Asia-Pacific carriers have announced a spate of new routes, including new long-haul flights to Europe as well as niche regional routes.
The new 2024 schedule of Japan Airlines sees the carrier launch a daily Haneda-Doha service from 31 March, the first non-stop flight to the Middle East by a Japanese carrier.
China’s Hainan Airlines has launched a twice-weekly Haikou-Abu Dhabi under the auspices of Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure initiative. The carrier is using A330s on the route.
The airline has also launched a twice-weekly Chongqing-Milan service, adding its fourth European destination from the western Chinese city.
Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar has launched three-times-weekly services on the Brisbane-Seoul Incheon and Brisbane-Osaka Kansai routes, using Boeing 787-8s to both destinations.
“We expect these two exciting new routes will be popular in both directions, with inbound visitation from South Korea and Japan expected to inject millions of dollars into the sunshine state’s economy,” says Jetstar Group chief executive Stephanie Tully.
AirAsia Malaysia and Thai AirAsia have separately announced the launch of three-times weekly services to the Indian city of Visakhapatnam. Thai AirAsia’s service from Bangkok Don Mueang will commence on 9 April, and AirAsia’s service from Kuala Lumpur on 26 April.
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo also continues to grow. The airline will operate a daily direct service on the Hyderabad-Bangkok route from 26 February, and a three-times-weekly service on the Surat-Dubai route from 23 February.
