Industry body Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) has sought additional Air India flights to Brussels, following Jet deciding to shift its European base to Amsterdam from next month. The additional services would help Air India maximise its European and long-haul connections to Latin America and Africa, EICC said in a letter to Civil Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju. There is potential for joint venture and code sharing with Brussels Airlines which has made significance presence in Latin America and Africa. EICC secretary general Sunil Prasad said there is a great potential for Air India to make Brussels its hub as it would serve the airline's long-term strategic business interest in Europe. "It can easily expect to fly more than 1,000 passengers every day in the 4 sectors the Jet used to fly," Prasad said. <br/>
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Ethiopian Airlines plans to launch 3X-weekly Addis Ababa-Lomé (Togo)-New York JFK services by the end of June. The carrier suspended flights to New York-Newark in 2004 to provide nonstop service from Washington Dulles to Addis Ababa. Flights to New York will make an intermediate stop in Lomé, the home base for Ethiopian Airline’s partner ASKY Airlines, in both directions. The carrier operates a Boeing 787, configured with 24 business class and 246 economy seats, on the route. Ethiopian already operates to Washington Dulles, Toronto and Los Angeles. CE Tewolde Gebremariam said in December that additional, new destinations will be Jakarta and a further city in China—either Chongqing or Chengdu. He said the carrier also plans a comeback in Singapore, as well as Oslo (Norway) and Mauritius in the near future. <br/>