The European market had major developments in February, with new international routes and aircraft being added to the airlines.

In this edition we have the following highlights:

• Air Baltic incorporates its 47th Airbus A220.

• Air Corsica adds a new Airbus A320neo.

• Air Europa to start flights with Boeing 737 MAX 8 in July.

• Croatia Airlines will begin services to Turkey from Split.

• Eastern Airways will modify its operation in Paris.

• Emirates will reach seven daily flights to London Heathrow.

• flydubai will have four new connections to Europe.

• KLM confirms the first three destinations for its Airbus A321neo.

• PLAY will fly to Vilnius, Lithuania.

• New Airbus A320neo for Scandinavian Airlines System.

• Sky Alps will operate to Brač, Mostar and Zadar from Verona.

• Vueling will return to London Heathrow after four years.

Air Baltic

On February 13th at 23:10 local time, after an 8-hour flight, Air Baltic’s new Airbus A220-300 arrived in Riga. The aircraft, with registration YL-ABU, entered service two days later with flight BT 341 from Riga to Vilnius.

This is the first Airbus A220 taken by Air Baltic this year, bringing the total to 47.

Air Corsica

The French company added a new Airbus A320neo fresh from the factory last February 8th. Registered as F-HXKF, it is the third A320neo in Air Corsica’s fleet, which now totals 12 jets.

• ATR 42-500: 1*
• ATR 72-600: 5
• Airbus A320-200: 3
• Airbus A320neo: 3

The ATR 42-500 has been inactive in Ajaccio since January 2nd.

Air Europa

The airline plans to start regular flights with the Boeing 737 MAX 8 as of July 1st. Venice will be the first destination for these Air Europa aircraft, which will operate twice daily.

Daily

• UX 1081  Madrid MAD 07:20 · 09:45 VCE Venice
• UX 1082  Venice VCE 10:45 · 13:30 MAD Madrid

Daily

• UX 1083  Madrid MAD 15:15 · 17:40 VCE Venice
• UX 1084  Venice VCE 18:40 · 21:25 MAD Madrid

Air Europa will take delivery of the first 737 MAX shortly.

BRA

The Swedish company announced that it will modify, for a few weeks, its services in Stockholm. Flights will move to Arlanda Airport, instead of Bromma, where it currently operates.

BRA will have this schedule to/from Stockholm Arlanda Airport:

• Angelholm (AGH): 19 weekly
• Åre Östersund (OSD): 3 weekly
• Gothenburg (GOT): 16 weekly
• Halmstad (HAD): 10 weekly
• Kalmar (KLR): 6 weekly
• Malmö (MMX): 31 weekly
• Ronneby (RNB): 6 weekly
• Umea (UME): 14 weekly
• Visby (VBY): 43 weekly

The last flight from Arlanda is scheduled for August 4th.

British Airways

The airline will launch services between London Gatwick and Jersey effective May 23rd. According to its website, British will have four weekly flights with Airbus A320-200 airplanes.

• BA 2530/2531: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Check timetables as there will have a different one for each day.

British Airways currently operates 31 times a week to Jersey from London Heathrow with the Airbus A319 and Airbus A320neo.

Condor

Beginning October 29th, the German carrier will start operations between Berlin and Dubai. Condor will offer a daily flight on this route on Airbus A320-200s with a capacity of 186 passengers.

Daily

• DE 2500  Berlin BER 20:50 · 06:00+1 DXB Dubai
• DE 2501  Dubai DXB 10:00 · 14:10 BER Berlin

Croatia Airlines

As of May 7th, Croatia Airlines is scheduled to commence seasonal services between Split, Croatia and Istanbul. The company will fly three times a week on Airbus A319 and Airbus A320 aircraft until mid-October.

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

• OU 4352  Split SPU 21:10 · 23:59 IST Istanbul

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• OU 4353  Istanbul IST 05:10 · 06:00 SPU Split

Croatia Airlines routes from/to Split

Croatia

• Zagreb (ZAG): 22 weekly

Germany

• Frankfurt (FRA): 7 weekly
• Munich (MUC): 7 weekly

Italy

• Rome (FCO): 7 weekly

Switzerland

• Zurich (ZRH): 2 weekly

CSA Czech Airlines

The carrier plans to duplicate its flight frequency between Prague and Madrid on March 31st. In line with its website, CSA Czech Airlines will increase from two to four weekly services.

Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday

• OK 700  Prague PRG 10:05 · 13:55 MAD Madrid
• OK 701  Madrid MAD 13:55 · 16:45 PRG Prague

CSA will resume, after a month and a half, flights on this route as of February 22nd.

Eastern Airways

The airline will transfer its operations from Orly Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport starting April 1st. Eastern Airways currently serves East Midlands and Southampton with ATR 72-600 aircraft.

According to its booking site, the carrier will make its last flight to Orly on March 30th.

East Midlands (EMA) and Southampton (SOU) schedule

easyJet

Between March and June, easyJet will launch several international routes from different Italian cities. Services will be operated with Airbus A319 and Airbus A320 aircraft with 154 and 186 seats respectively.

Bari

• Geneva (GVA): 2 weekly · May 4th

Milan Malpensa

• Gran Canaria (LPA): 1 weekly · March 31st
• Sitia (JSH): 1 weekly · June 29th
• Toulouse (TLS): 2 weekly · April 1st

Naples

• Aktion (PVK): 2 weekly · June 1st
• Nantes (NTE): 2 weekly · June 3rd
• Sitia (JSH): 2 weekly · June 24th
• Zakynthos (ZTH): 2 weekly · June 1st

Pisa

• Barcelona (BCN): 2 weekly · June 26th

Venice (VCE)

• Athens (ATH): 2 weekly · April 22nd

Emirates

The company will boost to seven daily frequencies between Dubai and London Heathrow from summer 2024. Currently, flight EK 41/42 operates five times a week.

• EK 41  Dubai DXB 13:20 · 17:20 LHR London
• EK 42  London LHR 20:15 · 07:20+1 DXB Dubai

Other Emirates services on this route:

• EK 1/2: daily
• EK 3/4: daily
• EK 5/6: daily
• EK 7/8: daily
• EK 29/30: daily
• EK 31/32: daily

flydubai

The airline will inaugurate four new routes to Europe between August and October. Operations will be from/to Dubai, flydubai’s main hub.

• Basel Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL): 4 weekly · August 2nd
• Riga (RIX): 3 weekly · October 11th
• Tallinn (TLL): 3 weekly · October 12th
• Vilnius (VNO): 3 weekly · October 12th

With these 4 additions, flydubai will reach 43 destinations in Europe among 21 countries.

KLM

The Dutch carrier confirmed the first 3 destinations to be served by its Airbus A321neo, which will begin flights on August 26th.

• Berlin (BER)
• Copenhagen (CPH)
• Stockholm (ARN)

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will commence operating the first of a total of around thirty A321neos in August.

PLAY

Starting next May 25th, PLAY will inaugurate services to Vilnius, Lithuania. The company will offer a weekly flight with 186-seat Airbus A320neo aircraft.

Saturday

• OG 594  Reykjavik KEF 14:50 · 21:50 VNO Vilnius
• OG 595  Vilnius VNO 22:50 · 00:10+1 KEF Reykjavik

PLAY destinations in Europe (to/from KEF)

Austria

• Salzburg (SZG)

Denmark

• Copenhagen (CPH)

France

• Paris (CDG)

Germany

• Berlin (BER)
• Frankfurt (FRA)

Ireland

• Dublin (DUB)

Italy

• Verona (VRN)

Netherlands

• Amsterdam (AMS)

Portugal

• Lisbon (LIS)

Spain

• Alicante (ALC)
• Barcelona (BCN)
• Fuerteventura (FUE)
• Gran Canaria (LPA)
• Madrid (MAD)
• Tenerife South (TFS)

Switzerland

• Zurich (ZRH)

United Kingdom

• Liverpool (LPL)
• London Stansted (STN)

Qanot Sharq

The airline confirmed it will start flights to Barcelona from August 25th. Qanot Sharq will operate the Urgench – Barcelona – Tashkent route with Airbus A321neo jets, once weekly.

