ICELAND: WOW Air Collapses Stranding And Inconveniencing Thousands Of Passengers

Icelandic budget airline WOW Air ceased operations on Thursday, stranding passengers across two continents.

In a statement on its website the airline, which had earlier suspended all its flights, told passengers there would be no further flights and advised them to check flights with other airlines for ways to reach their destinations.

The airline, founded by entrepreneur Skuli Mogensen, began operations in 2012 and specialized in ultra-cheap flights between North America and Europe, with flights to airports in cities including Washington, D.C, New York, Paris, London and its Reykjavik hub.

Its bankruptcy comes after six months of turbulent negotiations to sell the low-cost carrier, first to its main rival and flag-ship carrier Icelandair and later to Indigo Partners, an American company operating the airline Wizz.

I will never forgive myself for not acting sooner, Mogensen said in a letter to employees Thursday. WOW was clearly an incredible airline and we were on the path to do amazing things again.

Tourism is Iceland's largest industry and WOW's disappearance is set to have an effect on this summer's high season.

In its early years the airline expanded fast to 37 destinations and reported up to 60 per cent annual growth in passenger numbers. Its revenue per passenger, however, has not kept up and fell by about 20 per cent in 2017, according to the last earnings report.

WOW grounded at least six planes in North America that were set to leave late Wednesday from Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit, New York and Baltimore.

In Europe, Reykjavik-bound planes from seven cities of Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Frankfurt and Copenhagen did not take off Thursday morning.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: TUI Airways Connects To Malaysia And Thailand

TUI Airways added 10 new routes to its schedule in the past few weeks including new long-haul links to Langkawi (LGK) in Malaysia and Utapao (UTP) in Thailand, from each of Birmingham (BHX), London Gatwick (LGW) and Manchester (MAN).

These six long-haul connections are all operated once every two weeks. The other four routes, including services from Dublin (DUB) to Salzburg (SZG) and Toulouse (TLS), from Gatwick to Lyon (LYS) and from London Luton (LTN) to Chambery (CMF), are not available for booking on the airline’s website, suggesting they are part of ski-season charter programmes.

The longest sector amongst TUI Airways’ 10 new routes is the 10,223-kilometre connection from Manchester to Langkawi, while the shortest is the 715-kilometre link from Gatwick to Lyon.

There is no direct competition on the six new long-haul sectors, but three of the four European airport pairs are already served by other carriers.

TUI Airways, formerly Thomson Airways and often referred to as TUI UK, is the world's largest charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

The airline carried 11.2 million passengers in 2017, making it the third-largest UK airline by total passengers, after EasyJet and British Airways.

The registered office is at the TUI Travel House in Crawley, West Sussex but its head office is located in Wigmore House in Luton, Bedfordshire.

TUI Airways Limited holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Type A Operating Licence permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

The airline was formed following the merger of the travel division of TUI AG and First Choice Holidays plc in September 2007 to form TUI Travel.

The two companies' respective airlines, Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways, were merged under the former's Air Operator's Certificate in May 2008 and were rebranded as Thomson Airways on 1 November 2008.

TUI Travel merged with TUI AG to form TUI Group in December 2014.

TUI Airways officially changed its legal name from Thomson Airways to TUI Airways on 2 October 2017. This was in line with sister companies TUI fly Belgium, TUI fly Deutschland, TUI fly Netherlands and TUI fly Nordic.

All airlines in the group, excluding Corsair International, are now rebranded to TUI.

On 13 May 2015, it was announced by the TUI Group that all five of TUI's airline subsidiaries will be named TUI, whilst keeping their separate Air Operators Certificate, taking over three years to complete.

TUI Airways was the last airline to be completed in late 2017. The rebrand began in mid-2016, with the addition of the new 'TUI' titles to its fleet.

In December 2016, Thomson Holidays launched their final television advertisement using the Thomson brand, before integrating into the TUI brand.During the rebrand in 2017, the TOMSON call sign was dropped and replaced with TUI AIR.

In May 2017, the brand TUI Airways began to be used in several areas and was implemented on all flight tracker applications. Most of the aircraft had been branded with TUI titles and onboard items such as glasses and napkins carried the new brand.

Thomson Airways officially changed its legal name to TUI Airways on 2 October 2017.[ TUI's sister company, TUI UK (formerly Thomson Holidays), has ceased using the Thomson brand, adopting the TUI UK brand on 18 October 2017.

The airline's head office is in the Wigmore House near Luton, Bedfordshire. The facility is adjacent to Luton Airport.

