Scandinavian Airlines SAS recently announced it will be expanding its regional network from October this year. The airline is introducing a new route by launching direct flight between Humberside International Airport and Copenhagen Airport starting from October 28, 2013.

SAS in a statement said that it will be operating five times weekly flights between Copenhagen and Humberside, once a day. The airline has already put the tickets on sale and is offering its customers cheap tickets starting from $161 (103 Pound) one-way (inclusive of government taxes, airport fees and fuel surcharges, and other terms and conditions applicable).

Hans Dyhrfort, SAS’ Regional General Manager Western Europe, said that the Humber region is an important northern hub for the airline. He further said that SAS considers the region as a significant area for its development with more than 5 million people living within the airport’s reach. He also said that the launch of regional service would help bolster ties with Denmark and the Nordic region.

Media reports recently said that Turkish Airlines is planning to operate the longest commercial flight in the world. This will be the airline’s first nonstop commercial flight to be operated anywhere in the world.

Media reports quoted a travel magazine Air Transport World as saying that the new route would be launched from Istanbul to Sydney, and would be spanning 8,076 nautical miles or 14,956 kilometers.

According to reports, the airline initially plans to operate the service with a stopover in Asia, but expects to offer nonstop Turkish Airlines flights between the two destinations within three years. The airline expects to operate flights on the new Istanbul-Sydney route with the help of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The launch of the new Istanbul-Sydney route will offer seamless connectivity to European travelers making most European cities highly accessible and short distance.

Earlier, Australia’s flag carrier Qantas Airways was hoping to become the first airline in the world to operate longest nonstop flight between the two cities. However, the plan of Qantas Airways seems to have been upstaged by Turkish Airlines with the announcement of the new route.

Emirates Airline recently offered slashed business class fares to its customers in an effort to shore up occupancy on its business class flights. The airline said that it is confronting depleting premium traffic in the U.S. and Europe and wants to make up its losses by cutting fares to worldwide destinations.

The airline’s three-day sale on its business class worldwide ended recently. The airline offered cheap business class tickets for travel between July 24 and August 4, 2013. The business airfares offered by the airline was about 20 percent lower than the normal fares.

Emirates Airline presently offers services to 134 destinations across the world. The airline conducts 185 weekly flights to India alone. The airline operates five daily flights to Mumbai with each flight having 42 business class seats.
 
With five daily flights to Mumbai, Emirates Airline thus offers 210 business class seats to this destination alone, which needs to be filled up by the airline in any case.

Currently, Emirates Airline is offering flight services to 10 destinations in India and has flown 26 million passengers from here in over the last 10 years .

India’s largest private carrier Jet Airways recently signed codeshare agreements with European carriers Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The codeshare agreements are aimed at providing seamless connectivity to passengers booking plane tickets on these carriers for travel to Indian and European destinations.

The codeshare agreement will now enable both Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to put their respective codes on Jet Airways-operated domestic flights for providing connectivity to Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, and beyond.

According to Air France, customers purchasing flight tickets for travel from Europe to India on Air France flights will now be easily able to connect to Chennai via Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, as well as to Kolkata, Hyderabad via Mumbai and Bengaluru on a single ticket.

Similarly, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines would also be able to place its flight code on Jet Airways-operated domestic flights to Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai via Delhi.

Allegiant Air recently announced the launch of its new nonstop flight between Asheville and Tampa. To celebrate its new service, the airline offered cheap tickets to its customers starting as low as $79.99 one-way (inclusive of all taxes, fees and surcharges, and other applicable terms) for travel between Asheville Regional Airport and Tampa’s St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport by October 28, 2013. The airline in a statement said that the new flights would operate twice weekly.
 
Andrew C. Levy, President of Allegiant Travel Company, said that the airline is delighted to add Tampa/St. Pete as another convenient and affordable destination in its flight network for the benefit of Asheville residents.

He said that Asheville residents would surely appreciate the convenience of flying nonstop to Tampa/St. Pete with the launch of the new service.  Levy said that Allegiant Air’s vacation packages and nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando are already quite popular with the residents of Ashville.

