Air India, India’s leading airline and a Star Alliance member inaugurated non-stop flights between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick, the UK’s second-largest airport.

The inaugural flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick departed on time at 1150 hrs, scheduled to arrive at London Gatwick at 1640 hrs (local time) today. It is estimated that over 8,00,000 Gujaratis call the UK their home, making the Gujarati diaspora in the UK to be, arguably, the largest in the world. The flights between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick will be operated three times a week using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 18 Business Class and 238 Economy Class seats.

Air India launches new routes to London Gatwick(Opens in a new browser tab)

This week, in addition to flights from Ahmedabad, Air India has also launched non-stop flights to London Gatwick from Amritsar, Goa, and Kochi while increasing the frequency to London Heathrow from Delhi and Mumbai. In total, the airline now operates 49 flights per week between India and the UK, including six flights a week to Birmingham from Delhi and Amritsar.

Amritsar to London Gatwick

It launched its first-ever non-stop flight to London Gatwick, from Amritsar today. It has now become the first and only Indian airline to operate at Gatwick Airport— the second-largest airport in the UK. The services
to Gatwick are in line with Air India’s ongoing endeavor of enhancing connectivity between India’s major cities and leading global destinations to provide more choices to its passengers.

Equipped with 18 Business class seats featuring fully-flat beds and 238 Economy class seats, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner will be operating three flights a week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from Amritsar. In addition to the flights from Amritsar, Air India will operate 9 other weekly flights scheduled from Ahmedabad, Goa, and Kochi—making it a total of 12 weekly flights to Gatwick. These operations will reaffirm Air India’s operations, presence, and network in the UK. In total, the airline now operates 49 flights in the UK per week— 43 flights to London (Heathrow and Gatwick) and six flights to Birmingham. Air India also operates 31 weekly flights to Heathrow, London from Delhi and Mumbai.

Air India launches non-stop flight to Milan, boosts connectivity in Europe(Opens in a new browser tab)

The first flight AI 169 from Amritsar to Gatwick departed on time at 1320 hrs and will arrive in Gatwick at a convenient 1755 hrs on the same day. Earlier, AI 170 had taken off from Gatwick at 2140 hrs to arrive in Amritsar at 1015 hrs (All Local Time).

Overall, Air India operates 80 flights per week to seven major cities in the UK and Europe and has relaunched flights to some of the prime European destinations such as Milan, Vienna, and Copenhagen.

The flights are now available for booking on the Air India website and mobile apps, as well as through authorised travel agents and other booking channels.

El Al Israel Airlines announced on Thursday that it would resume flights to India in October after a three-year break, citing reduced flight times because of the ability to fly across Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Lufthansa resumes its A380 service on Boston, New York Flights(Opens in a new browser tab)

Using Boeing 737 aircraft, Israel’s national airline will fly four times a week from Tel Aviv to Mumbai. The trip should take 5.5 hours instead of the previous 7.45 hours. Moreover, it will operate twice-weekly flights to New Delhi on larger Boeing 777 or 787 aircraft. El Al reported that the flight time on the trip will decrease to 6.5 hours from 9.

After the recently obtained clearance to fly over the skies of Saudi Arabia and Oman, the introduction of the new routes is now feasible, according to El Al.

Boeing Cleared By FAA To Resume 787 Deliveries(Opens in a new browser tab)

Israeli travelers and businessmen enjoy India. El Al has started using the new route on flights to Asia since Muscat joined Riyadh in allowing Israeli civilian overflights last month. El Al claims that the new Saudi corridor will enable it to increase its service to Australia and Asia.

Source:

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest-growing and most sustainable airline globally*, announced the start of its direct flights to Istanbul, Antalya and Dalaman. The routes will commence as of March 2023 connecting Türkiye with Hungary, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Tickets are already available on Wizz Air’s website and via the WIZZ app from as low as EUR 24.99.

