Start-up carrier Cyprus Airways will start operations in June with “scheduled flights to 3 to 4 short-haul destinations and charter flights in collaboration with tour operators,” a Cyprus Airways spokesperson said. The schedule will be announced after the Easter holiday. The spokesperson added that the Larnaca-based carrier had filed for Larnaca-Heraklion service, effective June 28, “as a preliminary schedule into the OAG Schedules Analyser for testing purposes for the new airline’s website.” The carrier will operate 1 Airbus A319 aircraft, which was delivered in Dec 2016. The new airline has received a commercial license from the Air Transport Licensing Authority, concluding the licensing phase. The carrier secured its air operator’s certificate last month. The next launch phase is planned for March 2018. <br/>
unaligned
Alaska Airlines and its Virgin America affiliate are expanding flights between Seattle and Dallas' Love Field to attract business travellers headed to North Texas. Alaska is doing the same from 3 other West Coast airports, launching new routes between Love Field and Portland, Oregon, and from San Diego, and San Jose, in California. Combined, the airlines' expanded flights will serve 8 destinations from Love Field with 18 daily peak season departures. The moves also put Alaska in head-to-head competition with rival Southwest Airlines, which dominates Love Field air operations because it controls 18 of the small facility's 20 gates. Alaska Airlines, which has traditionally operated from Dallas-Fort Worth International, inherited 2 gates at Love Field when it acquired Virgin America for US$2.6b last December. <br/>