Turkish Airlines expands flights to Sydney

Turkish Airlines will increase its weekly frequencies on the Istanbul – Kuala Lumpur – Sydney route in mid-June and late October, and by 2026 schedules to reach daily frequency.

As we announced in our December Asia & Oceania report, Turkish inaugurated services to Kingsford Smith International Airport on November 29th, which it operates four times a week on 329-passenger Airbus A350-900s. However, the first two flights were performed by Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft.

Through its Linkedin profile, Sydney Airport has announced that Turkish Airlines will boost from four to five weekly services on June 17th and to six per week on October 30th. In addition, from January 12th, 2026, 13 months after the inauguration, the airline will have a daily flight between Istanbul and Sydney via Kuala Lumpur.

Current schedule

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday

Considering the stopover, it is about a 20-hour flight.  

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday

Considering the stopover, it is about a 21-hour flight.

Turkish Airlines intends to start non-stop flights with Airbus A350-1000 planes in 2026.

Regarding its other route to Australia, Turkish has three weekly operations on the Istanbul – Singapore – Melbourne service on Airbus A350-900s.

Norse to commence seasonal flights between Athens and Los Angeles

Effective June 3rd, Norse Atlantic will add a new seasonal service to the U.S. city, which will be operated during summer 2025 using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets.

As per its press release, the airline will provide four services a week from the Greek capital until September 27th. With this schedule, Norse will offer almost 70 flights on this route throughout the summer, resulting in more than 23,000 seats each way.

ATH – LAX

LAX – ATH

Athens will be Norse Atlantic’s fourth scheduled destination to/from Los Angeles next summer. According to its website, the carrier will return to LAX in April, with flights from London Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Rome.

• Rome (FCO): 4 weekly · April 1st
• Paris (CDG): 3 weekly · April 3rd (6 weekly eff April 30th)
• London (LGW): 3 weekly · April 30th (6 weekly eff May 18th)
• Athens (ATH): 4 weekly · June 3rd

ANA begins services to Istanbul

At 15:05 local time on February 12th, All Nippon Airways’ inaugural flight from Tokyo Haneda arrived at Istanbul airport. The Japanese airline will operate three times weekly this route by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft with 184 seats in three classes (32 seats in Business, 14 seats in Premium Economy and 138 seats in Economy).

Istanbul joins Brussels, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Milan, Munich, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Stockholm and Vienna, its other destinations on the continent.

Monday, Wednesday and Saturday

ANA’s routes to Europe

• Brussels (BRU): 2 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• Frankfurt (FRA): 14 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• Istanbul (IST): 3 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• London (LHR): 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)
• Milan (MXP): 3 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• Munich (MUC): 7 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• Paris (CDG): 7 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• Vienna (VIE): 3 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Milan Malpensa and Stockholm Arlanda were other recent additions to ANA’s route network, on December 3rd, 2024 and January 31st, 2025, respectively.

WestJet to launch Halifax – Amsterdam

WestJet Airlines has confirmed the start of flights between the two cities, which it will offer for the first time, beginning May 29th. In accordance with its press release, the company will operate three times per week on Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes during the 2025 summer season.

Amsterdam will become WestJet’s fifth destination in Europe from Halifax, following Dublin, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Daily except Tuesday

Daily except Wednesday

“WestJet’s new service between Halifax and Amsterdam opens the door for record growth in Nova Scotia through vital investment that strengthens connectivity to Europe, furthering tourism and economic opportunities,” said Jared Mikoch-Gerke, Director of Alliances and Airport Affairs, WestJet. “We’re excited to see the stories that will unfold as travellers from both regions connect and discover the unique charm of these vibrant cities.”

We review other highlights of the European market

The airline will commence flying between Athens and Baku from April 14th, to be conducted once-weekly with Airbus A320 jets seating 174 passengers.

Monday and Friday

Flight A3 965 will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Belgrade – Florence, Air Serbia’s new route to Italy.

Services will start on April 18th and will be performed twice a week on ATR 72-600 aircraft.

BEL – FLR

FLR – BEL

The airline will add a new market in Europe from France by introducing two new routes as of July 3rd.

ASL Airlines France will operate one weekly flight on each service to Pristina, capital of Kosovo, with the following schedule:

Lyon

Thursday

Paris Charles de Gaulle

Thursday

ASL Airlines France has 19 Boeing 737s in its fleet (2 Boeing 737-300, 3 Boeing 737-400, 1 Boeing 737-700 and 13 Boeing 737-800).

