Welcome to my 114th weekly routes article! I've analyzed a few subjectively exciting examples of routes that took off recently. While not a new route, and therefore not normally covered here, it is worth recalling that Air India's first Airbus A350-900 entered service on January 22nd. VT-JRA flew Bengaluru-Mumbai-Chennai-Bengaluru-Chennai-Hyderabad-Bengaluru that first day, part of crew familiarization ahead of international flights.
Back again: Lufthansa to Hyderabad
Last flown in 2011, Lufthansa has reintroduced passenger flights between Frankfurt and Hyderabad. While the A340-300 was used then, it is now in the hands of the 787-9. Served five times weekly, LH752 leaves Germany at 10:55 and arrives in India at 23:55 local. LH753 departs at 01:55 and arrives home at 07:05.
Hyderabad joins Lufthansa's service to four other Indian cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai. The timings correspond to most of the Star Alliance member's schedules to/from the South Asian nation.
The German giant becomes the second carrier with non-stop flights from Europe to Hyderabad, joining – who else? – British Airways (daily). In the past year, Frankfurt was the Indian city's second-largest European unserved market after Paris CDG. Lufthansa will target this and the 1.6 million roundtrip passengers between Hyderabad and all of Europe and North America.
Qatar Airways' 3rd Indonesian route
January 15th saw Qatar Airways commence flights from Doha to Medan. It is its third route to Indonesia, joining Jakarta and Denpasar Bali. Predictably, the oneworld member uses the 254-seat 787-8 – its lowest-capacity twin-aisle – on the three-weekly service.
Medan is closer to Kuala Lumpur than Jakarta and is new to Qatar Airways' passenger network. Importantly, Medan – home to Indonesia's fifth most populous metro area – is also unserved from Dubai, at least for now.
To maximize two-way connectivity across the Middle East (particularly to Jeddah/Medinah for Umrah reasons) and Europe, QR966 leaves Doha at 02:40 and arrives in Indonesia at 13:30 local. After five-and-a-half hours on the ground to ensure connectivity, QR967 departs at 19:00 and arrives back at 22:15.
flydubai to Mombasa
Narrowbody-operating flydubai has started flying to its 12th African destination and second in Kenya: Mombasa. Located by the sea, Kenya's second-most populous city is 2,275 miles (3,661 km) from Dubai. It is, as usual, even longer in reality, rerouting as it does to avoid Yemeni airspace.
Served four weekly by the 737 MAX 8, Flightradar24 shows the first outbound flight took 5h 1m and – curiously – precisely the same time on the way back. It coexists with Kenya Airways, which started the route in 2022 and naturally has most of the market; it begins/ends in Nairobi and has the same frequency but with the 737-800. It was served by RwandAir (Kigali-Mombasa-Dubai and vice-versa) between 2010 and 2019.
In the past year, the P2P market had 37,000+ roundtrip passengers. As well as targeting this, flydubai will also feed its other flights (especially to India and parts of Europe) and that of big sibling Emirates, with its split schedule facilitating this.
flydubai Launches Boeing 737 MAX Flights to Kenya
flydubai is the only UAE-based carrier flying to Mombasa, Kenya.Pegasus to Zagreb
While Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen to Zagreb might not sound dramatically important, the outstanding celebratory images – which other airlines and airports should take note of – mean its features. Look at the water salute! (It follows other new services, most notably to Birmingham, which I did not cover due to being off at Christmas.)
Launched by Pegasus on January 18th, the brand-new 745-mile (1,199 km) airport pair is served twice weekly, even in the summer, using the A320. (Perhaps it is limited by the bilateral agreement.) The Croatian capital is one of 13 Central and Eastern European airports to see the carrier's flights from Sabiha Gökçen.
Pegasus provides a lower-priced alternative to Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Airport (double daily, rising to 18 weekly in the summer) while enabling passengers to connect across its considerable network.
flynas to Eritrea and more
It is unusual to cover so many Middle Eastern launches in one edition, but that is what has happened this week. It helps that I am particularly fond of less discussed countries, cities, and carriers. flynas' two new routes – from Jeddah to Mumbai (January 15th) and Asmara (17th) – fit the bill, particularly the service to Eritrea's capital.
Just 440 miles (708 km) across the Red Sea, Jeddah-Asmara is served twice weekly with the A320neo. It last had regular flights by Eritrean Airlines in 2019 using the 767 and 737-300. Until 2008, it also saw Saudia (757-200 (yes!) and MD90).
In the past year, around 19,000 people flew between Jeddah and Asmara. Most flew with Sudan's Tarco Air (41%), then Ethiopian Airlines (29%), Sudan's Badr Air (16%), and EgyptAir (13%). Passengers can, of course, connect with flynas beyond Jeddah.
flynas Launches Nonstop Flights To Mumbai And Asmara
The two flights commenced within days of each other.Then there's...
The additions mentioned above come amid various other launches since January 12th. These include Hainan Airlines from Shenzhen to Cairo; Norwegian from Tromsø to Paris CDG, Milan Bergamo, and Berlin; Delta on Minneapolis-Providenciales; and Eurowings between Berlin and Rovaniemi and Düsseldorf to Kuusamo.
ULCC Spirit launched San Antonio to Tampa, while China Eastern resumed flying to Perth from Shanghai Pudong. It became Western Australia's first mainland China service in four years.
China Eastern Airbus A330 Brings Year Of The Dragon To Perth Airport
Perth Airport has welcomed the first China Eastern A330 that will operate a seasonal service during the Lunar New Year holidays.Iberia Regional reintroduced Barcelona to Fuerteventura and Malaga, and Austrian Airlines began Klagenfurt to Hamburg. Breeze made its Mississippi debut with Gulfport-Biloxi to Las Vegas and Tampa.
Porter commenced Toronto to Los Angeles (among North America's longest Embraer routes); Southwest now flies between Omaha and Fort Lauderdale; and Sun Country restarted from Minneapolis to St Maarten (its second-longest route). Air China resumed Shanghai Pudong to Munich.
That's all for now, folks. See you next time.