The Most Notable New Airline Routes This Week

I've covered a selection of new routes that took off in the last week. Why not sign up and receive my newsletter in your email inbox every week?

Norse Atlantic introduces Orlando

Long-haul-only operator Norse Atlantic has now started its third route. On July 5th, it began Oslo to Orlando. It runs 3x weekly year-round utilizing B787-9s.

It follows in the footsteps of Norwegian, which operated the route between May 2014 and October 2019, albeit only 1x or 2x weekly. The US DOT shows that it transported between 30,000 and 39,000 passengers on the route each year.

Orlando joins Oslo to JFK (its first service; June 14th) and Fort Lauderdale (June 18th). Coming soon are Oslo-Los Angeles (August 9th), Oslo-Gatwick-JFK (August 12th), Berlin-JFK (August 17th), and Berlin-Los Angeles (August 19th).

Seen celebrating the launch is Norse Atlantic's founder and CEO, Bjørn Tore Larsen, center. Photo: via Orlando International Airport.

Ethiopian Airlines starts Chennai

Four Indian cities are now served by Ethiopian Airlines on a passenger basis. The latest to join is Chennai, running 3x weekly year-round utilizing 160-seat B737 MAX 8s, although the first roundtrip used the B787-8.

While Chennai has been served for freight, it is the first time for regular, scheduled passenger service. Ethiopian will be targeting the ~140,000 people who traveled between Chennai and Africa in 2019. Nearly 200 people traveled daily, each way.

Chennai's launch means that Ethiopian now has 30 weekly passenger flights to India. It also serves Mumbai (2x daily; B777-200LR), Delhi (10x weekly; B787-8), and Bangalore (3x weekly; B787-8 and B737-800).

Ethiopian Airlines has recently inaugurated Chennai. Photo: via Ethiopian Airlines.

Nuremberg gets two more routes

Not only has Nuremberg welcomed two new routes, but both started on the same day. For the first time, it is connected to Tirana, with Wizz Air providing 2x weekly summer flights, leaving Albania at 05:45. The 698-mile (1,123km) market is driven by visiting friends and relatives demand.

Aegean has inaugurated Athens-Nuremberg, also with 2x weekly services, reconnecting the German city with the Greek capital. It was last served by Ryanair in March 2020, which had only started it in October 2019 following the exit of defunct Germania earlier that year. Athens is one of seven Greek destinations served from Nuremberg this summer.

There are 2x weekly flights to Athens. Photo: via Nuremberg Airport.

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Four Belfast routes in one day

Northern Ireland's capital has welcomed four new routes on a single day. On July 7th, Flybe began Belfast City to East Midlands (up to 12x weekly this summer) and Manchester (just 9x weekly), the latter served less than previously expected due to staff shortages.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus Regional took off from Belfast City to Cardiff (5x weekly) and Southampton (1x daily). It became the third airline to Southampton from Belfast's downtown airport.

Flybe to East Midlands means the airport pair is reconnected after 12 months when Aer Lingus Regional served it, and Cardiff is back after Eastern Airways ceased it in March this year. Coincidentally, the launch of Manchester and East Midlands came on the same day that Ryanair announced both from Belfast International.

Passengers had a commemorative doughnut, a nice take on the traditional new route cake, to celebrate Cardiff-Belfast City. Photo: via Cardiff Airport.

Armenia's national airline takes off

Brand-new airline Fly Arna, the new national carrier of Armenia, has inaugurated its first two routes using the A320. It introduced Yerevan to Hurghada, served 2x weekly until October 26th. Then Sharm El Sheikh took off; this has 3x weekly services until October 29th. Both have head-to-head competition with Air Cairo and FlyEgypt.

Fly Arna is a partnership between Air Arabia and the Armenian Government. According to the carrier's CEO, Antony Price, Kuwait and Beirut will start soon, although they aren't listed on its website and details aren't yet known.

Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh have started. Photo: via Fly Arna.

Zürich gets Newquay

Coronavirus might have delayed its introduction, but Zürich now has nonstop flights to Newquay, in the English county of Cornwall renowned for beaches and holidays. Operating until September 18th, Edelweiss serves it on Sundays using A320s. There are 12 roundtrip flights for the peak season. It comes 12 years after SWISS's regional subsidiary ended the route using RJ100s.

Zürich-Newquay is, of course, an inbound market to Cornwall, the same as Eurowings’ Düsseldorf. In contrast, Ryanair's Alicante and Faro are outbound, while Aer Lingus Regional's Dublin is a good mixture.