Effective June 14th, the airline will reach two daily frequencies between Bogotá and Barcelona, as reported by Aeroinfo Barcelona-El Prat. Avianca will offer this route using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft with 291 seats.

Daily · new frequency

Daily

Currently, avianca has seven flights per week to Barcelona from the Colombian capital (AV 18/19).

In our Latin America report we published that LATAM Airlines will launch a new route between the Brazilian Northeast and Portugal, and Azul Linhas Aéreas announced days later another new addition in this market.

As of June 4th, Azul will inaugurate operations to Porto from Recife, which will be performed on EuroAtlantic’s Boeing 767-300(ER), configured for 267 passengers. Porto will be a new Azul Linhas Aéreas destination in Europe, joining Lisbon and Paris.

Wednesday and Friday

Thursday and Sunday

Fortaleza – Lisbon will be LATAM’s new route.

The carrier continues to expand its European operations with a new service to France.

According to its website, Blue Islands will serve twice weekly between Jersey and Paris Charles de Gaulle with its ATR 72-500s beginning May 22nd.

JER – CDG

CDG – JER

Blue Islands’ CEO, Rob Veron, said: “Valentine’s Day is perfect to announce new direct flights from Jersey to one of the world’s most romantic cities, enabling islanders to enjoy everything Paris has to offer this summer. It’s also an exciting opportunity for visitors from France to discover our beautiful island. The connection with Paris not only supports Jersey’s visitor economy but also deepens the long-standing cultural and economic ties between Jersey and France. This further addition cements our position as Jersey’s largest carrier in terms of number of flights and choice of routes, with a total of 24 different airports (including our inbound charter activity) served in 2025.”

Starting in March, Condor will expand its Inter-European route network from Frankfurt International Airport.

Flights to Berlin, Hamburg, Milan, Munich, Palermo (via Rome), Paris, Prague, Rome, Vienna and Zurich will be conducted as follows:

First flight

• Berlin (BER): 14 weekly · March 1st
• Hamburg (HAM): 14 weekly · March 1st
• Munich (MUC): 14 weekly · March 30th
• Vienna (VIE): 7 weekly · March 30th
• Zurich (ZRH): 14 weekly · March 30th
• Rome (FCO): 7 weekly · April 5th
• Palermo (PMO) via FCO: 7 weekly · April 5th
• Milan (MXP): 14 weekly · May 1st
• Paris (CDG): 14 weekly · May 1st
• Prague (PRG): 14 weekly · May 1st

“We have already noticed that Condor’s inter-European flights are extremely popular and are now responding to this increased demand by expanding our route network,” said Peter Gerber, CEO of Condor. “With these measures, we are consistently developing our business model and gradually creating more alternatives for customers.”

The airline will have a major expansion within Europe from/to Zagreb effective June, for summer 2025.

As per its website, Croatia Airlines will operate by Airbus A220-300 seating 150 passengers.

• Milan (MXP): 3 weekly · June 2nd
• Prague (PRG): 3 weekly · June 2nd
• Bucharest (OTP): 3 weekly · July 1st
• Hamburg (HAM): 3 weekly · July 1st
• Madrid (MAD): 3 weekly · July 3rd

Croatia Airlines has two Airbus A220s in its fleet, and plans to add more during the year.

Beginning March 31st, on a limited schedule, Discover Airlines will offer services between Frankfurt and Pula. The German airline will fly two times a week with Airbus A320-200s until the end of April, in accordance with its website.

FRA – PUY

PUY – FRA

Emirates Airline will increase its flights between Dubai and Rome Fiumicino from June 1st. By summer 2025, the company will reach three daily frequencies on this route, which it operates on Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft.

DXB – FCO

FCO – DXB

ITA is its only competitor, providing seven weekly services with A321neo.

Starting April 17th, the airline will add a new route to Italy from Moldova.

Fly One will fly two times per week between Chișinău and Turin with Airbus A320-200 aircraft configured for 180 passengers.

Thursday and Sunday

The Spanish carrier will add a new seasonal route between Melilla, located in Africa, and Tenerife North, one of Spain’s islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

This route, of almost 1,500 kilometers, will be operated by Air Nostrum’s ATR 72-600, being one of the longest flights in Iberia’s network with these aircraft, seating 72 passengers in single class.

Thursday (effective July 18th)

During next summer, Iberia will connect Melilla with 11 Spanish cities.

At 13:34 local time on February 3rd, LOT Polish Airlines’ inaugural flight from Warsaw landed in Lisbon. The airline will operate five times weekly between the capitals of Poland and Portugal on 186-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes.

