Latest Route News + May 2021 Part 2

Routes Launched between Saturday 17 April 2021 and Friday 14 May 2021 – Part 2

 

KLM (IATA code KL) returned to Belgrade on 13 May after a gap of three decades, with non-sop service from Amsterdam. Initially operating 3-weekly with E190s on the 1,410-kilometre route, frequency is set to increase to daily in the coming months. The first flight was actually operated by a 737-700 (PH-BGK). Competition on the route comes from Air Serbia (operating 5-weekly at present). KLMhas previously codeshared with Air Serbia on the route. KLM’s in-house LCC Transavia began serving Belgrade from Amsterdamwith year-round flights in April 2017. However, according to Cirium Data and Analytics there were just five flight on this route in June and July 2020. KLM’s recently published Q1 figures show that the airline carried 1.42 million passengers in the first three months of the year. Load factor on short and medium-haul routes was 50.7%, while long-haul load factor was just 28.3%. The corresponding figures for 2020 Q4 were 58.0% and 31.0%. However, KLM’s cargo load factor in Q1 was over 86.2% (up from 64.8% in 2020 Q1), which helps explain why so many of the long-haul routes are still operating.

 

 Loganair (IATA code LM) in early May increased its presence at Newquay in the south-west of England by adding non-stop service from Teesside in the north-east of England (3-weekly from 9 May) and Manchester (initially 2-weekly from 3 May, increasing to 5-weekly in due course). Both routes are flown using the airline’s ERJ-145s. easyJet will also start competing on the Manchester route from the end of May, while Eastern Airways is already offering service from Teesside. Back in the summer of 2019, Flybe operated between Manchester and Newquay with two daily flights. Loganair also currently serves Newquay from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Newcastle, making it the airport’s leading carrier for routes.

 

Lufthansa (IATA code LH) added a new route from both of its two hubs in the last four weeks. On 30 April, the German flag-carrier began 3-weekly service between Frankfurt and Lviv in Ukraine, using its CRJ 900s. Frequency is set to increase to 6-weekly in June. The two airports were previously connected by Ukraine International Airlines. However, that carrier’s service ended in October 2009. The 1,100-kilometre route to Lviv is Lufthansa’s second route to Ukraine from Frankfurt as it has long served Kiev KBP. It previously served Lviv from Munich with daily flights until the start of the pandemic in March 2020. ther connections between Germany and Lvivare currently being offered by Wizz Air, from Berlin, Dortmund and Memmingen, while Ryanair has previously served Lviv from Memingen and Weeze and will resume 2-weekly service from the latter airport in early August. Meanwhile, from Munich, Lufthansabegan a weekly (Saturday) service to Jerez in Spain on 8 May, also using CRJ 900s. This route has previously been flown by airberlinand Condor (as recently as last summer) and will be served this summer by TUI fly Deutschland.

 

Luxair (IATA code LG) expanded its presence in Tunisia at the beginning of May with the launch of a new route on 7 May from Luxembourg to Tunis. The 2-weekly service will operate on Mondays and Fridays. There is no competition on the 1,460-kilometre route. Two days later, the carrier resumed service to Monastir, after a seven-year hiatus. This route will also be served 2-weekly (Thursdays and Sundays) and replaces the airline’s previous service to Enfidha. Luxair also flies to Djerba, a destination it has served for several years. Luxair also plans to launch several more new routes this summer, including to destinations in France, Germany, Greece, Norway and Serbia.

 

Nordwind Airlines (IATA code N4) on 24 April began weekly (Saturday/Sunday) service between Nizhniy Novgorod in Russia and Yerevan in Armenia using its 737-800s and A321s. The 1,790-kilometre route is also flown weekly by Pegasfly and Ural Airlinesaccording to Cirium Data and Analytics. Nordwind’s service departs Russia at 21:25 arriving in Armenia at 01:10 on Sunday morning. The return flight leaves Yerevan at 02:05 and arrives back at Nizhniy Novgorod at 03:50. Last year the Russian airport handled 574,000 passengers, down 48% on the 1.11 million passengers processed in 2019. This month, Nordwind is offering non-stop service from a total of 11 Russian airports to Yerevan, according to Cirium Data and Analytics. This compares with just one (Moscow SVO) in summer 2019.

 

Pegas Fly (IATA code EO and formerly known as Ikar Airlines) started connecting St. Petersburg with Düsseldorf with a weekly (Saturday) service on 24 April using its 110-seat E190s. The 1,750-kilometre route is also served 4-weekly by Aeroflot, which recently resumed service between the two airports. Since 2005, the two airports have also been linked by airberlin (May 2009 to January 2013), germanwings/Eurowings (June 2014 to August 2015), Lufthansa (April 2009 to May 2014) and Rossiya (January 2005 to March 2014), as well as Aeroflot (since March 2014). Pegas Fly now offers two routes to German airports, as it also connects St. Petersburgwith Berlin on a weekly basis, a route it started on 4 March. According to planespotters.net the airline has a fleet of 15 aircraft, comprising five E190s, five 737s, four 767-300s and one 777-200.