We reached the end of the February report, with the Asia and Oceania market post.
This region had many developments, in particular with new routes in these same markets. New connections to Europe and Asia were also announced.
Airlines continued with the addition of new aircraft to their respective fleets, in all cases fresh from the factory.
Some highlights we have in this edition:
Air Cairo will inaugurate a new connection to Türkiye.
Air Peace schedules flights between Nigeria and Europe.
AnadoluJet will add a new destination to Egypt.
Ethiopian to fly to Freetown, Sierra Leone, via Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Etihad adds three new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
flydubai will return to Sochi, Russia.
Qatar will resume flights between Doha and Lisbon after four years.
SunExpress takes delivery of another Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Turkish incorporates three new aircraft, between Airbus and Boeing.
Air Cairo
Starting June 2nd, Air Cairo Link will inaugurate flights between Cairo and Antalya, Türkiye. Operations will be performed twice a week on ATR 72-600s with capacity for 72 passengers.
Friday
SM 309 Cairo CAI 15:00 · 17:40 AYT Antalya
SM 310 Antalya AYT 18:40 · 21:05 CAI Cairo
Sunday
SM 309 Cairo CAI 11:35 · 14:15 AYT Antalya
SM 310 Antalya AYT 15:00 · 17:40 CAI Cairo
Air Cairo international routes to/from Cairo
Map by gcmap.com
Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou (OUA): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
Italy
Milan (MXP): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
Jordan
Aqaba (AQJ): 1 weekly · Embraer 190
Kuwait
Kuwait City (KWI): 6 weekly · Airbus A320
Morocco
Tangier (TNG): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
Saudi Arabia
Abha (AHB): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Al-Qassim (ELQ): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Dammam (DMM): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
Jeddah (JED): 26 weekly · Airbus A320
Medina (MED): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
Riyadh (RUH): 12 weekly · Airbus A320
Yanbu (YNB): 7 weekly · Airbus A320
United Arab Emirates
Sharjah (SHJ): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
Air Côte d’Ivoire
The Abidjan-based airline postponed the start of its services to Morocco.
At the time of publication, operations were scheduled to begin on April 16th, although further modifications are likely to occur.
Tuesday and Friday
HF 790 Abidjan ABJ 12:40 · 18:15 CMN Casablanca
HF 791 Casablanca CMN 20:15 · 23:50 ABJ Abidjan
Thursday and Sunday
HF 790 Abidjan ABJ 08:00 · 13:35 CMN Casablanca
HF 791 Casablanca CMN 15:35 · 19:10 ABJ Abidjan
Air Peace
The company will inaugurate flights to the United Kingdom from Lagos, Nigeria. As of March 31st, Air Peace will operate six weekly services with its unique 274-seat Boeing 777-200(ER).
Daily except Saturday and Sunday
P4 7578 Lagos LOS 23:59 · 06:40+1 LGW London
Sunday
P4 7578 Lagos LOS 00:45 · 07:25 LGW London
Daily except Sunday
P4 7579 London LGW 11:10 · 17:50 LOS Lagos
London will be Air Peace’s first destination in Europe, and the third outside Africa. Jeddah and Mumbai are the other connections, also to/from Lagos.
AnadoluJet
The Turkish carrier will launch a new connection between Turkey and Egypt effective March 1st. According to its website, AnadoluJet will offer five flights a week to Cairo from Istanbul SAW on the 176-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Check schedules for each day, as it will have minor changes.
Nile Air was already operating between the two airports, with the following schedule:
Daily
NP 191 Cairo CAI 11:55 · 15:05 SAW Istanbul
NP 192 Istanbul SAW 16:05 · 17:15 CAI Cairo
Emirates
As we had announced in the Latin America section, Emirates was planning to increase its services to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires as of December 7th, from 4 to 5 weekly.
In the last few days, the company confirmed that it is bringing forward the start of the fifth frequency on this route to November 2nd.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
EK 247 Dubai DXB 08:05 · 15:55 GIG Rio de Janeiro
EK 247 Rio de Janeiro GIG 17:30 · 20:55 EZE Buenos Aires
EK 248 Buenos Aires EZE 22:30 · 01:15+1 GIG Rio de Janeiro
EK 248 Rio de Janeiro GIG 02:55+1 · 00:30+2 DXB Dubai
Emirates will add a new service on Saturdays.
Coincidentally, on November 2nd, but of 2022, the airline resumed operations to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro after two and a half years due to the pandemic.
Ethiopian
Effective May 31st, Ethiopian will begin operations on the Addis Ababa – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) – Freetown (Sierra Leone) route.
In line with its website, the carrier will offer three flights per week with 270-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jets.
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
ET 943 Addis Ababa ADD 10:50 · 17:20 FNA Freetown (via OUA)
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
ET 942 Freetown FNA 08:35 · 20:50 ADD Addis Ababa (via OUA)
Map by gcmap.com
Regarding the commencement of the new route Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew said: “We are delighted to expand our West Africa network with the addition of Freetown, Sierra Leone. This new route, set to launch in May 2024, will not only provide our passengers with more options for travel, but also facilitate increased tourism, trade and investment opportunities between Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso. As we continue to grow and connect with more destinations, we are committed to fostering cooperation and partnership between our countries.”
Etihad
The airline took delivery of three new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners fresh from the factory between February 18th and 21st. Registered as A6-BNG, A6-BNE and A6-BNF, the 787s departed Charleston for Abu Dhabi, where they landed after nearly 13 hours of flight time each.
Based on our database, all 3 787-9s are now in service.
