We reached the end of the February report, with the Africa and Middle East 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
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)
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
Friday
flydubai routes to Russia
- 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
France
- Paris (CDG): 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)
Georgia
- Tbilisi (TBS): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Germany
Greece
- Athens (ATH): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
Italy
Netherlands
- Amsterdam (AMS): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
Spain
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.
| Flight | From | To | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|
| QR 341 | Doha 14:45 | Lisbon 20:45 | Monday |
| QR 341 | Doha 00:55 | Lisbon 06:55 | Tuesday |
| QR 341 | Doha 11:00 | Lisbon 17:00 | Wednesday |
| QR 341 | Doha 14:25 | Lisbon 20:25 | Thursday |
| QR 342 | Lisbon 22:15 | Doha 07:45+1 | Monday |
| QR 342 | Lisbon 08:25 | Doha 17:55 | Tuesday |
| QR 342 | Lisbon 19:00 | Doha 04:30+1 | Wednesday |
| QR 342 | Lisbon 22:00 | Doha 07:30+1 | Thursday |
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
| Aircraft | Total |
|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 6 |
| Airbus A320-200 | 12 |
| Airbus A321-200 | 65 |
| Airbus A321neo | 43 |
| Airbus A330-200 | 22 |
| Airbus A330-300 | 36 |
| Airbus A350-900 | 17 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 40 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 20 |
| Boeing 737-900(ER) | 15 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 9 | 5 |
| Boeing 777-300(ER) | 35 |
| Boeing 777(F) | 8 |
| Boeing 787-9 | 23 |
To read the complete February report, with each market edition, you can click on the following links:
Cover photo: Marius Hoepner – JetPhotos (Freetown, Sierra Leone).
