Finnair Adds Buses on Select Routes

• Finnair will offer new bus connection options on select short-haul domestic routes from its Helsinki hub in 2022. Citing a desire to reduce its carbon emissions among the debate over limiting short-haul flights, the airline will offer bus alternatives between Helsinki and nearby Tampere and Turku — both of which are less than two hours by car from the Helsinki airport per Google Maps — in 2022. The buses will complement, and not replace, flights operated with ATR turboprops.
  
• Emirates will make its Israeli debut in December. The carrier will connect Dubai and Tel Aviv with a Boeing 777-300ER from December 6. The route is possible following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries just last year. El Al opened the route in December 2020.
  
• Qatar Airways is adding Odessa, Ukraine, to its map. The Oneworld alliance carrier will connect Doha and Odessa thrice weekly with an Airbus A320 from December 9, Cirium schedules show. Odessa is Qatar’s second destination in Ukraine after Kyiv.
  
• And rounding out the Gulf Big 3, Etihad Airways will connect Abu Dhabi to Medina thrice weekly with an Airbus A321 from November 27. Medina is the airline’s fourth destination in Saudi Arabia.
  
  Five days after landing in Medina, Etihad will relocate its Moscow flights to the city’s Sheremetyevo airport from Domodedovo and launch a new codeshare with Aeroflot. The codeshare will cover both airlines’ networks and could be expanded to a deeper commercial partnership.
  
• Turkish Airlines dropped a very “detailed” release unveiling plans to add Detroit and Seattle to its map. The carrier did not provide any additional details of the service but one can assume that it will involve nonstop flights from its Istanbul base.
  
• “Oneworld carrier adds route to Oneworld hub,” is the alternate headline for Alaska Airlines‘ new service to Miami. The carrier, which joined Oneworld in March, will return to Miami from its Seattle hub daily with a Boeing 737-900ER on June 16. Miami is a major hub for fellow Oneworld member and Alaska partner American Airlines. Alaska last served Miami in 2012, according to Cirium schedules.
  
• And Alaska isn’t the only Oneworld carrier adding new connections to Oneworld hubs. Iberia will add Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington Dulles to its map next summer, IAG executives said last week. Iberia has not previously served DFW and last served Washington on a regular basis in 2010, according to Cirium schedules. Both DFW and Washington are hubs for partner American.
  
• ExpressJet, err, Aha! is expanding a little over a month after its launch. The re-startup will connect Spokane to its Reno base from December 15, and Palm Springs from January 3. Both routes will be flown thrice-weekly with Embraer ERJ-145 jets.

— Edward Russell