Fleet
Airbus A320-200: 13
Airbus A321-200: 9
Airbus A350-1000: 5
Airbus A380-800: 4
Boeing 777-300(ER): 9
Boeing 777(F): 5
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner: 33
Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner: 10
flydubai
The company will resume services to Sochi, Russia, as of June 16th. Operations will be carried out during the summer season, with the last flight scheduled for September.
Wednesday and Sunday
FZ 971 Dubai DXB 11:30 · 14:20 AER Sochi
FZ 972 Sochi AER 15:30 · 20:10 DXB Dubai
Friday
FZ 971 Dubai DXB 11:45 · 14:40 AER Sochi
FZ 972 Sochi AER 16:00 · 20:40 DXB Dubai
flydubai routes to Russia
Map by gcmap.com
Kazan (KZN): 10 weekly
Makhachkala (MCX): 4 weekly
Mineralnye (MRV): 7 weekly
Moscow Vnukovo (VKO): 42 weekly
Novosibirsk (OVB): 7 weekly
Samara (KUF): 4 weekly
St. Petersburg (LED): 7 weekly
Ufa (UFA): 4 weekly
Volgograd (VOG): 2 weekly
Yekaterinburg (SVX): 11 weekly
Kuwait Airways
Beginning June 3rd, Kuwait Airways will boost capacity on the Kuwait – Geneva route. The airline, which currently operates with Airbus A320neo, will switch to Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft for the summer season.
The A320s are equipped with 134 seats, while the 777s have 334.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
KU 161 Kuwait City KWI 08:40 · 12:55 GVA Geneva
KU 162 Geneva GVA 14:25 · 21:55 KWI Kuwait City
Some flights are carried out with Airbus A330s.
Kuwait Airways routes to Europe
Map by gcmap.com
France
Paris (CDG): 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)
Georgia
Tbilisi (TBS): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Germany
Frankfurt (FRA): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
Munich (MUC): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Greece
Athens (ATH): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
Italy
Milan (MXP): 5 weekly · Airbus A320
Rome (FCO): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
Netherlands
Amsterdam (AMS): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Spain
Barcelona (BCN): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Madrid (MAD): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Switzerland
Geneva (GVA): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
United Kingdom
London (LHR): 13 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)
Manchester (MAN): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Pegasus
Effective April 2nd, Pegasus will inaugurate flights to Lisbon. Services will be operated three weekly with Airbus A320-200 planes from Ankara.
Tuesday and Saturday
PC 1741 Ankara ESB 17:45 · 21:00 LIS Lisbon
PC 1742 Lisbon LIS 22:00 · 05:00+1 ESB Ankara
Thursday
PC 1741 Ankara ESB 18:45 · 22:00 LIS Lisbon
PC 1742 Lisbon LIS 22:45 · 05:45+1 ESB Ankara
Ankara currently has no flights to/from Portugal.
Qatar Airways
After a four-year hiatus, Qatar confirmed the resumption of flights between Doha and Lisbon starting June 6th. The company will operate four times a week with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft configured for 254 passengers.
FlightFromToFreq.
QR 341Doha 14:45Lisbon 20:45Monday
QR 341Doha 00:55Lisbon 06:55Tuesday
QR 341Doha 11:00Lisbon 17:00Wednesday
QR 341Doha 14:25Lisbon 20:25Thursday
QR 342Lisbon 22:15Doha 07:45+1Monday
QR 342Lisbon 08:25Doha 17:55Tuesday
QR 342Lisbon 19:00Doha 04:30+1Wednesday
QR 342Lisbon 22:00Doha 07:30+1Thursday
With this restart, Qatar Airways will resume flights to Portugal.
SunExpress
In early February, SunExpress incorporated a new Boeing 737 MAX 8. The aircraft, registration TC-SMN, departed Everett just out of the factory heading to Antalya via Reykjavik.
According to our database, the MAX entered service on February 9th, with flight XQ 7292 to Izmir.
Fleet
Boeing 737-800: 49
Boeing 737 MAX 8: 14
TAAG
Last February 25th, TAAG Angola Airlines changed its services between Angola and Lisbon on flight DT 653/652.
The carrier, which was using an Airbus A330 owned by Hi Fly (9H-HFA), began operating with an Airbus A340-300, also from the charter company Hi Fly (9H-SOL).
Daily
DT 653 Luanda LAD 22:30 · 07:00+1 LIS Lisbon
DT 652 Lisbon LIS 12:40 · 19:30 LAD Luanda
In addition, TAAG offers another daily frequency on this route, which is performed by TAAG’s own Boeing 777-300(ER).
Turkish Airlines
During February, Turkish added three new jets to its fleet, all fresh from the factory. The airline’s total fleet now stands at 347 aircraft, and these were the additions:
Airbus A321-271NX registration TC-LPC
Airbus A350-941 registration TC-LGR
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registration TC-LMB
AircraftTotal
Airbus A319-1006
Airbus A320-20012
Airbus A321-20065
Airbus A321neo43
Airbus A330-20022
Airbus A330-30036
Airbus A350-90017
Boeing 737-80040
Boeing 737 MAX 820
Boeing 737-900(ER)15
Boeing 737 MAX 95
Boeing 777-300(ER)35
Boeing 777(F)8
Boeing 787-923
To read the complete February report, with each market edition, you can click on the following links:
United States and Canada
Latin America
Europe
Asia and Oceania
Cover photo: Marius Hoepner – JetPhotos (Freetown, Sierra Leone).
The post Africa and Middle East route updates – February 2024 appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.