Most scheduled flights operated by TUI Airways are on behalf of tour operators. The airline offers flights to destinations around the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean from 19 base airports in the United Kingdom.

Additionally, seasonal charter routes are served from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm.

TUI Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:

- Boeing 737-800: 26

- Boeing 737 MAX 8: 2

- Boeing 757-200: 13

- Boeing 767-300ER: 4

- Boeing 787-8: 8

- Boeing 787-9: 4

- Total: 57


Tourism Observer

ESTONIA: airBaltic Will Deploy Two Airbus A220-300 In Tallinn

airBaltic has announced that as of summer season of 2019 it will base two of its new Airbus A220-300 aircraft in Tallinn, in order to serve the growing range of destinations offered to Estonian passengers.

In total, airBaltic will have three aircraft based in Tallinn next year.

Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic says: since 2014, we are continuing to grow our operations in Tallinn Airport and we are glad that more Estonian passengers choose our services. Next summer we will serve already 12 different destinations. By basing a third aircraft in Tallinn, we are further committing to the Estonian market. We see airBalticc as a true Baltic airline, and with this Estonia is part of airBaltic’s growth story.

This year we launched direct flights from Tallinn to London, Stockholm and Oslo. Next year new direct flights to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen will be added. By offering both direct flights from Tallinn and convenient connections via Riga, airBaltic offers the best connectivity to and from the Baltic states to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East, Martin Gauss added.

This year airBaltic expects to transport around 400 000 passengers to and from Estonia. This making Tallinn the second biggest market after Riga.

From Tallinn, airBaltic offers direct flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and Vilnius as well as convenient connections via Riga. airBaltic will launch new direct services from Tallinn to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen in 2019.

airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East.

For summer 2019, airBaltic will launch a new direct routes from Riga to Stuttgart and Lviv.


Tourism Observer

LATVIA: Air Baltic Restart Riga To Dublin Flights 31st Of March 2019

Latvian Flag Carrier Air Baltic has announced that it will restart flights from its hub in Riga to Dublin, Ireland.

The inaugural flight will be on the 31st of March 2019, operated four times a week with the airline’s Airbus A220-300. Air Baltic had previously operated flights between these two cites, however, it discounted it in 2012.

Air Baltic was the launch customer for the A220-300 Previously Bombardier CS300 in 2016. The carrier plans to have an all A220 (CS300) fleet by 2025.

Originally founded in 1995, the airline currently flies to over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius—the carrier’s three bases.

For Summer 2019 season, Air Baltic will base A220s at Tallinn and start flights to Malaga, Brussels, and Copenhagen. In addition to Dublin, the airline will also launch Stuttgart and Lviv from Riga.

The flights will run every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Flight BT661 will depart Riga at 07:30, arriving into Dublin at 08:35 local time. The return flight BT662 will depart Dublin at 09:15 local time, arriving back into Riga at 14:10.

Martin Gauss, CEO of Air Baltic, said that he is glad to offer our guests regular flights to Dublin. This route has a strong demand for years now and we are very happy that we can add Dublin to our expanding route portfolio.

Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison also commented on the route’s announcement. This new service to Riga will further enhance the connectivity between Ireland and Latvia and is good news for passengers as it will offer additional choice and convenience, he said.

airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its hub is at Riga International Airport with further bases at Tallinn Airport and Vilnius Airport.

The airline was established as Air Baltic on 28 August 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and the Latvian state.

Operations started on 1 October 1995 with the arrival of the first Air Baltic aircraft, a Saab 340, at Riga, and that afternoon, the plane made the first passenger flight for Air Baltic.

In 1996, the airline's first Avro RJ70 was delivered; and Air Baltic joined the SAS frequent flier club as a partner. 1997 saw the opening of a cargo department and, in 1998, the airline's first Fokker 50 plane was delivered.

The adopted livery was mainly white, with the name of the airline written in blue on the forward fuselage, the 'B' logo being heavily stylized in blue checks. The checker blue pattern was repeated on the aircraft tailfin.

In 1999, Air Baltic became a joint stock company; it was previously a limited liability company. All of their Saab 340s were replaced by Fokker 50s.

By September, the airline had begun operating under the European Aviation Operating Standards, or JAR ops. Air Baltic welcomed the new millennium by introducing new uniforms and opening a cargo center at Riga's airport.

The first Boeing 737–500 joined the fleet in 2003, and on 1 June 2004, Air Baltic launched services from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, initially to five destinations. In October 2004, Air Baltic was rebranded as AirBaltic.

