Austrian extends network
Austrian Airlines has added Ostrava, in the Czech Republic, to its expanding network in Eastern and Central Europe and the Baltics. In the summer, Pecs (Hungary), Iasi (Romania), Ekaterinburg (Russia) and Donetsk (Ukraine) will increase the number of destinations served from Vienna to 43 in 22 countries in the region. Double daily planned
Emirates is stepping up its daily service between Dubai and Perth with a further four flights a week from March 2, moving to a double daily frequency in September. Introduced in 2002 as the first non-stop connection between the Middle East and Australia, it is now among a total of 42 weekly flights from to Dubai to Australia operated by the airline – including 14 a week to Sydney and Melbourne, and seven a week to Brisbane and Perth. JAL prunes London flights
Japan Airlines is to halve its flights on the Tokyo-London route this summer, at the same time introducing the more fuel-efficient Boeing 777 on the Osaka-Heathrow service. Boeing 747s will also be replaced by 777s on the Amsterdam and Paris routes later in the year. New London City route
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has added a second route from London City Airport with the introduction of a double daily weekday service to Stockholm. Operated by an 82-seat Avro 70 jet leased from Transwede, the schedule also provides a single departure on Sunday. Fares for the three-class service are from £51, including taxes. The airline made its debut at the Docklands airport at the end of last year when it launched flights to Copenhagen. Service postponed
Cathay Pacific has postponed the launch of its proposed three-times-a week service from Hong Kong to Moscow and onwards to Manchester.
Flights were due to have started at the end of this month (March) but certain regulatory formalities relating to Manchester have yet to be completed and the service is now not expected to start until later in the year. Cathay currently has a code-share agreement with Aeroflot on the Hong Kong-Moscow route. New North Sea links
Widerøe, which claims to be the largest regional airline in the Nordic countries, is introducing new links from Bergen to Edinburgh and Newcastle from the end of March. The services are in addition to the carrier’s existing twice-daily flights to Aberdeen from Stavanger and Bergen. There will be four flights a week to Edinburgh and two weekly departures to Newcastle.
Business travellers can benefit from the unique one-way fare structure offered by members of the SAS group, of which Widerøe is part, allowing them to combine fares across different classes. Under the scheme, it is possible, for example, to fly out in Business Class and back in Economy, thus allowing greater flexibility for business and travel plans. News in brief
Royal Brunei Airlines, which launches a service between Bandar Seri Begawan and Ho Chi Minh City later this month, is planning to add Saigon to the network early this summer. At the same time as the introduction of the three times-a-week flights to Vietnam on March 26, the airline is stepping up its service to Perth from three to five departures a week. Virgin Atlantic is adding a sixth daily departure on the London Heathrow-New York JFK route from July 1. Qatar Airways launches its non-stop service between Doha and Birmingham on March 26, at the same time increasing to a daily frequency flights on the Manchester route. Sama, Saudi Arabia’s first low-cost airline, which is expected to take to the skies within months, will initially serve the domestic market with a fleet of up to seven Boeing 737s.
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