unaligned

European passengers flying long-haul to the US or further afield could soon find themselves travelling part of the way on a low-cost airline should Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CE, get his way. Europe’s biggest budget airline by revenue has signalled a major shift in strategy by targeting tie-ups with flag carriers under which it would provide them with passengers for their long-haul flights. EasyJet is considering a similar move. This could see Ryanair and easyJet partner with BrA or Lufthansa, with passengers initially flying on the budget airlines’ short-haul passenger jets and then transferring on to the flag carriers’ long-range aircraft. Through a single transaction with one airline, someone wishing to go from Lyon to New York might in the future fly from the French city to London’s Heathrow airport with easyJet, and then switch smoothly to BA to travel to the US. It would be a remarkable turn of events — for the past two decades, Ryanair, easyJet and other budget airlines have engaged in cut-throat competition with flag carriers on European short-haul routes. The likes of BA, Air France and Lufthansa have ceded as much as 40% of the European short-haul market to low-cost carriers offering cheap fares. Furthermore, the willingness of easyJet and Ryanair to countenance partnerships with flag carriers represents a big change for the budget airlines, which have traditionally shunned the idea of providing so-called feeder traffic to other carriers due to the costs and complexity. The advantage for flag carriers would partly be that, by taking feeder traffic from low-cost airlines, they could more easily fill their long-haul aircraft, and therefore ensure some marginal routes are profitable. Just as importantly, the arrangements would enable the likes of Air France to axe some of their lossmaking short-haul routes, where they struggle to compete with easyJet and Ryanair because of higher operating costs.<br/>

Frontier Airlines is adding four new destinations and adding three routes from its main base in Denver. The expansion comes just a week after the carrier revealed plans for a whopping 42 new nonstop routes. The latest announcement has Frontier adding service to four destinations it does not currently serve: Colorado Springs; Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh and San Antonio. Frontier will fly to three of those cities from Denver – all except Colorado Springs – effectively increasing its presence there. Denver is home to Frontier’s headquarters and is the airline’s main hub. Of the new destinations, Frontier’s most-robust debut will come in Pittsburgh. The airline will begin flying there in June with nonstop service to five destinations: Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Las Vegas and Orlando. The Denver and Las Vegas routes will feature daily flights. Frontier will fly 3 or 4 flights a week on the other routes.<br/>

AirAsia X is offering $99 fares from Auckland to the Gold Coast and $249 to Kuala Lumpur to launch its return to New Zealand in two months. The airline, Southeast Asia's biggest budget carrier, will start the daily services from March 22. An Airbus A330-300 aircraft will be used on the route with a seating capacity of 377. Rival airline Air NZ is offering fares as low as $179 to the Gold Coast in the week AirAsia launches and Jetstar's fares start at $149, according to the carriers' websites. The Gold Coast is a favourite holiday destination for New Zealand families. Malaysian Airlines flies directly to Kuala Lumpur and its cheapest fare that week is $610. AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail said New Zealand was "a world class destination that has always had a special place in our heart".<br/>