Their present livery consists of an all-white fuselage and lime tailfin. AirBaltic.com is displayed on the forward upper fuselage, and the word Baltic is repeated in blue on the lower part of the tailfin. In December 2006, the first Boeing 737–300 joined the fleet and was configured with winglets.

In July 2007, AirBaltic introduced an online check-in system. It was the first online check-in system in the Baltic states. In the spring of 2008, two long-haul Boeing 757s joined the existing AirBaltic fleet.

On 10 March 2008, it was announced that in the next three years the airline would acquire new aircraft, experiencing the largest fleet expansion in the company's history. The new additions will be next generation Q400 aircraft.

AirBaltic had strong links with SAS, which owned 47.2% of the airline, and operated frequent flights to SAS hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, and the airline formerly used the SAS EuroBonus frequent flyer programme, but it now has its own frequent flyer programme called PINS.

Some of AirBaltic's products and services are still shared with SAS, including co-ordinated timetabling and shared airport lounges. AirBaltic is not a member of any airline alliance, but does have codeshare agreements in place with several Star Alliance member airlines and others.

AirBaltic had secondary hubs at Vilnius International Airport and Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport. The majority of the routes commenced from Tallinn were cancelled shortly after opening, leading to complaints from the Estonian Consumer Protection Department.

In January 2009, SAS sold its entire stake in the company 47.2% of the airline to Baltijas aviācijas sistēmas Ltd (BAS) for 14 million lats. BAS was wholly owned by Bertolt Flick - President and CEO until December 2010, when 50% of BAS shares were transferred to Taurus Asset Management Fund Limited, registered in the Bahamas.

airBaltic operates direct year-round and seasonal flights from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, mostly to metropolitan and leisure destinations within Europe. Long-haul flights are not operated.

airBaltic has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

- Aegean Airlines

- Aeroflot

- Air France

- Air Malta

- Air Serbia

- Alitalia

- Austrian Airlines

- Azerbaijan Airlines

- Belavia

- British Airways

- Brussels Airlines

- Czech Airlines

- Etihad Airways

- Georgian Airways

- Iberia

- KLM

- LOT Polish Airlines

- TAP Air Portugal

- TAROM

- Ukraine International Airlines

- Uzbekistan Airways

airBaltic fleet consists of the following aircraft:

- Airbus A220-300: 14

- Boeing 737-300: 6

- Boeing 737-500: 3

- Bombardier Q400: 12

- Total: 35


Tourism Observer

UKRAINE: Wizz Air Starts Five New Routes from Ukraine

Wizz Air today announced that it will further expand its operations in Ukraine by adding a fourth Airbus A320 aircraft at its Kyiv base in March 2019, launching five long-awaited routes from Kyiv and Lviv airports and increasing the number of tickets offered with over 45% next year.

The new routes announced will operate from Kyiv to Breman, Billund and Riga and from Lviv to Copenhagen and Frankfurt Hahn and travelers can already book their tickets from just EUR 24.99 / UAH 759.

Today, Wizz Air also releases its 2019 summer schedule from Kyiv airport.

For the next two weeks the fares for the summer season, including the new routes will be exclusively available to WIZZ Discount Club members only, while from 13 September 2018, they will become available to everyone.

The new connections together with the weekly frequency increase on the popular service Kyiv- Lisbon are part of WIZZ’s 2018 summer schedule from Kyiv.

Wizz Air Routes From Ukraine

Tourism Observer

HONG KONG: Cathy Pacific To Commence Hong Kong - Dublin Flights, June 2018

Cathay Pacific is all set to bring its brand of super efficiency and high spec in-flight service to the sky-ways of Ireland this summer, when it begins its pioneering non-stop routes linking Hong Kong with Dublin from June 2018.

In addition to the Irish route Cathay is also connecting Hong Kong with the Danish capital city Copenhagen on top of the non-stop flights between HK and Brussels.

Belgium introduced in March further strengthening the airline’s network as well as providing potential new trade and tourism opportunities between Europe and Asia.

Growing our reach to new destinations boosts the city’s status as Asia’s largest international hub and enables us to capture new and important sources of revenue

Cathay Pacific chief executive officer Rupert Hogg said that the announced services will meet customer demand for non-stop travel to these vibrant cities.

At the same time providing Europe-based passengers with more convenient access to key destinations in Asia and Southwest Pacific through the airline’s home in Hong Kong.

We’re excited to offer the only direct flights between Hong Kong and Brussels, Dublin and Copenhagen.

These are all fantastic destinations and attract business and leisure travellers from the world over.

We listened to our customers’ demands for more options and greater flexibility and have responded by building direct air links with these great cities.