Ryanair announces 4 additional routes for New Belfast International Base.(Opens in a new browser tab)

Wizz Air returns to Istanbul after 7 years, and adds four point-to-point services to Budapest, London Gatwick, London Luton, and Iasi, the earliest flight departing in March already. With these services the airline will be the first ultra-low-cost carrier flying from Istanbul airport, providing over 400,000 high-quality, but low-fare seats to cities around Europe. Wizz Air’s industry-leading low emissions and highly sustainable operations will support Istanbul Airport to reach its sustainability goals by operating the modern and sustainable Airbus A321neo aircraft.

IndiGo strengthens international connectivity with direct flights between Mumbai and Istanbul(Opens in a new browser tab)

Besides the new all-year-round routes to Istanbul, WIZZ launches seasonal point-to-point services to the Turkish seaside, Dalaman and Antalya, supporting the ramp-up of local tourism. Over 300,000 passengers from Abu Dhabi, Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj, Debrecen and London will be able to enjoy the airline’s low fares and high-quality direct connections to these amazing resorts.

Together with the announcement Wizz Air will operate flights to four Turkish airports, providing over 800,000 low-fare seats in 2023.

NEW WIZZ AIR ROUTES TO TÜRKIYE

ROUTE	DAYS Advertisement	FARES FROM*	STARTS
BUDAPEST – ISTANBUL Advertisement	Daily	24.99 EUR/9990HUF	31 March 2023 Advertisement
IASI – ISTANBUL	Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday	24.99 EUR/119RON Advertisement	4 April 2023
LONDON GATWICK – ISTANBUL	Daily Advertisement	39.99 EUR/35.99GBP	28 March 2023
LONDON LUTON – ISTANBUL Advertisement	Daily	39.99 EUR/35.99GBP	28 March 2023 Advertisement
LONDON GATWICK – DALAMAN	Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday	39.99 EUR/35.99 GBP Advertisement	23 May 2023
LONDON GATWICK – ANTALYA	Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday Advertisement	39.99 EUR/35.99 GBP	26 March 2023
BUCHAREST – ANTALYA Advertisement	Monday, Wednesday, Friday	24.99 EUR/119 RON	19 May 2023 Advertisement
CLUJ – ANTALYA	Thursday, Sunday	24.99 EUR/119 RON Advertisement	18 May 2023
BUDAPEST – ANTALYA	Monday, Wednesday, Friday Advertisement	29.99 EUR/11990 HUF	24 May 2023
DEBRECEN – ANTALYA Advertisement	Tuesday, Saturday	24.99 EUR/9990 HUF	10 June 2023 Advertisement
ABU DHABI – ANTALYA	Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday	49.99 EUR / 199 AED Advertisement	1 June 2023

IndiGo, India’s most preferred carrier has announced new direct flight between Mumbai-Dhaka from March 26, 2023. This new route has been introduced to cater to the rising demand for travel from Mumbai. The airline has also announced the resumption of operations between Mumbai and Singapore effective March 26, 2023.

IndiGo strengthens international connectivity with direct flights between Mumbai and Istanbul(Opens in a new browser tab)

The resumption of flights between Mumbai and Singapore will help promote tourism as both cities have many tourist attractions. According to Singapore Tourism Board, India accounted for over 686,000 of the overall 6.3 million global visitor arrivals in 2022, emerging as Singapore’s second-largest source market after Indonesia (1.1 million visitors). Singapore has famous attractions such as Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore Flyer, Gardens by The Bay, S.E.A. Aquarium, Sentosa Island, Sentosa Merlion Tower, Trick Eye Museum. These flights will not only promote tourism but also make travel hassle-free to these destinations through direct connections and additional capacity.

These flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travelers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options to access destinations which help in building businesses and are known for their tourist attractions. Customers who wish to plan their travel can book tickets via our official website www.goIndiGo.in. The introduction of these flights will further bolster the airline’s international connectivity.

