Gulf Air has announced that it will launch its first intercontinental route on October 1st, with the new Bahrain-New York service. The airline will operate three times a week to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, configured for 282 passengers in two classes (26 seats in Business and 256 seats in Economy).

For the first time in 28 years, Gulf Air will have flights to America, which will join Africa, Asia, and Europe, its other markets served from Bahrain International Airport. In addition, for the first time in almost three decades, New York will be connected to Bahrain, making it its ninth regular destination in the Middle East.

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• GF 91  Bahrain BAH 04:00 · 10:55 JFK New York
• GF 90  New York JFK 15:00 · 10:35+1 BAH Bahrain

Gulf Air’s last flights to the United States were in 1997, operating the Bahrain–Larnaca–New York JFK route and vice versa on Airbus A340-300 aircraft.

China Airlines to operate first Asia-Phoenix route

The Taiwanese airline, based in Taipei, will begin services between Taoyuan International Airport and Phoenix from December 3rd. China Airlines will offer three weekly frequencies with 306-seat Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• CI 35  Taipei TPE 11:55 · 21:30+1 PHX Phoenix
• CI 36  Phoenix PHX 10:55 · 08:00 TPE Taipei

The TPE-PHX leg will have a stopover in Los Angeles

Phoenix will become China Airlines’ sixth U.S. destination, joining Los Angeles, New York, Ontario, San Francisco and Seattle. It also operates cargo flights to/from some US cities such as Anchorage, Chicago, Dallas and Miami, using Boeing 747-400(F)s.

Delta expands in South America

Delta Air Lines will operate for the first time between Salt Lake City and South America.

The Peruvian capital will join the airline’s international network from Salt Lake City as a result of Delta Air Lines’ Joint Venture (JV) agreement with LATAM Airlines, South America’s leading carrier, with Lima being one of its main hubs. Delta will fly once daily with Boeing 767-300(ER) aircraft configured for 226 passengers starting December 4th.

Daily

• DL 193  Salt Lake City SLC 22:00 · 08:50+1 LIM Lima
• DL 192  Lima LIM 12:00 · 19:20 SLC Salt Lake City

These services will be offered during Northern Winter 2025/26, with the last flight scheduled for January 25th, 2026.

Atlanta is Delta’s current destination performed from/to Lima, conducted with a daily frequency on Airbus A350-900 aircraft. LATAM also provides a daily service, but with Boeing 767-300(ER)s.

Frontier to commence more than 10 new routes

Beginning in October, Frontier Airlines will launch several new routes within the United States, to be operated by Airbus A320neo aircraft:

• Newark (EWR) – Chicago (MDW): 4 weekly · October 7th
• Dallas (DFW) – El Paso (ELP): 3 weekly · October 8th
• New York (JFK) – Chicago (ORD): 4 weekly · Oct0ber 8th
• New York (JFK) – Denver (DEN): 3 weekly · October 8th
• Dallas (DFW) – Charleston (CHS): 2 weekly · October 9th
• Dallas (DFW) – Tucson (TUS): 2 weekly · October 9th
• Denver (DEN) – Corpus Christi (CRP): 2 weekly · October 9th
• Salt Lake City (SLC) – Santa Ana (SNA): 2 weekly · October 9th
• Atlanta (ATL) – Omaha (OMA): 2 weekly · October 10th
• Phoenix (PHX) – San Antonio (SAT): 3 weekly · October 10th
• Tampa (TPA) – Kansas City (MCI): 1 weekly · October 11th
• Tampa (TPA) – St. Louis (STL): 1 weekly · October 11th
• Denver (DEN) – Tulsa (TUL): 2 weekly · October 12th
• Atlanta (ATL) – Richmond (RIC): 2 weekly · October 17th
• Denver (DEN) – Richmond (RIC): 2 weekly · October 19th

Regarding other U.S. airline news, jetBlue is scheduled to operate its last flight with an Embraer 190 on September 9th, and Southwest Airlines will begin services to St. Thomas (STT) starting in early 2026, its first new destination after four years.

WestJet adds routes to Latin America

The Canadian airline has announced a major international expansion in Latin America, a market in which it currently operates in Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Saint Lucia and Sint Maarten, all with flights from Canada.

WestJet will further develop its operations in Central America and the Caribbean during Northern Winter 2025/26, with the following new routes and destinations.