Hogg added: Growing our reach to new destinations that aren’t served from Hong Kong boosts the city’s status as

Asia’s largest international hub and enables us to capture new and important sources of revenue.

To welcome the new European connections OZO Wesley Hong Kong is offering stays at a starting price of GBP 114+ per night including breakfast and exclusive of VAT and service charge.

This is subject to season and availability.

Meaanwhile, The first of 20 A350-1000s for Cathay Pacific has completed its initial test flight from Airbus's Toulouse plant.

Deliveries of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered aircraft to the Hong Kong carrier are scheduled to begin in June.

It will become the second operator after launch customer Qatar Airways to receive Airbus's biggest twinjet.

The new twinjets will be operated alongside Cathay's existing fleet of smaller A350-900s, 22 of which are currently in service with six more on order, according to Flight Fleets Analyzer.

Cathay will deploy the A350-1000 on its new route to Washington DC from September. The airline says that at "8,153 miles" (7,095nm/13,126km), the new service to Dulles will become the longest in its network.



Tourism Observer

LATIVIA: Riga Airport Leading In The Baltics

The number of passengers served has increased by 6.3%.

In the first half of the year, over 2.52 million passengers were carried, which is a 6.3% increase compared to the first half of the previous year.

The number of flights has increased by 2.1% and over 33 thousand flights have been performed in total.

Serving 45% of Baltic air passengers, Riga's Airport has maintained its leading position in the Baltics.

The "Riga" Airport has recorded a sharp 18.4% increase in the number of transfer passengers, thanks to the success of the national airline "airBaltic" in attracting transfer passengers.

In the first half of the year, transit and transfer passengers accounted for 26.6% of the total number of passengers. The main transfer destinations are Tallinn, Vilnius, Helsinki, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Kiev, Berlin, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, but the largest increase in transfer traffic has been in the direction of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, London and Kiev.

This year, the most popular destinations in terms of number of passengers are London, Moscow, Frankfurt, Oslo and Helsinki, while the largest growth has been for flights to Berlin, London, Kiev, Moscow and Stockholm.

In the first half of the year, two new airlines have launched routes - "Vueling" (Riga-Barcelona-Riga) and "Aegan Airlines" (Riga-Athens-Riga).

Currently, the airport is successfully carrying out the terminal's development. The new terminal is expected to be completed by this year's winter flight-season.

SLOVENIA: Air India And Adria Airways Sign Code-Share Agreement

Adria Airways – the Airline of Slovenia and Air India have signed a Code-Share Agreement to enhance bilateral cooperation between India and Slovenia. The code share will result in better collaboration and sharing of air services between India and Slovenia.

The Code-Share Agreement was signed by Mr. Rohit Nandan – Chairman & Managing Director Air India and Mr Mark Anzur – President Management Board & CEO, Adria Airways at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi today in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and Karl Viktor Erjavec, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Republic of Slovenia .

On this occasion Mr Mark Anzur said : “ We will have daily flights from New Delhi to Ljubljana with a stopover in Frankfurt. Air India is the operating carrier for New Delhi to Frankfurt, and Adria from Frankfurt to Ljubljana. We are hopeful that air traffic between both countries will witness an increase with the codeshare agreement, thus strengthening our tourism ties.”

Adria Airways offers more than 140 scheduled flights every week to Amsterdam, Belgrade, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tirana, Vienna and Zurich.

A member of Star Alliance, Adria Airways in connection with other airline partners in Star Alliance, offers access to a global network of 27 airlines with more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. The Frequent Flyer Programme of Adria Airways – is Miles & More, which is also the Programme for Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Austrian Airlines etc, helps frequent travellers to accumulate and redeem benefits on Star Carriers.

Headquartered near Ljubljana – the Capital of Slovenia, Adria Airways connects 16 cities throughout Europe and offers excellent connections to South East Europe.

Slovenia, a Schengen State, situated in Central Europe with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia as neighbouring countries, is at the crossroads of European cultural and trade routes and is a diverse country relative to its geography , history, economy , culture and language. The country provides beaches, lakes, mountains, Ski-slopes and is gaining as a popular Health Destination.

India and Slovenia traditionally have excellent bilateral relations. The future of cooperation between Slovenia and India lies in deepening cooperation in all areas of mutual interest. In particular, there is growing cooperation in the economic field.

Wizz Air Adds Bratislava And Copenhagen To Its Network

The latest expansion and the flights to two new European capitals will increase the Wizz Air network to 116 airports across 38 countries as it continues its rapid growth. Its departure capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 64.4 per cent between 2005 and 2104 from just over 2.5 million seats to almost 17.5 million last year. This year capacity will grow by an estimated 24.0 per cent to over 21.5 million departure seats.

