WestJet Airlines’s new ultra low-cost carrier will in June launch weekly flights in Canada and announce new trans-border routes, in a move aimed at attracting budget-conscious Canadian passengers both inside the country and away from US rivals, a company executive said Thursday. WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, last year announced the planned launch of its ultra low-cost carrier, Swoop. On Thursday, it fleshed out details of the separate no-frills carrier. Swoop will target the equivalent of 40 planes a day of Canadians who fly out of US border airports in the winter to destinations like the southern US and Mexico, said Bob Cummings, WestJet’s executive VP of strategy. “The opportunity for us with respect to the southern flying is significant,” he said. Earlier on Thursday, WestJet said Swoop will launch 12 weekly domestic flights in Canada starting on June 20, with additional routes to be added during the summer. Average Swoop fares will be 30% lower than WestJet’s regular economy fare, said Cummings. Passengers are expected to pay extra for items like food, additional leg room and bringing baggage on board.<br/>
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Norwegian sees a transatlantic opportunity for its Airbus A321LRs when they begin arriving in 2019, says CCO Thomas Ramdahl. The 4,000nm (7,408km) range of the A321LR will allow the Oslo-based carrier to open new routes between the European continent and the USA that are not within the range of the Boeing 737 Max 8, he said. "You will see more A321LR routes coming in to medium-size airports in the USA, connecting to different capitals in Europe," says Ramdahl, adding that Berlin, Brussels, Budapest and Prague are possible European gateways. None of the four European capitals he mentions are gateways for Norwegian's transatlantic network today. Washington DC is one US market that the airline is considering for the A321LR. Ramdahl said service to either Baltimore/Washington, which Norwegian dropped in early 2017, or Washington Dulles needs frequency that they are unable to provide with the Boeing 787, and is just too far for the 737-8. "We will be looking at the Washington area… I think it will be a A321LR destination," he said. Norwegian has firm orders for 30 A321LRs with its first eight due in 2019, Flight Fleets Analzyer shows. It also has orders for 58 A320neos. The A321LR made its maiden flight on 31 January, with Airbus planning just a 100h certification programme for the long-range variant of the A321neo.<br/>
Scandinavian leisure carrier Primera Air is launching a new route from London Stansted to Washington Dulles from August as it taps into growing demand for low-cost transatlantic flights, the latest business strategy many European airlines are adopting to chase profits in a competitive market. Primera Air will fly 5X-weekly from London Stansted to Washington Dulles airport from Aug. 22, as well as increasing flight frequencies between Stansted and Toronto from 3X- to 5X-weekly, it said. Primera Air has previously said it expects to have a fleet of 35 narrowbody aircraft by 2021, including leased and owned Airbus A321neos, A321neo LRs and Boeing MAX 9 ERs. “Our booking numbers show that travellers have been waiting for flights to North America. We are very satisfied with the results so far and are adjusting our flight network accordingly,” Primera Air president and owner Andri Ingolfsson said.<br/>
Frontier Airlines will add three seasonal destinations — Grand Rapids, Mich.; Indianapolis; and Dallas-Fort Worth — from Philadelphia International Airport, starting in the spring, the airline announced Thursday. Frontier’s flights to Grand Rapids and Indianapolis will start April 9; the Dallas-Fort Worth flight will ramp up on May 17. Those flights will operate two or three times a week and will run through the summer season. With these flights, Frontier will now offer 25 nonstop destinations from Philadelphia International, the second-most behind American Airlines, a Frontier spokesman said. Frontier hopes to introduce low-cost fares to markets it deems “overpriced” or “underserved,” notably Grand Rapids. Frontier’s service there will be the only direct flights to and from Philadelphia, said Oliver.<br/>
Low-cost carrier AirAsia X Indonesia opened a direct flight from Jakarta to Tokyo's Narita airport Thursday. Set to depart from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 3 starting May 1, the service will be available daily on an Airbus A330-300 that can accommodate 377 passengers, including 12 premium flatbed seats. The move follows the airline's success with its direct flight from Bali to Tokyo launched last year. "We open this route to welcome more Japanese tourists to explore Indonesia's beauty. The number of Indonesian tourists to Japan has also increased by up to 30% from last year, hence hopefully they could use this opportunity to fulfill their vacation dream to Japan more affordably," said AirAsia X Indonesia CEO captain Sulistyo Nugroho Hanung Thursday.<br/>