Welcome to my 69th routes newsletter! I've covered a selection of new routes that took off in two weeks (Christmas/New Year). Why not sign up and receive my newsletter in your email inbox every week? I wish you a happy and enjoyable 2023.
Kenya Airways starts Mombasa-Dubai
A port city and gateway to many resorts, Mombasa has welcomed its first Kenya Airways service to Dubai. It operates 4x weekly by the 737-800 and routes Nairobi-Mombasa-Dubai and vice-versa. It coexists with up to 12 weekly nonstop Nairobi-Dubai flights by the carrier. KQ306 leaves Mombasa at 23:10 and arrives in the UAE at 05:45 local the next day. Returning, KQ307 departs Dubai at 06:55 and returns to Mombasa at 11:10.
It isn't the first time that Mombasa-Dubai has been served. RwandAir operated Kigali-Mombasa-Dubai with fifth freedom traffic rights from 2010 until 2019, mainly using the 737-800 but at times the A330-200, A330-300, and – further back – the 737-700 and even the 737-500.
Click here for Mombasa-Dubai flights.
JetSMART introduces Rio
On December 28th, Chilean ULCC JetSMART inaugurated its next route: Santiago to Rio de Janeiro Galeão. Located 1,825 miles (2,938km) apart, it starts during the peak of the Southern Hemisphere's summer season.
The airport pair is served 6x weekly using the A320ceo and neo and occasionally the A321neo. It rises to 1x daily in February, reduces to 3x weekly in March, and increases to 5x weekly in April. JetSMART is one of three airlines with non-stop Santiago-Rio flights. It joins LATAM (10x weekly to 2x daily) and Sky (1x daily to 2x daily).
Click here for Santiago-Rio flights.
Almaty gets Seychelles flights
In an exotic route development, Air Seychelles has launched Almaty, Kazakhstan. The first flight was on December 29th, and the route operates 2x weekly using two-class, 168-seat A320neos. The first departure reportedly had 137 passengers for an 87% seat load factor.
Due to the route’s length, it operates via Abu Dhabi in both directions to refuel; there are no fifth freedom traffic rights. The schedule varies. On January 5th, for example, HM76 leaves the Seychelles at 09:35 and arrives in Almaty at 21:30 local, a block time of 9h 55m. Returning, HM75 departs at 23:00, returning – via the UAE, as outbound – at 07:00, some 10 hours later.
Click here for Almaty-Seychelles flights.
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Take off: Beauvais to Eilat
Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, has inaugurated its next route from Paris Beauvais: Eilat Ramon, Israel, some 2,193 miles (3,530km) away. Not surprisingly, it is the first time the airport pair has had non-stop service. Among Ryanair's longest routes, it is operated 2x weekly using 737 MAX 8-200s.
Beauvais is about 60 miles (97km) from central Paris. Ryanair has long served the airport and was always among its largest non-bases. It finally became a base in December 2020 with two aircraft. Two years later, Beauvais is Ryanair's 14th busiest airport, with up to 38 daily departures involving 54 routes in December 2022.
Click here for Paris-Eilat flights.
Luleå now has Paris flights
It has been quite the season for flights between France and the northern reaches of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The latest new route to start was Transavia France from Paris Orly to Luleå, in northern Sweden, 1,368 miles (2,201km) and about 3 hours flying away. Luleå is great for many winter outdoor activities, including ice fishing and dog sledding.
Orly-Luleå runs 1x weekly. It is the first time the airport and city pair have been served. It comes as Air France inaugurates Paris CDG to Kittilä (Finland) and Tromsø (Norway), and Transavia France launches Orly-Ivalo (Finland).
Click here for Paris-Luleå flights.
That's it for the 69th edition of my routes newsletter. Sign up to get something like this in your inbox each week.