Central and Eastern European low-cost airline specialist, Wizz Air is to add two new European capital cities to its network as it expands its route network from Macedonia with three new routes from Skopje’s Alexander The Great Airport.

The carrier will launch its first flights to Bratislava, Slovakia and Copenhagen, Denmark, as well launch a new route to Berlin Schoenefeld as it reinforces its position as Skopje’s principal carrier and Macedonia’s de facto national carrier. All three routes will be operated on a twice weekly frequency with flights to Berlin commencing from March 21, 2016; Copenhagen from March 22, 2016 and Bratislava from March 28, 2016.

This will be the first scheduled route between Macedonia and Slovakia and will resurrect a link into Denmark that was last served by SAS Scandinavian Airlines over ten years ago in March 2005.

Wizz Air introduced operations in Macedonia in June 2011 with flights between Skopje and London Luton and is now offering a total of 24 routes to eleven countries from Skopje and Ohrid.

Elsewhere, Wizz Air has confirmed it will open a new base at Iasi International Airport, its sixth in Romania. The airline will station a single A320 in the largest city in eastern Romania to increase the number of routes served from Iasi to eight and will triple the seat capacity to 265,000 in 2016. The airline hopes this will stimulate the local job market in aviation and tourism sectors as consumers will have access to more low cost routes.

The new aircraft will facilitate the introduction of a three times weekly link to Bologna and twice weekly services to Catania, Larnaca, Rome Ciampino and Tel Aviv from the start of July 2016. It will also allow frequencies to Milan Bergamo to increase from two to three a week, adding to the significant growth of the Iasi – London Luton route which will grow from two to five weekly rotations from the end of March 2016.

Wizz Air first launched flights in Romania in 2007 and now offers a total of 106 Romanian routes to 16 countries from eight Romanian airports.

“We put Iasi on the map of aviation a year ago and it will now become the sixth Romanian airport where we establish base operations,” said György Abrán, Chief Commercial Officer, Wizz Air. “We have constantly expanded our operations in Romania, developed regional airports, and this announcement once again underlines our commitment to the country.”

The latest expansion and the flights to two new European capitals will increase the Wizz Air network to 116 airports across 38 countries as it continues its rapid growth. Its departure capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 64.4 per cent between 2005 and 2104 from just over 2.5 million seats to almost 17.5 million last year. This year capacity will grow by an estimated 24.0 per cent to over 21.5 million departure seats.

Analysis of OAG schedule data shows that the airline’s top five country markets – Poland, United Kingdom, Romania, Italy and Hungary – account for a 58.0 per cent share of its capacity offering.

CHINA: Capital Airlines Applies For Australia Routes

Capital Airlines (China)
Type Scheduled Carrier
Base Beijing Capital
Aircraft 59
Destinations 64
Routes 162
Daily Flights 165

Capital Airlines (China) (JD, Beijing Capital) has applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for permission to start scheduled passenger flights to Australia during Summer 2016.

In its application, the Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) subsidiary said it was looking to connect Qingdao with Melbourne Tullamarine from July 1 of next year using its sole A330-200. It did not mention what frequencies the airline had requested.

Capital Airlines began long haul operations earlier this year with flights from Beijing Capital and Hangzhou to Copenhagen Kastrup. Other routes under consideration include a possible Hangzhou-Madrid Barajas which could launch in December of this year.

Ryanair Starts 21 New Routes In Week Two Of W15/16

Surrounded by Ryanair flight attendants at the celebration to mark the start of Ryanair’s Berlin Schönefeld base on 27 October were: Elmar Kleinert, Head of Operations for FBB; Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, State Secretary in the Senate Administration for Urban Development of Berlin; Kenny Jacobs, CMO Ryanair; and State Secretary Rainer Bretschneider, Airport Coordinator of the State Government of Brandenburg. Image: Günter Wicker.

Ryanair used the second week of the W15/16 season to start 21 new routes from six of its bases – including its new base at Berlin Schönefeld (SXF). These are ‘new, new’ routes as opposed to Ryanair’s definition of new – its definition of new includes routes that were started in S15, but were not operated in the previous winter season.

The average sector length of these routes is 1,599 kilometres (up from 1,436 last week) – with the longest route being the 3,668-kilometre Berlin Schönefeld to Tenerife South (TFS) airport pair (last week it was the 3,846-kilometre Tenerife to Copenhagen route), while the shortest also includes the German capital, this time with the 534-kilometre link to Bratislava (BTS). The average weekly frequency of the new routes was 6.6, down slightly from last week’s result of seven.