New destinations

• Calgary (YYC) – Guadalajara (GDL): 2 weekly · December 7th
• Calgary (YYC) – Panama City (PTY): 4 weekly · December 13th
• Calgary (YYC) – Tepic (TPQ): 1 weekly · December 13th
• Montreal (YUL) – Managua (MGA): 1 weekly · December 18th
• Toronto (YYZ) – Havana (HAV): 2 weekly · December 18th

New routes

• Quebec City (YQB) – Montego Bay (MBJ): 1 weekly · December 6th
• Montreal (YUL) – Samaná (AZS): 2 weekly · December 11th
• Vancouver (YVR) – Liberia (LIR): 1 weekly · December 12th
• Calgary (YYC) – Puerto Plata (POP): 1 weekly · December 14th
• Thunder Bay (YQT) – Punta Cana (PUJ): 1 weekly · December 16th
• Winnipeg (YWG) – Liberia (LIR): 1 weekly · December 19th
• Calgary (YYC) – Cozumel (CZM): 1 weekly · December 20th

Luxair to begin new routes within Europe and to Africa

Luxair is set to make an important expansion within Europe in 2026, by launching eight new routes from Findel Airport in Luxembourg.

• Porto Santo (PXO): 1 weekly · March 31st, 2026
• Alicante (ALC): 2 weekly · April 1st, 2026
• Patras (GPA): 1 weekly · May 20th, 2026
• Zakynthos (ZTH): 1 weekly · May 20th, 2026
• Girona (GRO): 2 weekly · June 2nd, 2026
• Helsinki (HEL): 2 weekly · July 2nd, 2026
• Edinburgh (EDI): 2 weekly · July 3rd, 2026
• Bilbao (BIO): 2 weekly · July 16th, 2026

In addition, the airline will inaugurate a new route to Africa from July 4th, 2026.

Luxembourg-Tunis will join Luxair’s regular schedule, with two weekly frequencies, being the only carrier to operate between both cities. Agadir, Cairo, Djerba, Enfidha, Marsa Alam and Monastir are its current destinations on the African continent.

PIA to fly to the United Kingdom

Effective August 16th, Pakistan International Airlines will initiate flights between Islamabad and Manchester, which will be performed on Boeing 777-200(ER) aircraft seating 310 passengers in three classes (35 seats in Business, 60 seats in Premium Economy and 215 seats in Economy).

Manchester will be PIA’s second scheduled destination in Europe after Paris Charles de Gaulle, operating from/to Islamabad and Lahore with the same aircraft.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

• PK 701  Islamabad ISB 12:05 · 17:00 MAN Manchester
• PK 702  Manchester MAN 19:00 · 06:50+1 ISB Islamabad

Aegean Airlines to serve between Greece and India with A321XLRs

The Greek airline has announced the commencement of two new routes between Athens and India, marking its entry into the Indian market.

Delhi and Mumbai will be Aegean’s new destinations from the Greek capital, to be served by its new Airbus A321XLRs configured with 24 seats in Business and 114 seats in Economy, scheduled to join the fleet from January 2026.

• Athens (ATH) – Delhi (DEL): 5 weekly · March 2026
• Athens (ATH) – Mumbai (BOM): 3 weekly · May 2026

Aegean Airlines has confirmed that ticket sales on these routes will begin in September.

Nordwind launches flights to North Korea

Recently, Nordwind has opened sales on the Moscow Sheremetyevo – Pyongyang route, its first service between Russia and North Korea.

At the time of publication, only one flight had been operated, on July 27th on the SVO-FNJ leg and on July 29th on the reverse segment, which was carried out by the Boeing 777-212(ER) with registration RA-73340 configured for 440 passengers in single class.

The Russian airline intends to operate one flight per month on this route, currently having two flights on sale. According to its website, Nordwind will perform the next services on August 26th and September 26th.

First flight schedule

• N4 6107  Moscow SVO 19:46 · 09:29+1 FNJ Pyongyang
• N4 6108  Pyongyang FNJ 09:01 · 10:45 SVO Moscow

Nordwind becomes the second airline with operations in North Korea following Air Koryo, North Korea’s flag carrier.

Norse to serve between Europe and Thailand

The airline will arrive in Thailand as of late October 2025 with six new scheduled routes, which it will operate with 338-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. These services will be conducted from Europe during Northern Winter 2025/26, with London, Manchester, Oslo and Stockholm being the connections.

Stockholm – Bangkok · October 22nd

Wednesday and Saturday

• N0 191  Stockholm ARN 16:45 · 10:15+1 BKK Bangkok
• N0 192  Bangkok BKK 09:15 · 15:45 ARN Stockholm (Tue/Sun)

The first flight between Bangkok and Stockholm will be operated on October 23rd (Thursday).

