Adria Airways (JP/Ljubljana) has taken delivery of its first two A319-100s and has launched new services from its Ljubljana hub and two more routes outside Slovenia besides Frankfurt Intl-Vienna:
Ljubljana-Banja Luka: 4x weekly CRJ-200 service has started on July 14
Ljubljana-Marseilles: 2x weekly seasonal CRJ-200 service has started on August 4
Pristina-Frankfurt Intl: 5x weekly A319-100 service starting on November 2
Pristina-Munich: daily A319-100 service starting on October 31Aegean Airlines (A3/Athens) and Olympic Air (OA/Athens) are planning to merge later this year using the Olympic Air name in an attempt to create a big enough hub and spoke operation in Athens. The new combined entity would be listed on the Athens Stock Exchange with the Aegean majority owner Vassilakis Group and Olympic parent Marfin Investment Group getting an equal stake in the carrier. The European Union has announced that it will review the proposed plan because it would create a monopoly on a wide range of domestic and international routes. Aegean has officially joined Star Alliance and has launched new domestic public service obligation services:
Athens-Kalamata: up to 2x daily ATR 72-500 service operated by Swiftair (7J/Madrid) (replacing Olympic Air)
Athens-Sitia: 5x weekly ARJ-100 service (replacing Sky Express (Greece) (GQ/Heraklion))
Mikonos-Milan Malpensa: weekly seasonal A320-200 service until August 26
Mikonos-Rome Fiumicino: 2x weekly seasonal A320-200 service until August 28
Santorini-Milan Malpensa: 2x weekly seasonal A320-200 service until August 29
Santorini-Rome Fiumicino: 2x weekly seasonal A320-200 service until August 30
Thessaloniki-Kalamata: 3x weekly ARJ-100 service (replacing Sky Express (Greece))
Thessaloniki-Kerkyra: 5x weekly ARJ-100 service (replacing Olympic Air)
Thessaloniki-Samos: 6x weekly ARJ-100 service (replacing Athens Airways (ZF/Athens))
It has however given up its routes from Athens to Bucharest Otopeni, Kefallinia, Limnos and Sofia. It will terminate its flights from Athens to Ioannina and Tirana on September 13 and from Athens to Belgrade, Kavala, Venice Marco Polo and Vienna on October 30. Aegean has retired its last B737-400 and has started phasing out its ARJ-100 fleet. It will also return its two ATR 72-500s wet-leased from Swiftair (7J/Madrid) by the end of September. It has currently temporarily wet-leased an A320-200 from Olympic Air. Aegean will start codesharing with Star Alliance partner Continental Airlines (CO/Houston Intcl) on September 1. Continental operates five weekly B767-200ER services between Athens and New York Newark. Aer Arann (RE/Dublin) has filed for examinership on August 26 and will continue to operate its own services and Aer Lingus (EI/Dublin) franchise services for the time being in a similar fashion to several US carriers that have operated under better known Chapter 11. It has already made some changes to its own network earlier this year:
Donegal-Glasgow Intl: 4x weekly ATR 42-300 service has started on March 28 (replacing route to Prestwick)
Kerry-Manchester: 4x weekly ATR 42-300 service has resumed on May 20
Waterford-Lorient: weekly seasonal ATR 72-200 service has started on May 29
Aer Arann has however given up its routes from Cork to Belfast City and Dublin on August 31. Aer Lingus (EI/Dublin) has announced that it is currently reviewing its alliance options again after having left oneworld alliance in 2007 out of its own free will. It is planning to cut 670 staff positions as part of a capacity adjustment programme. Aer Lingus has entered into a franchise agreement with Aer Arann (RE/Dublin) that now operates its four ATR 72-500s and an ATR 72-200 as an Aer Lingus Regional franchisee:
Cork-Birmingham: 2x daily ATR 72 service starting on October 31 (replacing daily mainline flight)
Cork-Bristol: daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Cork-Cardiff: daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Cork-Edinburgh: 2x daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Cork-Glasgow Intl: daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28
Cork-Jersey: 2x weekly seasonal ATR 72 service between May 22 and September 4 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Cork-La Rochelle: weekly seasonal ATR 72 service between May 22 and August 28 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Cork-Manchester: 2x daily ATR 72 service starting on October 31 (replacing daily mainline flight)
Dublin-Blackpool: daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Dublin-Cardiff: 3x daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (replacing Aer Arann route)
