US start-up carrier New Pacific Airlines has dropped Las Vegas, one of its primary markets, from its fledgling network due to ongoing ground delays at Harry Reid International airport. The Anchorage, Alaska-based carrier on 4 January confirmed that it had “withdrawn service” between Las Vegas and Ontario International airport outside of Los Angeles. It had previously operated the route twice-weekly with its Boeing 757-200s. ”The airline was consistently getting two- to three-hour ground delays arriving and departing” from Las Vegas, CE Rob McKinney tells FlightGlobal. The carrier now offers two routes – Ontario to Nashville, Tennessee and Ontario to Reno, Nevada. Those flights started in September, after New Pacific launched commercial service with its Los Angeles-Las Vegas route in July. Frontier Airlines has also reported frequent ground delays in Las Vegas amid the nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers. But such delays are particularly problematic on for short-haul routes that compete with ground-based transportation, such as Los Angeles to Las Vegas. <br/>
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Ryanair Holdings is set to expand its headquarters in Ireland as growing travel demand prompts Europe’s largest discount airline to bolster operations. The Irish carrier plans to construct a 169 square meter extension to its Dublin operations room, according to a planning application sent to the local authority. A Ryanair spokesperson said the extra space will be used to expand its operations center, where the airline monitors and coordinates its daily flying schedule. Ryanair aims to expand passenger numbers to 300m and its fleet to 800 planes by the middle of the next decade, targeting about 30% of market share in Europe. The carrier has forecast up to E2.05b in profit for the current fiscal year and plans to pay a E400m dividend. Ryanair has rebounded quickly after the pandemic and announced in May it had ordered up to 300 of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max 10 aircraft to drive its expansion.<br/>
Emirates, one of the world’s largest international airlines, has ramped up its operations in South Korea by introducing three additional weekly flights starting February 19, 2024. With the additional services, the airline will serve Seoul with 10 weekly flights operated by a mix of its signature Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, guaranteeing more flexibility and choice for its customers to and from Dubai, as well as beyond to its global network of over 130 destinations. The new flights will operate as EK324/ EK325 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, Emirates’ flight EK324 will depart Dubai at 4.45 am, landing at Seoul Incheon International Airport at 6.05 pm. The return flight EK325 will depart Seoul at 10 pm, arriving in Dubai at 3.15 am, the following day. Emirates' additional services will increase the capacity on flights between Dubai and Seoul by more than 1,000 additional seats per week, helping to alleviate the suppressed demand for international travel to one of the most popular East Asian destinations and supporting South Korea’s inbound and outbound tourism. The airline's ramped-up operations will further serve the need for adding more flights between UAE and South Korea, in line with the strong bilateral relations between the two nations.<br/>
AirJapan has commenced ticket sales ahead of flights starting on February 9, 2024, with scheduled roundtrips between Narita and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi beginning on that day and scheduled roundtrips on the Tokyo Narita - Seoul Incheon city pair starting on February 22. AirJapan's controlling entity, ANA Holdings, is promoting its subsidiary as a startup. However, the airline has existed for over two decades, primarily serving as a capacity provider for mainline operations at ANA - All Nippon Airways. ANA Holdings raised the prospect of starting a stand-alone medium-haul LCC in 2020 to allow the group to better compete with competitors such as ZIPAIR and Scoot. Early in 2022, ANA Holding Koji Shibata confirmed that it would restructure Air Japan into a scheduled LCC. Part of the restructuring and relaunch included eliminating the space between Air and Japan. AirJapan will focus primarily on medium-haul markets in Asia and Oceania, leaving short-haul international operations to ANA's other subsidiary, Peach Aviation, while the mainline carrier focuses on long-haul markets. AirJapan intends to service its timetable with B787-8s sourced from ANA. ch-aviation fleets advanced data indicates ANA is yet to allocate any aircraft to AirJapan. However, the parent airline has eighty-one B787s, including thirty-six B787-8s.<br/>