Emirates Airline recently upgraded its service on Dubai-Los Angeles route, and would be introducing its Airbus A380 aircraft starting from December 2, 2013.

The airline in a statement said that the Airbus A380 aircraft being deployed on the route would give a great flying experience to the travelers. The customers purchasing business class tickets would be offered 76 lie-flat beds in the business class cabin.

According to the airline, the 489-seat aircraft would also offer 14 Private First Class Suites as well as 399 spacious seats in Economy Class.

Providing details about the facilities being offered on board the Airbus A380 aircraft, Emirates Airline said that all premium passengers traveling in First Class and Business Class seated on the upper deck would be able to socialize at the Onboard Lounge with an array of beverage and snacks.
 
The airline has until now been operating its flights on the Dubai-Los Angeles route with the help of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Emirates Airline would operate daily A380 flights on this longest route ever in its history.

Travelers booking airline tickets from Finland and other European cities have now multiple flight options for their Asia travel. Finland’s national flag carrier Finnair has expanded its Asia operations with the launch of new flights to Hanoi and Xi’an.

Finnair recently announced it will start operating thrice weekly flights to the northern Chinese city of Xi’an and Vietnamese capital of Hanoi throughout the summer season. The flights would operate until October 27, 2013.

Finnair had last year launched flights services to Singapore and Chongqing. The airline is currently operating direct flights to 13 Asian cities, including five destinations in China. The airline said that the launch of flights to Hanoi would be the airline’s first scheduled service to Vietnam.
 
The airline in a statement said that it would be deploying an Airbus A330-300 aircraft to operate flights on both Hanoi and Xi’an routes.  The flights to Hanoi would be operated every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, while the Xi’an service would be operated every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

Southwest Airlines currently remains the busiest of all carriers at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Daily Southwest Airlines flights have been significantly increased by 8 percent as compared to May last year.

Media reports said that Southwest Airlines by increasing its flights services at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport operated a total of 95 flights to/from the airport in May 2013.

Media reports quoted Michelle Agnew, spokeswoman of Southwest Airlines, as saying that the airline started adding daily flights between St. Louis and Dallas Love Field, and between St. Louis and Los Angeles International Airport, in the month of April.

The airline had also reduced flights services between St. Louis and Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando in April this year, while it added flights between St. Louis and San Diego in the same month.

Southwest Airlines, however, said that it was able to introduce seven additional flights during the months of April and May 2013.
 

Travelers booking business class flights between New York JFK and Milan have good news from Emirates Airline, leading Middle East carrier.

Emirates Airline recently announced special business class fares for travel between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Italian city of Milan. The special roundtrip business class tickets can be booked starting at $3,540*.

The airline has announced special business class fares to mark the launch of nonstop daily flights to Milan from New York JFK starting from October 1, 2013. The fares on this offer are valid for booking until June 30, 2013.

According to Emirates Airline, the special business class fares are valid for travel starting from October 1 through December 9, 2013. The fares will be valid only when utilizing scheduled Emirates Airline’s nonstop transatlantic services from New York JFK to Milan.
 
The customers are required to book their business class tickets for travel between Milan and New York at least seven days in advance. The customers must complete their ticketing within 72 hours after booking.

* The special business class fares are roundtrip, and include government taxes, airport fees and fuel surcharges. Other terms and conditions are applicable.

South Korean tourists traveling to Taiwan have now new flight options with air tickets available at competitive rates. Taiwan’s second largest carrier EVA Air recently launched its new flights services between southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung and South Korean capital Seoul.

EVA Air launched its new service between the two destinations to boost tourism prospects further in Taiwan and South Korea. The airline in a statement said that it will be offering five weekly roundtrip flights between Kaohsiung and Seoul.

EVA Air said that the flights from Seoul to Kaohsiung would be around 2 hours and 50 minutes. The flights would be operated five times every week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The Taiwan-based carrier disclosed that there has been a considerable increase in the number of exchange visits between Taiwan and South Korea. According to EVA Air, the number of exchange visits reached a 10-year peak of 790,000 in 2012, an increase of 20 percent as compared to 2011.