 JetBlue announced new nonstop service between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and two top Caribbean destinations, as the airline unveils new plans to bring more low-fare, high-quality flights to Central Florida. Launching in November 2023 and out for sale today, JetBlue will fly from Orlando to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Santiago, Dominican Republic (a). After its planned combination with Spirit, JetBlue expects to reach 200 flights a day in Orlando by 2027.

JetBlue Becomes Anchor Tenant at Orlando International Airport’s New Terminal(Opens in a new browser tab)

Since Orlando became a JetBlue focus city 15 years ago, customers across Central Florida have embraced JetBlue’s compelling offering of low fares and a much-loved experience, including the most legroom in coach (b), free seatback entertainment, free Fly-Fi high-speed internet (c), free snacks, and friendly service.

The planned combination of JetBlue and Spirit will unlock long-term growth opportunities that would not be possible otherwise, delivering JetBlue’s low-fare, customer-friendly experience on more routes and increasing options in and out of Central Florida. This includes introducing new nonstop service to a number of destinations that would not be viable today. In total, JetBlue would offer flights to approximately 20 markets that are not served by either JetBlue or Spirit from Orlando today and would increase flight frequencies on approximately 25 additional routes. With its increased footprint and relevance in Orlando, JetBlue would also introduce its game-changing Mint premium experience, further raising the bar on transcontinental flights.

JetBlue and spirit responded to the filing of a complaint by DOJ(Opens in a new browser tab)

JetBlue estimates its plan would add approximately 350 incremental new airport jobs in the airline’s Orlando operations, while also supporting increased economic activity across the region that is anticipated to lead to further job growth. In addition, JetBlue’s no furlough policy ensures that current Spirit team members who wish to stay with the combined airline will have a role with JetBlue.

Connecting Orlando to Popular Caribbean Destinations

JetBlue’s new flights connecting Orlando to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Santiago, Dominican Republic will offer customers in Central Florida more choices for leisure travel and furthers JetBlue’s significant presence across Latin America and the Caribbean. JetBlue will also become the only airline to serve Santiago with nonstop service from Orlando.

New, year-round service between Orlando and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Santiago, Dominican Republic will take off in November 2023. Seats are out for sale starting today with fares as low as $123.

Daily Schedule between Orlando (MCO) and Punta Cana (PUJ)
Beginning November 4, 2023

Daily Schedule between Orlando (MCO) and Santiago (STI)
Beginning November 4, 2023

Ryanair, Ireland’s No. 1 airline, announced its biggest-ever summer schedule to/from Dublin, with 130 routes, incl. 14 new exciting destinations to sun hotspots like Asturias and Castellon in Spain, Kos and Zakynthos in Greece, and exciting city breaks destinations like Stockholm, Genoa and Leipzig. Ryanair’s record Dublin schedule offers the lowest fares and more than twice as many destinations as any other carrier operating to/from Dublin Airport this Summer, delivering over 16m passengers and supporting over 13,000 local jobs.

Ryanair expansion at Cardiff Airport including new route to Belfast(Opens in a new browser tab)

With 14 extra routes compared to last Summer, Ryanair will operate over 2,000 weekly flights to/from Dublin Airport this Summer, connecting 130 destinations across 27 countries, incl. top European destinations across Croatia, Greece, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain among many more. This traffic growth (+10% on S22) will deliver not just inbound tourism but will also offer Irish customers the widest choice and the lowest fares when booking their Summer ‘23 getaways – whether trying city breaks in Berlin (24 weekly flights), Krakow (18 weekly flights) or Lisbon (32 weekly flights), or sun holidays in Dubrovnik (8 weekly flights), Lanzarote (28 weekly flights) or Santorini (4 weekly flights).

Ryanair Announces Biggest Ever Birmingham Schedule(Opens in a new browser tab)

This expanded Summer schedule is underpinned by an increase in the number of B737 Gamechangers based at Dublin rising from 11 up to 16. These more enviro efficient aircraft carry 4% more passengers, burn 16% less fuel and most importantly, generate 40% less noise on Dublin Airport’s new north runway.

