Routes and Networks
AirBaltic and SAS Expand to Africa
- Unsurprisingly, Delta‘s main competitor to Japan, United, objects to the its request for temporary gateway flexibility for two slot pairs at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. United, which has an immunized joint venture with All Nippon Airways, noted in a filing with the Department of Transportation that U.S.-Japan travel demand is recovering steadily, and the rate has already accelerated since the full easing of travel restrictions in Japan in April. Delta had claimed that demand was so significantly depressed that it needed to adjust the gateways on two of its seven Haneda slot pairs. And in the move we all expected, United said it is ready to fly the two slot pairs that Delta wants gateway flexibility for. American has backed Delta’s request, while Hawaiian Airlines has yet to submit a response.
- AirBaltic is adding two new dots to its map this winter: Agadir, Morocco, and Alicante. The airline will serve Agadir from its Riga base beginning November 4, and Alicante beginning February 26, 2024. The new markets are part of an 11-route expansion by AirBaltic this winter, other additions include: Tallinn to Geneva, Tampere, and Tenerife; Tampere to Tenerife and Kittila, Finland; and Vilnius to Brussels, Dubai, Tenerife, and Turin.
- Route tidbits: Delta will launch new daily service between Boston and Mexico City, a hub for its partner Aeromexico, with a Boeing 757-200 on December 21. Speaking of Delta, WestJet will launch new five-times weekly service between Winnipeg and Atlanta on September 6. Porter Airlines continues its Embraer E195-E2-fueled expansion with plans for a new daily nonstop between Ottawa and Vancouver from July 26. SAS will launch a new route between Stockholm Arlanda and Agadir, Morocco, with weekly flights from November 9. The route was last flown by both Air Arabia and Norwegian Air in 2019, per Diio.