WAW – LIS

LIS – WAW

TAP Air Portugal and Wizz Air also offer this route, seven and three times a week, respectively.

Lufthansa Cargo will commence flights to Katowice as of April 3rd, providing two weekly frequencies with its Airbus A321-200(P2F) from Frankfurt, Katowice Airport has announced.

Thursday and Saturday

In January 2021, Lufthansa Cargo opened a Road Feeder Service (RFS) freight consolidation facility for Poland in the KTW cargo terminal; it is based on transport of freight between airports by using trucks.

Aeroporti di Puglia has confirmed the launch of charter flights between Foggia and Munich by Lumiwings on April 27th. Operations will have two frequencies per week:

FOG – MUC

MUC – FOG

“The start-up of the Foggia-Monaco (Munich) connection is the result of an ambitious and very concrete design that we thought up from the start in synergy with the Region and stakeholders to strengthen the ’Gino Lisa’ and respond to the requests made by the Dauna community and beyond for international connections”, said the President of Aeroporti di Puglia, Antonio Maria Vasile.

“Thanks to this flight, we are also launching the international network of the Foggia airport and responding to the needs of an increasingly international user base, fostering both incoming tourism and opportunities for our citizens and local businesses. Munich represents a strategic gateway to the heart of Europe, and we are confident that this new route will contribute significantly to the growth of air traffic to and from the ‘Gino Lisa’ airport. Aeroporti di Puglia continues to pursue its mission to expand the network of connections to improve the region’s connectivity and support its economic and tourism development”, concluded.

Munich will join Milan and Turin, Lumiwings’ other destinations to/from Foggia.

The airline released the first tentative schedule for its new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, which are planned to begin operations in Q1 2026. As reported by AeroRoutes, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain will be the markets it will fly from/to Luxembourg.

First flight

• Budapest (BUD): January 15th, 2026
• Rome (FCO): January 15th, 2026
• Nice (NCE): January 16th, 2026
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI): January 16th, 2026
• Paris (CDG): January 17th, 2026
• Barcelona (BCN): January 19th, 2026
• Munich (MUC): January 20th, 2026
• Vienna (VIE): January 21st, 2026
• Lisbon (LIS): January 23rd, 2026
• Bari (BRI): February 13th, 2026
• Porto (OPO): February 16th, 2026
• Madrid (MAD): February 23rd, 2026

Luxair placed an order for six Embraer E195-E2s.

Pegasus will expand its Scandinavian operations with two new routes from Turkey.

Aarhus and Copenhagen, both in Denmark, will have the following additions by summer 2025:

Antalya – Aarhus · May 9th

Monday and Friday

Izmir – Copenhagen · June 28th

Saturday

As of May 3rd, Royal Jordanian will boost from four to five weekly flights between Amman and London Stansted, which it operates with Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A321-200 aircraft.

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday

New flight on Saturdays.

Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul, Larnaca, London Heathrow, London Stansted, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Milan Malpensa, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome, Stockholm and Zurich are RJ’s destinations in Europe.

Scandinavian Airline System has announced its return to Iceland starting June 22nd, for summer 2025.

The carrier will resume the Stockholm – Reykjavik route after a six-year hiatus, to be offered with 186-seat Airbus A320neo planes, twice a week.

Thursday and Sunday

“We are pleased that our travelers will be able to take full advantage of the extended daylight hours, allowing them to experience everything Iceland has to offer — whether for business or leisure. Additionally, our flight schedule lets passengers sleep while on the move from Iceland, with the added benefit of saving on hotel costs,” said Henrik Winell, Vice President Network at SAS.

The Moldovan company plans to expand its operations in Greece beginning in May, by adding two new routes from the country’s capital, as reported by AeroRoutes.

Chișinău- Athens · eff May 19th

Monday and Friday

SkyUp Airlines also has a tentative schedule between Chișinău and Corfu, but flights are not for sale through its website.

Prague – Barcelona, new seasonal route of Smartwings.

The carrier will start services on June 10th, by summer 2025. Operations will be carried out once-weekly on Boeing 737-700 aircraft until late September.

Tuesday

The Spanish low cost airline, part of the IAG Group, will open two domestic and another two international routes, to be provided on 186-seat Airbus A320-200s.

New aircraft added by European airlines

Other reports we have published

Cover photo: Juan Contreras – JetPhotos (Sydney Kingsford Smith Int’l Airport – YSSY – Australia)