Vote for Amsterdam Airport’s fire truck water arch. Vote for Berlin Schönefeld, Bratislava or Warsaw Modlin airports route launch cakes.

SWEDEN: Scandinavian Airlines Targets Long-haul Growth In 2016

SAS is planning several new long-haul services to the US in 2016 but its most recent long-haul route launch was from Stockholm Arlanda to Hong Kong, which began operating on 10 September. The 8,203-kilometre route, operated by the airline’s wide-body fleet has helped to increase the ASKs offered by SAS out of Stockholm this winter by up to 20%.

Operating on the far north of Europe, and obliged for political reasons to operate three separate hubs within 600 kilometres of each other, SAS is by most measures one of Europe’s top 10 airlines, carrying over 27 million passengers in 2014. However, the Star Alliance carrier has struggled financially in recent years and came very close to collapse in late 2012. Since then things have improved, thanks to a major cost-cutting programme and the fortuitous fall in the price of fuel, so much so that the carrier has even reported a positive 3% operating margin for its most recent 12-month accounting period (to July 2015).

As the national carrier for all three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) SAS’ three biggest bases are also the capital cities of those countries. The next busiest airports (Bergen and Stavanger) are both in Norway, helping to make it the airline’s leading country market for weekly seat capacity, ahead of Denmark, Sweden, UK, Germany and Spain. The leading non-Scandinavian airports (shown in bright green) are led by London Heathrow in sixth place.

Capacity changes at the airline’s top dozen airports has been within plus or minus 5% with the exception of Trondheim (down 9%), Stockholm Arlanda (up nearly 7%), and Gothenburg (up almost 20%). SAS’ growth in Gothenburg may be related to the benefits of competition from Ryanair which has moved to the bigger airport, and upgraded it to a designated base, following the closure of the city’s downtown airport to commercial services. Dublin features among SAS’ recent route launches…definitely a challenge to Ryanair!

Stockholm growing, Copenhagen and Oslo stagnate in 2015

Analysis of monthly ASKs (Available Seat Kilometres) at the airline’s three main bases shows that on the whole the airline has continued to add capacity to its network. In 2015, Stockholm has seen an 8% increase in its annual ASKs compared with 2014, while both Copenhagen and Oslo have seen very small reductions. In 2014 the opposite had been true, with Copenhagen and Oslo both growing faster than Stockholm.

What this graph fails to illustrate is the increase in routes offered by SAS from its main bases. According to anna.aero analysis of OAG schedule data between August 2011 and August 2015, SAS grew the number of airports served from 87 to 109, while increasing the number of routes flown from around 150 to over 230. SAS’ most recent quarterly presentation highlights this in a different way, pointing out that between July 2011 and July 2015 the airline increased the number of international routes (to outside Scandinavia) by 62%, from 112 to 181. Across the same period aircraft utilisation improved by 29%.

Stockholm’s sudden ASK growth towards the end of 2015 can partly be explained by the launch in September of a new long-haul, wide-body service to Hong Kong using the airline’s latest A330s.

Distinct seasonality profile

While most European airlines and airports see a peak in demand during the main summer months of July and August, the Scandinavian market is somewhat different. With a typically higher proportion of business traffic during most of the year, demand actually falls away during the summer holiday period of July and August even though that is typically when Scandinavians (like their Northern European colleagues in the UK and Germany) head south for guaranteed sunshine.

Dealing with seasonality is a major issue faced by most airlines and applying anna.aero’s SVID (Seasonal Variation in Demand) formula, which we normally apply to airports, to SAS’ monthly seat capacity for the last two years reveals that the carrier has managed to reduce seasonality at its Copenhagen and Oslo bases, but not in Stockholm.

US expansion driven by Norwegian threat?

Long-haul flying is set to grow in 2016 with the commencement of a new daily Stockholm to Los Angeles service starting in March, followed by new services to Miami from both Copenhagen and Oslo starting in autumn 2016. In addition there are increased frequencies this winter on routes to Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Shanghai. However, the service operated on the airline’s behalf by Privatair between the oil cities of Stavanger and Houston, will end in a couple of weeks at the end of the summer season. Instead the 737-700 will be re-configured from a 44-seat all-business class layout to a two-class 86-seat layout (with 20 business class seats and 66 economy seats) and will be used to start a new daily service between Copenhagen and Boston from the end of March 2016. Coincidentally, or not, this is a route that Norwegian plans to start operating with its 787-8s next May. Between the end of October and next March the aircraft will be used to provide some of the capacity on SAS’s existing Copenhagen-Newark service.

