SPECIAL REPORT: ROUTE DEVELOPMENT
Back on the radar
Airport World reports on a number of new route announcements and the return of some key international services for airports in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific.
I
t would be easy to think that route development was off the agenda in today’s COVID impacted world, but despite everything, airlines continue to inaugurate or announce the planned launch of new services at airports across the world. Granted, the announcements and traditional water cannon welcomes for new flight arrivals maybe fewer than before the pandemic, but the good news is that they are beginning to happen again in what has to be one of the greatest possible shows of faith in aviation’s ability to bounce back from the current crisis. And with an ever-increasing number of existing routes returning in the past couple of months – including the return of international Trans-Tasman services between Australia and New Zealand – there is now real hope that airports will begin to see a noticeable upturn in traffic levels during the second half of 2021. Below is a snapshot of some of the most high-profile route development news to be announced in the second quarter of 2021.
JetBlue to launch transatlantic services to London JetBlue has announced that it will make its highly anticipated entrance into the transatlantic market with the launch of a non-stop service between New York-JFK and London Heathrow this summer. And the news gets even better for London’s gateways as the US carrier will follow the August 11 inauguration of flights to Heathrow with the start of services between JFK and Gatwick from September 29, with services from Boston earmarked to start in the summer of 2022. “The pandemic has opened doors to London’s two busiest airports, and we look forward to bringing customers low fares and great service at both Heathrow and Gatwick,” said JetBlue CEO, Robin Hayes. “JFK-LHR, the single largest international air travel market from the US, has suffered from outrageously high fares for far too long,
30
AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 3, 2021
especially in premium cabins. We’re ready to change that with a price point and experience that will impress even the most discerning transatlantic flyers. “We’ve always said that JetBlue would serve multiple London airports, and we’re pleased to have secured a path at Heathrow and for long-term growth at Gatwick, which offers speed, low costs, and convenient accessibility into Central London.” Flights on both routes will operate daily on JetBlue’s new Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) aircraft with 24 redesigned Mint suites, 117 core seats and the sleek and spacious Airspace cabin interior.
From Russia with love Japan Airlines (JAL) has revived services between Moscow Sheremetyevo and Tokyo Haneda, a route it initially launched in 1967. Speaking at the resumption of Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights to Moscow in April, Sheremetyevo’s first deputy director general for production, Andrei Nikulin, said: “We are proud that the leading Japanese national carrier, a recipient of five stars from Skytrax, has chosen Moscow Sheremetyevo for further development of air traffic between Japan and Russia. “Sheremetyevo is a recognised leader in Europe in quality of services and the most powerful international hub in Russia in terms of terminal infrastructure and the capacity of the airfield complex. I am confident that Japanese Airlines passengers will be able to take advantage of the route network of Sheremetyevo Airport for onward flights across Russia and Europe.” JAL’s vice president and regional manager for Russia and the CIS, Takeshi Kodama, noted: “We are happy to open a new page in the history of air traffic between Moscow and Tokyo by re-launching the route between Sheremetyevo and Haneda airports.
