Here's our weekly roundup of new air routes in Asia.
Singapore Airlines adds second Scandinavian city
On May 30, Singapore Airlines started a five-times weekly service to Stockholm via Moscow. This route is operated on an Airbus A350-900 with 253 seats, 42 of which are in business class, 24 in premium economy and 187 in economy.
SQ362 departs Singapore at 00.20 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and will arrive in Stockholm at 08.25 on the same day. The return leg, SQ361 will depart Stockholm at 10.25 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and arrive in Singapore at 06.20 the following day.
Japan Airlines heads to Melbourne
Japan Airlines will commence its inaugural Narita-Melbourne route beginning September 1, 2017. The daily service will utilise a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which has a capacity of 186 seats.
The first flight, JL773, will depart Narita at 10.30 and arrive in Melbourne at 21.55 from September 1-30. The return flight will depart Melbourne at 00.05 and arrive in Narita at 09.05.
Due to daylight savings, from October 1-28, JL773 will arrive in Melbourne at 22.55, and from October 2-28, JL774 will depart at 00.35 and arrive in Narita at 08.35. The schedule beyond October 29 will be announced later.
SilkAir flies direct to Hiroshima
SilkAir will launch thrice-weekly flights between Singapore and Hiroshima on October 30, 2017.
The flights, which operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, will utilise a Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a two-class configuration.
MI868 will depart Singapore at 01.45 and land in Hiroshima at 09.30. The return flight, MI867, will depart Hiroshima at 10.25, and arrive in Singapore at 15.40.
SriLankan Airlines launches Colombo-Melbourne route
From October 29, 2017, the national carrier of Sri Lanka will fly daily from Colombo to Melbourne on an 283-seater A330-300 aircraft, marking the only direct flight between Australia and Sri Lanka.
Outbound flights will depart Colombo at 23.50 and arrive in Melbourne at 15.25, while the return leg will depart at 16.55 from Melbourne and arrive at 22.15 in Colombo.
Route update: Cebu Pacific axes Middle Eastern flights
Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) will suspend its service to and from the following destinations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; and Doha, Qatar.
CEB will fly the last of its four-times-weekly service from Manila to Kuwait on June 13, 2017 and its Kuwait-Manila flight on June 14. The thrice-weekly Manila-Doha-Manila route will have its last flight on July 1; while CEB’s last flight from Manila to Riyadh will depart on July 2 and the Riyadh-Manila flight on July 3.