Sunday

• HH 4419  Urgench UGC 16:30 · 19:40 BCN Barcelona
• HH 4420  Barcelona BCN 20:50 · 07:50+1 TAS Tashkent

Ryanair

The ultra low cost carrier will add a new base at Reggio Calabria airport beginning in April. According to its website, Ryanair will have eight routes, which will be operated on Boeing 737-800s and Boeing 737 MAXs.

• Barcelona (BCN): 2 weekly
• Berlin (BER): 2 weekly
• Bologna (BLQ): 5 weekly
• Manchester (MAN): 2 weekly
• Marseille (MRS): 2 weekly
• Tirana (TIA): 2 weekly
• Turin (TRN): 4 weekly
• Venice (VCE): 3 weekly

SAS

Scandinavian Airlines System took delivery of a new Airbus A320neo on February 10th. The aircraft, registered SE-RZZ, arrived at Stockholm Arlanda from Toulouse, fresh from the factory.

SAS fleet

• ATR 72: 7
• Airbus A319-100: 4
• Airbus A320-200: 11
• Airbus A320neo: 38
• Airbus A321neo: 3
• Airbus A330-300: 8
• Airbus A350-900: 3
• CRJ-900: 17

The Airbus A320 SE-RZZ entered service four days later.

Sky Alps

The company will add three international connections to/from Verona. In accordance with its website, Sky Alps will fly 76-seat DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 aircraft.

Mostar · April 30th

Tuesday and Friday

• BQ 1958  Verona VRN 11:00 · 12:35 OMO Mostar
• BQ 1959  Mostar OMO 18:35 · 20:20 VRN Verona

Brač · June 8th

Saturday

• BQ 1972  Verona VRN 09:00 · 10:20 BWK Brač
• BQ 1973  Brač BWK 15:30 · 16:50 VRN Verona

Zadar · June 15th

Saturday

• BQ 1982  Verona VRN 07:40 · 08:45 ZAD Zadar
• BQ 1983  Zadar ZAD 09:30 · 10:40 VRN Verona

TAP Air Portugal

Agadir will once again be part of TAP Air Portugal’s regular schedule as of June 3rd. Flights, which will be seasonal, will have the following schedule:

Monday and Friday

• TP 1462  Lisbon LIS 23:35 · 01:20+1 AGA Agadir

Tuesday and Saturday

• TP 1463  Agadir AGA 04:25 · 06:10 LIS Lisbon

Turkish Airlines

Effective May 19th, Turkish will expand its operations between Istanbul and Manchester.

The airline will increase from 21 to 25 weekly services, that will be operated on Airbus A321, Airbus A321neo and Airbus A330 planes.

Turkish Airlines routes to UK

• Birmingham (BHX): 14 weekly · Airbus A321
• Edinburgh (EDI): 7 weekly · Airbus A321
• London (LGW): 21 weekly · Airbus A321
• London (LHR): 45 weekly · A321, A333 and 789
• Manchester (MAN): 21 weekly · currently

Vueling

The Spanish airline confirmed the resumption of flights to London Heathrow from April 7th. At the moment, Vueling will offer two scheduled routes, both with Airbus A320:

• Barcelona (BCN): 14 weekly
• Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG): 7 weekly

Until March 2020, the company had operated to/from London Heathrow airport. At that time, A Coruña was its only route, but previously Barcelona, Bilbao, Florence, Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Vigo had been among its connections.

British Airways has 60 flights per week between London Heathrow and Barcelona, and 49 on the LHR-CDG route. Air France offers 38 weekly flights between the two capitals.

Wizz Air UK

The carrier incorporated a new Airbus A321-271NX, which commenced regular services as of February 11th.

This aircraft, registered G-WUNC, arrived at London Luton from Hamburg after a 1 hour and 20 minute ferry flight.

Wizz Air UK has 19 aircraft in its fleet, 3 A321-200s and 16 A321neo.

The Airbus A321-200s are configured with 235 seats in single class, and the NEOs have 239.

We have already published reports on two markets in February. To read them, you can click on the following links:

• United States and Canada.
• Latin America.

Cover photo: Luca Radulescu – JetPhotos (Stockholm Arlanda).