Here's our weekly roundup of new air routes and other aviation news
Vietjet opens HCMC-Bali route
Vietjet will be the first airline to connect Ho Chi Minh City (HVMC) with Bali starting May 29. The four-hour flight will operate five times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. It departs from HCMC at 08.05 and arrives in Bali at 13.05. The return flight takes off from Bali at 14.05 and lands in HCMC at 17.05. Operated with Airbus A320-A320neo aircraft, the flight will be able to accommodate 180-230 passengers.
AirAsia to connect Bangkok and Sihanoukville
AirAsia will launch direct flights from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Sihanoukville in Cambodia starting July 1. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flight FD660 departs from Bangkok at 14.25 to arrive in Sihanoukville at 15.50. FD661 then leaves Sihanoukville at 16.25 for arrival back in Bangkok at 17.45.
Garuda, SIA expand codeshare to Singapore-Jakarta
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Garuda Indonesia have expanded their codeshare agreement to cover services between Singapore and Jakarta. SIA and Garuda Indonesia each operates nine flights per day on the route. The two carriers first started codesharing in 2010 on each other’s flights between Singapore and Denpasar (Bali). In 2014, the agreement was expanded to include flights between Singapore and Surabaya. SIA and Garuda Indonesia operate a combined total of 175 weekly scheduled services between Singapore and Indonesia.
SIA’s regional subsidiary SilkAir also codeshares on Garuda Indonesia-operated flights to Denpasar and Surabaya, while Garuda Indonesia codeshares on SilkAir-operated flights to ten destinations in its Indonesia network.
Qantas to launch winter flights from Sydney to Sapporo
Qantas will launch new direct seasonal flights between Sydney and Sapporo. To coincide with the peak ski season, Qantas will fly thrice weekly to Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport between December 16, 2019 and March 28, 2020. The flights will be operated with Qantas’ upgraded Airbus A330 aircraft, offering more than 10,000 seats on the route over this period.
Qantas will be the first airline to fly direct between Sydney and Sapporo and the service will be the national carrier’s fifth route between Australia and Japan.
Hainan Airlines to inaugurate first mainland China-Norway service
Hainan Airlines is planning to launch flights between Beijing and Oslo on May 15. This will be the first direct route between mainland China and Norway as well as the airline’s first non-stop Nordic service. The Beijing-Oslo route, with three round-trip weekly flights will be serviced by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft with 32 seats in business class and 262 seats in economy class.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, HU769 departs Beijing at 01.30 to arrive in Oslo at 05.30. On Mondays and Fridays, HU770 leaves Oslo at 14.30 for arrival in Beijing at 05.30 the following day. The return flight on Wednesdays are scheduled to leave Oslo at 13.55, for arrival in Beijing at 05.00 the next day.
