sales, had this to say about the new route:

"By adding these new routes, United continues to strengthen Chicago's best route network, travelers from Elmira, State College and Topeka will have improved access to the nation's third largest city and one-stop access to more of the world from United's Chicago hub."

The schedule is shown below:

Chicago – Elmira			Elmira – Chicago
Departs	Arrives		Departs	Arrives
2:15 p.m.	5:00 p.m.		6:15 a.m.	7:18 a.m.
9:00 p.m.	11:45 p.m.		5:30 p.m.	6:33 p.m.
Chicago – State College			State College – Chicago
Departs	Arrives		Departs	Arrives
1:55 p.m.	4:33 p.m.		6:20 a.m.	7:17 a.m.
6:45 p.m.	9:23 p.m.		5:03 p.m.	6:00 p.m.
Chicago – Topeka			Topeka – Chicago
Departs	Arrives		Departs	Arrives
1:00 p.m.	2:44 p.m.		6:00 a.m.	7:36 a.m.
6:45 p.m.	10:14 p.m.		3:14 p.m.	4:50 p.m.

With these new routes, United has added service to ten new destinations from Chicago since the beginning of 2013. Other new year-round and seasonal destinations include Mobile, Ala.; Fairbanks, Alaska; Nassau, Bahamas; Shannon, Ireland; San Jose, Costa Rica; Thunder Bay, Ontario; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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MAP: All the routes flown by all airlines operating the Airbus A380

As of date there are seven airlines operating the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

1. Singapore Airlines
2. QANTAS
3. Emirates airline
4. Lufthansa
5. Air France
6. Korean Air Lines
7. China Southern Airlines

This post summarises all the A380 routes operated by these seven operators. See more A380 articles.

The launch operator of the A380 was Singapore Airlines. The newest route is SQ25/SQ26 Singapore - Frankfurt - New York JFK which is the last operated by their Boeing 747-400 Megatop aircraft. In January, this era will come to a close when this flight will be upgraded to an A380.

Australian flag carrier uses A380s primarily on the 'kangaroo run' between Sydney and Melbourne and London, with Singapore as the hub. Its sole north American destination is Los Angeles LAX.

Dubai's Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, and also has the most diverse network covering almost the entire world.

German carrier Lufthansa has been re-jigging its A380 network. It has suspended New York JFK and San Francisco SFO in the current winter schedule citing poor load factors. It has though introduced Frankfurt-Singapore, which will also be operated by Singapore Airlines with an A380. Is there enough traffic to fill two superjumbos every day? Time will tell.

Air France too has been re-jigging its flights. With currently the Paris CDG to San Francisco SFO route being suspended.

Korean Air Line's A380 route network is limited since it is a new operator and has a very limited fleet, but I gave the map an unusual polar view.

China Southern is the newest operator, and also the only airline to use the A380 on domestic flights. However its sole A380 has had teeting problems and the routes are yet to properly launch.

Please keep in mind that airlines keep changing the routes and aircraft deployed.

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

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