American Airlines relaunched flights to India this week, nearly a decade after stopping them, looking to capitalise on growing demand for non-stop travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, a senior executive of the airline said. With travel demand bouncing back at home, American Airlines wants to expand its international network and India was "one of the biggest untapped markets" for it, said Tom Lattig, managing director of EMEA sales. "A lot of customers really want to fly non-stop, particularly as we've come through the pandemic. We know there is huge demand for travel between India and the United States so there is an opportunity right now in the middle of the pandemic to come back," Lattig said. American Airlines, which suspended services to India in 2012, started flying between New Delhi and New York on the weekend and will add flights between India's tech city of Bengaluru and Seattle in March. If it succeeds with those two routes, it will add services to India's financial capital of Mumbai, Lattig said. The expansion would also depend on the availability of aircraft as it awaits deliveries of wide-body aircraft from Boeing, he said. "There are more opportunities than we actually have aircraft for," Lattig said. The US carrier is already flying 90% of its pre-pandemic capacity at home and has even deployed widebody planes on some routes, Lattig said. Demand from Europe and Britain was also strong, especially after the United States opened its borders last week, and demand from Mexico and parts of Latin America had exceeded 2019 levels, he said. But the airline had yet to see any meaningful recovery in Asia, where it is flying less than 25% of pre-pandemic capacity, Lattig said, adding that the slow rate of vaccinations in the region was partly to blame.<br/>
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Finland's flag carrier Finnair said Tuesday it will open the Busan-Helsinki route early next year, being the first European carrier that offers flight services from the port city to the Finnish capital city. Finnair plans to inject an A350 plane to operate three flights a week in late March, the company said. "On top of the existing Incheon-Helsinki route, the Busan-Helsinki route will be able to meet rising transfer passengers heading for Asian and other European cities, a company spokeswoman said. The Finnish airline opened the Incheon-Helsinki route in June 2008 and suspended services from March to June last year due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.<br/>
Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines are to codeshare on all flights between their respective countries following a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding between the two airlines. Signed on November 9, the MoU calls for a significant expansion of their existing codeshare arrangement dating from December 2019, outlining greater benefits and more seamless connections, Qatar Airways said in a statement. “As part of the collaboration, all future flights between China and Qatar will be codeshared,” it stated. Closer ties will also involve increased joint lounge access and a soon-to-be confirmed enhanced frequent flyer agreement. In addition, the two airlines agreed to support the growth of Beijing Daxing Int'l into a leading international aviation hub for passenger and cargo services. “We look forward to further deepening our close relationship with China Southern Airlines and to explore even greater opportunities for collaboration in the years to come,” commented Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker.<br/>