Welcome to my 139th weekly routes article! This is the first article since August 6, as I have been away. I have analyzed subjectively exciting services that began or resumed in the past week or so, with this more of a quick catch-up edition . Various other example launches are listed at the bottom.
Click here to see the last jam-packed edition. As always, this article does not cover all services but rather those that intrigue or are particularly significant. Air India begins 5th Gatwick route On August 18, Air India inaugurated the first-ever flights between Bengaluru, a southern Indian city, and London Gatwick.
The 4,337 nautical mile (8,033 km) route operates five times weekly on the Star Alliance member's standard widebody: the 256-seat Boeing 787-8. Air India operated between Bengaluru and London Heathrow from 2018 and 2022. The return to London means the city pair has a trio of carriers for the first time, joining British Airways and Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow.
Virgin began the route in April 2024. Find flights here! Air India began flying to Gatwick in March 2023. This effectively meant secondary and less premium routes use the lower-cost London-area airport.
At the same time, core Delhi and Mumbai services, whose frequencies have grown because of the freed-up slots, are operated to higher-yielding Heathrow. Its Gatwick routes are Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Goa. It previously served Amritsar and Mumbai from Stansted.
One, two, three, four non-stop carriers Seattle-Taipei now has a record four airlines. This follows the launch of Starlux , which runs three times weekly on the 306-seat A350-900. It codeshares with Alaska Airlines, which is a significant competitive advantage as it'll help with traffic and loads.
In addition to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Seattle is Starlux's third North American destination. Get tickets here! Delta began its first-ever non-stop Seattle-Taipei flights in June 2024 (it operated via Tokyo until 2017). It operates daily on the A330neo.
China Airlines returned to Seattle the following month, last serving the city with passenger flights in 2008; it runs five times weekly on the A350-900. Then there’s EVA Air (10 weekly 787-10, 777-300ER). Which carrier will blink first? Seattle-Taipei has 25 weekly take-offs in September, up from daily last year and 10 weekly in the pre-pandemic 2019.
While it is Seattle’s only long-haul market with four non-stop carriers, London Heathrow has more weekly flights in the examined month. However, when winter frequency reductions occur, Taipei will overtake it, Some 24 passenger airlines serve them. G'day, Cairns! Bali is to Australians what Palma de Mallorca is to Germans.
Since 2015, Jetstar has operated flights to Bali from the tropical Far North Queensland city of Cairns. When all carriers are considered, Cairns is one of nine Australian cities that have flights to Bali. The 1,855 nautical mile (3,436 km) airport pair welcomed its second operator – Indonesia AirAsia – for the first time.
It is also the first time Cairns-Bali has had an international carrier, with AirAsia’s launch influenced by a subsidy from the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund. Click here to fly! While Jetstar runs four times weekly on the 186-seat A320ceo, it is three times weekly on the 180-seat A320ceo for AirAsia. Both carriers operate overnight from Indonesia back to Cairns with nearly the same schedule.
In September, AirAsia departs Bali at 23:30 and arrives at 06:10+1 local. While that carrier leaves Cairns at 07:00, it is 19:40 for Jetstar. The flight to Asia, with headwinds, often takes ~4h 30m.
This month it's AirAsia Indonesia's turn to open new routes, with nonstop flights between Bali and Cairns and from Hong Kong to Jakarta and Bali China Southern: back on Ürümqi-Istanbul The SkyTeam member has resumed its first and longest-served non-stop Istanbul route from the Northwestern Chinese city of Ürümqi. The 2,552 nautical miles (4,726 km) link began in 2011 and was China Southern’s only Istanbul route for years – first to Atatürk, then to Istanbul Airport. Search for tickets here! The route, partly premised on traders shopping and Türkiye having the largest Uyghur diaspora outside of China and Central Asia, was discontinued in 2016 when the carrier pulled out of Türkiye.
While the airline returned to Istanbul in 2018, Ürümqi flights didn’t. Instead, it flew from Beijing Capital (later changed to Beijing Daxing), Wuhan (since ended), and Guangzhou. After an eight-year absence, Ürümqi service resumed from China on August 17, 2024, beginning and ending in Hangzhou.
Flights are weekly on the 266-seat Boeing 787-8 compared to the Airbus A330 and Boeing 757 used before. Istanbul now has passenger flights to seven Chinese cities. Then there's.
.. Many other route launches have occurred in the past week or so.
They include Thai Lion Air from Bangkok Don Mueang to Ahmedabad. The route is served four weekly on the 737-800/737-900. Thai Lion Air competes directly with Thai AirAsia (four weekly A320neo) and indirectly against Thai Airways from Suvarnabhumi (daily 787-8, but A320ceo this winter).
Multiple US routes have started since mid-August , the most recent of which was Sun Country between Minneapolis and Manchester on August 22. Meanwhile, Nile Air inaugurated Cairo-Arar, near the Iraqi border in Saudi Arabia, the first time Arar has had international flights. Pegasus started Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen to Tuzla, its second destination in Bosnia and Herzegovina; China's 9 Air is in Kuala Lumpur for the first time, flying from Guiyang; Akasa Air now flies to Kuwait, with its sole route from Mumbai.
.. That's all for this week.
See you next time..