Dublin-Doncaster/Sheffield: 6x weekly ATR 72 service has started on March 28
Dublin-Durham Tees Valley: 5x weekly ATR 72 service has started on March 28
Dublin-Edinburgh: 2x daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (in addition to daily mainline flight)
Dublin-Glasgow Intl: 4x daily ATR 72 service has started on March 28 (replacing 2x daily mainline flights)
Shannon-Birmingham: 6x weekly ATR 72 service has started on July 1
Shannon-Bristol: 6x weekly ATR 72 service has started on July 1
Shannon-Glasgow Intl: daily ATR 72 service has started on July 1
Shannon-Manchester: daily ATR 72 service has started on July 1
Aer Lingus has also resumed four times weekly A320-200 service from Dublin to Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel. It has however given up its Belfast Intl-Munich and Dublin-Sofia routes and will temporarily suspend long haul operations from Shannon to Boston and New York JFK between January 5 and March 27, 2011. Aeroflot (SU/Moscow Sheremetyevo) is now taking over control over the airlines previously owned by Rostekhnologii that were supposed to be merged under the Rosavia brand. The Rosavia merger project has now been cancelled but Rostekhnologii has ordered 50 B737NG aircraft (and 15 options) regardless that will then be leased to Aeroflot and its new subsidiaries. Aeroflot is planning to continue to operate the airlines under separate certificates and brands for now similar to Donavia (D9/Rostov) and Nordavia (5N/Arkhangelsk) and has not yet published any final plan on what role the new subsidiaries will play although it has indicated some of them might be turned into low-cost or charter carriers. The airlines included in the deal are KMV - Kavkazskie Mineralnye Vody (KV/Mineralnye Vody), Orenair (R2/Orenburg), Rossiya (FV/St. Petersburg), Saravia (6W/Saratov), SAT Airlines (Russia) (HZ/Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Vladivostok Air (XF/Vladivostok) that all are under full or majority control of Rostekhnologii. Earlier this year, Aeroflot has also acquired the remaining 49% in Nordavia held by Aviainvest and it now also controls 100% of the Northern Russian regional carrier. Aeroflot and Rossiya have already entered into a codeshare agreement on a wide range of domestic routes. Meanwhile, Alexander Lebedev has sold his 25.8% stake in Aeroflot back to Aeroflot Finance for 400 million USD. Aeroflot has announced an order for additional 11 A330-300s in July with the aircraft scheduled to be delivered between 2011 and 2013. It has also announced plans for an order of either 22 A350s or B787s. Several new routes have been announced:
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Denpasar: weekly seasonal A330-200 service starting on December 21
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Gelendzik: daily A319-100 service has started on May 29
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Hurghada-Luanda: bi-weekly A320-200 service starting on November 2 (replacing bi-weekly non-stop B767-300ER service)
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Kazan: daily A319-100 service starting on September 1
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Male: 2x weekly seasonal A330-200 service starting on November 3
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Phuket: weekly seasonal A330-300 service starting on December 19
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Punta Cana: weekly seasonal A330-200 service starting on November 3
Moscow Sheremetyevo-Tel Aviv Ben Gurion: 5x weekly A319-100/A320-200 service has resumed on August 1
Aeroflot has given up a short-lived experiment of basing an A320-200 in the Russian Far East and has already suspended its routes between Vladivostok and Khabarovsk and from the two cities to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk again in April after five months. It has also given up its Moscow Sheremetyevo-Bratislava (only resumed in April 2010) and St. Petersburg-Kaliningrad routes on May 12. Aeroflot has also entered into a codeshare agreement with Skyteam partner Kenya Airways (KQ/Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Intl) allowing the two carriers to sell connections between Moscow Sheremetyevo and Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Intl via Dubai. Aeroflot has launched another new joint venture with Aeroflot-Plus (PZ/Moscow Sheremetyevo) minority shareholder Jetalliance (JAG/Vienna). The two carriers have based two Cessna Citation business jets in Moscow Sheremetyevo and both own 49% in a new subsidiary called Jetalliance East (Moscow Sheremetyevo).
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