Over 90 new routes launched since 2011

Analysing OAG schedule data for the first week of August in both 2011 and 2015 reveals that SAS operates over 90 routes this summer that it did not four years ago. However, it has also dropped around a dozen routes that it did serve in August 2011, including four routes to Madrid, Bergen to London Gatwick and Copenhagen services to Lyon. Some of these new services operate at low frequency for just a few weeks during the peaks summer holiday season.

Airport Route (code)
Copenhagen (CPH) Alicante (ALC), Ankara (ESB), Biarritz (BIQ), Billund (BLL), Budapest (BUD), Chania (CHQ), Dubrovnik (DBV), Edinburgh (EDI), Gazipasa (GZP), Linkoping (LPI), Malaga (AGP), Montpellier (MPL), Naples (NAP), Newcastle (NCL), Palermo (PMO), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Pisa (PSA), Prague (PRG), Pula (PUY), San Francisco (SFO), Shanghai (PVG), Split (SPU), Tel Aviv (TLV), Thessaloniki (SKG), Trondheim (TRD), Wroclaw (WRO)

Oslo (OSL) Aberdeen (ABZ), Athens (ATH), Berlin (TXL), Billund (BLL), Chania (CHQ), Edinburgh (EDI), Gazipasa (GZP), Pisa (PSA), Pristina (PRN), Pula (PUY), Salzburg (SZG), Santorini (JTR)

Stockholm (ARN) Aalborg (AAL), Alicante (ALC), Ankara (ESB), Barcelona (BCN), Berlin (TXL), Biarritz (BIQ), Billund (BLL), Bodo (BOO), Bologna (BLQ), Bristol (BRS), Cagliari (CAG), Chania (CHQ), Dubrovnik (DBV), Faro (FAO), Gazipasa (GZP), Hamburg (HAM), Kalmar (KLR), Malaga (AGP), Milan Malpensa (MXP), Olbia (OLB), Palermo (PMO), Prague (PRG), Pristina (PRN), Pisa (PSA), Pula (PUY), Riga (RIX), Tampere (TMP), Thessaloniki (SKG), Turku (TKU), Vaasa (VAA), Vilnius (VNO)

Gothenburg (GOT) Alicante (ALC), Athens (ATH), Berlin (TXL), Dublin (DUB), Gazipasa (GZP), Malaga (AGP), Nice (NCE), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Pristina (PRN), Pula (PUY)

Bergen (BGO) Barcelona (BCN), Gazipasa (GZP), Malaga (AGP), Split (SPU)

Trondheim (TRD) Copenhagen (CPH), Malaga (AGP), Stavanger (SVG)

Stavanger (SVG) Barcelona (BCN), Gazipasa (GZP), Split (SPU), Trondheim (TRD)

Billund (BLL) Copenhagen (CPH), Gazipasa (GZP), Oslo (OSL), Stockholm (ARN)

Further route expansion for this winter includes the launch of Brussels and Paris CDG flights from Gothenburg, plus the re-allocation of Gothenburg-London Heathrow flights to London Stansted. There will also be a new service from Oslo to Vilnius. Apart from the new long-haul services previously mentioned, next summer will see the addition of new services from Stockholm to Munich and from Copenhagen to Faro, Krakow, Reykjavik/Keflavik and Vienna.

SWEDEN: SAS Commenced Operations Between Stockholm Arlanda And Hong Kong.

On 10 September, SAS commenced operations between Stockholm Arlanda and Hong Kong. Before the departure of the inaugural flight, Torborg Chetkovich, Swedavia CEO, and Rickard Gustafson, SAS President and CEO, fronted a ribbon cutting ceremony. Passengers on the inaugural flight were treated to a special oriental buffet while also being offered a book titled ‘Flavor – A Journey in the Scandinavian taste’, which SAS developed together with the renowned restaurant Noma in Copenhagen.

SAS commenced operations between Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) and Hong Kong (HKG) on 10 September. The 8,203-kilometre sector will be flown five times weekly using a mixture of the Star Alliance member’s A330-300s and A340-300s according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.

The route will not face any direct competition. Flights will depart from Arlanda at 1500, with an arrival time in Hong Kong of 0720 the next day. The return flight leaves Hong Kong at 0905 and arrives back in Sweden at 1435 the same day.

Commenting on the launch, Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO of SAS said: “Today we are writing a new chapter in the history of SAS, as we launch direct flights between Stockholm and Hong Kong. We are very proud to be linking Stockholm and the rest of Scandinavia with Hong Kong through a convenient new connection that has been opened today.”