Ryanair will carry over 16m passengers to/from Dublin this year, delivering more traffic, more jobs, and more low fares than any other airline. However, if we are to continue to grow and to drive recovery and connectivity to Dublin in the long term, the daa must keep airport charges competitive. Projects, like the €200m tunnel that increases costs unnecessarily, are not wanted by airlines and only damage the economy by driving capacity to more competitive  European airports.

To celebrate the launch of Ryanair’s Summer ‘23 schedule for Dublin, we are launching a special promo with seats from just €29.99 for travel between Apr and Oct ’23, which must be booked by midnight 16  Mar on www.Ryanair.com.

Emirates has boosted operations by 31% (total ASKMs) since the start of its financial year and has further plans to ramp up seat capacity in its latest published northern summer schedule starting 26 March 2023.

In the past months, the airline has planned and executed the rapid growth of its network operations – reintroducing services to 5 cities; launching flights to 1 new destination (Tel Aviv), adding 251 weekly flights onto existing routes; and continuing the roll-out of service enhancements in the air and on the ground.

Qantas Takes off again between Brisbane and Tokyo(Opens in a new browser tab)

In the coming months, established routes to Europe, Australia and Africa will be served with more Emirates flights, while in East Asia, more cities are seeing route restarts.

Upcoming A380 deployments in Northern Summer 2023 season:

Emirates continues to scale up its A380 operations with the reintroduction of the iconic double-decker across its network: Glasgow (from 26 March), Casablanca from (15 April), Beijing (from 01 May), Shanghai (from 04 June), Nice (from 1 June), Birmingham (from 1 July), Kuala Lumpur (from 01 August), and Taipei (from 01 August).

Upcoming route enhancements by region:

Europe

• Amsterdam: from 14 to 19 weekly flights starting 02 April.
• Athens: Addition of a daily seasonal service to serve summer demand between 01 June to 30 September.
• Bologna: from 5 flights a week to a daily service starting 01 May.
• Budapest: from 5 flights a week to a daily service by 01 June.
• London: start of 2^nd daily service to London Stansted on 01 May. This will take Emirates’ London operations to 11 daily flights – including 6 times daily to London Heathrow and 3 times daily to Gatwick.
• Venice: from 5 to 6 flights a week from 26 March, increasing to a daily service from 01 June.

Africa 

• Cairo: from 25 to 28 weekly flights by 29 October.
• Dar es Salaam: from 5 flights a week to daily flights starting 01 May.
• Entebbe: from 6 flights a week to daily flights starting 01 July.

Australia and New Zealand

Emirates’ non-stop Australia flights will return to pre-pandemic levels to Sydney from 01 May, Melbourne from 26 March, and Brisbane on 01 June.

• Brisbane: An additional daily service starting 01 June will take Emirates to 14 flights per week to Brisbane.
• Christchurch: restart of daily service from Dubai via Sydney from 26 March.
• Melbourne: addition of 3^rd daily service to Melbourne from 26 March via Singapore. This adds capacity to Melbourne and re-establishes connectivity between Singapore and Melbourne. The other 2 daily flights from Melbourne fly non-stop to Dubai.
• Sydney: addition of 3^rd daily non-stop service from 01 May.

East Asia

• Bangkok: Addition of 5^th daily service from 01 August.
• Beijing: To commence daily non-stop Boeing 777-300ER service from 15 March, upgrading to an A380 effective 01 May. A second daily service will commence effective 01 September with an A380.
• Hong Kong: Addition of a daily non-stop flight from 29 March. This increases Emirates’ operations to 14 weekly flights including its existing daily Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong service.
• Kuala Lumpur: Addition of a third daily service from 01 June.
• Tokyo: Resumption of services to Tokyo Haneda with daily flights on 02 April. This takes Emirates’ Japan operations to 21 weekly flights including a daily A380 service to Tokyo-Narita and a daily Boeing 777 service to Osaka.