London Gatwick – Bangkok · October 26th

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

• Z0 791  London LGW 16:00 · 10:25+1 BKK Bangkok
• Z0 792  Bangkok BKK 12:30 · 18:30 LGW London (Tue/Thu/Fri)

Oslo – Bangkok · October 27th

Monday and Thursday

• N0 91  Oslo OSL 22:00 · 15:25+1 BKK Bangkok
• N0 92  Bangkok BKK 07:35 · 14:50 OSL Oslo (Tue/Fri)

Manchester – Bangkok · November 26th

Wednesday/Thursday

• Z0 891  Manchester MAN 23:30 · 18:00+1 BKK Bangkok (Wednesday)
• Z0 892  Bangkok BKK 20:00 · 02:15+1 MAN Manchester (Thursday)

Stockholm – Phuket · December 4th

Thursday/Friday

• N0 195  Stockholm ARN 12:20 · 05:50+1 HKT Phuket (Thursday)
• N0 196  Phuket HKT 07:50 · 14:50 ARN Stockholm (Friday)

Oslo – Phuket · December 8th

Monday/Tuesday

• N0 95  Oslo OSL 22:00 · 15:40+1 HKT Phuket (Monday)
• N0 96  Phuket HKT 17:40 · 00:50+1 OSL Oslo (Tuesday)

Hong Kong Airlines launches flights to Melbourne

Beginning December 12th, Hong Kong Airlines will launch a new destination to Australia, to be operated by Airbus A330-300 aircraft configured for 292 passengers in two classes (32 seats in Business and 260 seats in Economy).

The airline will serve three times weekly between Hong Kong and Melbourne, offering 876 seats a week on each leg. Melbourne will join Sydney, its current destination in the country.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday

• HX 13  Hong Kong HKG 23:10 · 11:30+1 MEL Melbourne
• HX 14  Melbourne MEL 13:00 · 19:20 HKG Hong Kong (Tue/Thu/Sat)

Considering the two routes, Hong Kong Airlines will have 10 weekly flights in the Hong Kong-Australia market starting in December.

Air Peace to operate between Abuja and Europe

The Nigerian airline, based in Abuja, will expand its international schedule with a new route to Europe. In accordance with its website, Air Peace will operate to London Heathrow from the Nigerian capital effective October 26th.

This route, which is already on sale through Air Peace’s website, will be conducted three times weekly on Boeing 777-200(ER) aircraft seating 274 passengers.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

• P4 7580  Abuja ABV 11:20 · 16:30 LHR London
• P4 7581  London LHR 21:10 · 04:20+1 ABV Abuja

Air Peace is the only Nigerian carrier to fly to Europe, currently serving seven times per week between Lagos and London Gatwick by Boeing 777s. As well as Air Peace, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Turkish Airlines operate in the Europe-Nigeria market.

Arkia starts new seasonal route to the UK

Arkia Israel Airlines has confirmed that it will launch a new route to Europe as of August 2nd, to be provided during the Northern Summer 2025.

At publication time, the airline will operate five times weekly between Tel Aviv and London Stansted with Airbus A321neo aircraft configured for 220 passengers until October 31th, as these will be seasonal services.

TLV – STN

• IZ 911  Tel Aviv TLV 12:30 · 15:55 STN London (Monday)
• IZ 911  Tel Aviv TLV 10:50 · 14:15 STN London (Tue/Thu/Sat)
• IZ 911  Tel Aviv TLV 12:35 · 16:00 STN London (Sunday)

STN – TLV

• IZ 912  London STN 17:25 · 00:35+1 TLV Tel Aviv (Monday)
• IZ 912  London STN 15:45 · 22:55 TLV Tel Aviv (Tue/Thu/Sat)
• IZ 912  London STN 17:30 · 00:40+1 TLV Tel Aviv (Sunday)

As you can see in our database, Arkia has an important network of destinations in Europe, including cities in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland. London Stansted will be its first city served in the United Kingdom.

Etihad to add seven new routes

One day after the announcement of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s cessation of operations, Etihad Airways has confirmed the addition of seven new routes from/to Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, which will begin in March 2026, except for Medina, scheduled to commence in November 2025.

• Medina (MED): 6 weekly · Airbus A321 · November 9th
• Baku (GYD): 10 weekly · Airbus A321 · March 2nd, 2026
• Yerevan (EVN): 10 weekly · Airbus A321 · March 9th, 2026
• Tbilisi (TBS): 8 weekly · Airbus A321 · March 13th, 2026
• Almaty (ALA): 8 weekly · Airbus A321 · March 16th, 2026
• Bucharest (OTP): 4 weekly · Airbus A321 · March 16th, 2026
• Tashkent (TAS): 6 weekly · Airbus A321 · March 19th, 2026

All are currently offered by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi except for Tbilisi.

New aircraft added by airlines during July

Cover photo: © Lewis Lydiate – JetPhotos