Recently SAS announced that its next long-haul route from Arlanda will be to Los Angeles. The sector to the California airport, recently analysed by anna.aero, will become the 13th intercontinental route served by SAS from Stockholm. See how Hong Kong Airport’s FTWA compares to others from around the world.

IRELAND: Ryanair Flies Cologne To Copenhagen And Berlin To Copenhagen

Ryanair launched two new routes from Cologne Bonn this week to Copenhagen and Berlin Schönefeld. Services to Schönefeld will operate 30 times weekly, while Copenhagen will see a daily flight. Services to the Danish capital were celebrated by: Maike Lyssy, Business Development & Aviation Marketing, Cologne Bonn Airport; Jan Möller, Head of Business Development, Cologne Bonn Airport; Tim Howe Schröder, Head of Sales and Marketing Manager, Ryanair; Markus Leopold, Marketing & Sales Executive, Ryanair; and the Ryanair crew of the inaugural flight.

Ryanair launched four new routes on the 2 and 3 September, of which three connect with Copenhagen (CPH). The airline will connect the Danish capital with Cologne Bonn (CGN), Madrid (MAD) and Rome Ciampino (CIA).

The ULCC will also connect the German airport of Cologne Bonn with Berlin Schönefeld (SXF). The domestic link will operate 30 times weekly according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. T

he only route that Ryanair will see direct competition on is the connection between the capital cities of Copenhagen and Madrid, a 2,057-kilometre sector already served by Iberia (daily) and Norwegian (daily).

All of the new routes will be served with at least a daily rotation.

On 3 September, Berlin Schönefeld celebrated the launch of Ryanair services to Cologne Bonn. The domestic 470-kilometre airport pair will face no direct competition, but airberlin and germanwings both offer multiple daily flights from Berlin Tegel to Cologne Bonn.

See how Cologne Bonn Airport’s FTWA compares to others from around the world.

FINLAND: Finnair To Fly To Four New European Destinations In 2016

The airline Finnair will launch next year four new routes from Helsinki to northern Europe or East And it will convert into eight routes previously operated scheduled flights only charter flights.

As of April 4, 2016, the national carrier of Finland will offer a daily flight between the airport of Helsinki-Vantaa and Billund, operated by Embraer 170 seats 76 by ​​its subsidiary Nordic Regional Airlines (eg Flybe Nordic). Departures are scheduled at 8:05 (8:55 arrival) or 4:10 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (arrival 17:00) are return flights leaving Denmark respectively at 12:10 (2:55 p.m. arrival) and at 20:10 (10:55 p.m. arrival). No competition on this route for Finnair, already poses five times a day in Copenhagen.

As of April 18 and throughout the summer season, the airline alliance will offer three and four weekly rotations between its capital and Edinburgh, operated by Airbus A319 of 138 seats again without competition. Departures Monday and Thursday are scheduled at 8:30 am (arrival 9:10), the one on Wednesday at 17:20 (arrival 18.00) and the Sunday at 16:30 (arrival 5:10 p.m.) Return flights will leave Scotland Monday and Thursday at 9:50 am (14:40 arrival), Wednesday at 18:40 (arriving 23:30) and Sundays at 18:15 (23:05 arrival). This road will allow "our Asian customers excellent opportunities to travel to Scotland on their travels in the UK, Scotland and connect the broad Asian network of Finnair, which has 13 airports."

From June 1 to August 27, Finnair will offer three flights a week between Helsinki and Svalbard, Longyearbyen airport accepting regular flights over the north of the planet. The E190 100 seats of its subsidiary will take off on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 23:45 (arrival the next day at 1:55), and will leave the Norwegian archipelago Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 2:45 (6:45 arrival). Only SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian offer low cost scheduled flights to Svalbard.

Finally significantly further south, Finnair will offer from June 20 to August 12 two flights a week between Helsinki and Pula starts Monday at 7:45 (9:40 arrival) and Friday at 5:35 p.m. (arrival 7:30 p.m.) and return of Croatia respectively at 10:30 am (2:25 p.m. arrival ) and 8:25 p.m. (0:20 arrival). No competition there either for the company that already serves Dubrovnik and Split.

Finnair will convert to the other regular flights from the month of May 2016 eight routes to Greece, Italy and Bulgaria previously offered only as charter flights in almost every case with one flight per week in A319, A320 or A321: these flies to Preveza (two flights a week), Rimini, Mytilini, Santorini, Skiathos, Varna, Verona and Zakynthos.