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Norwegian will launch a Danish domestic seasonal route between Copenhagen Kastrup and Rønne on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, with the first flight scheduled for the evening of June 15, 2022, it announced on its website. It will compete with DAT on the route. Catering to the long weekend market with a 3x weekly service, which will wrap up on August 14, Norwegian will deploy one of its B737-800s. The ch-aviation capacities module shows that the resurgent carrier already operates one Danish domestic route, between the capital and Aalborg, 40x weekly, through its Norwegian Air Sweden AOC subsidiary. It is one of ten routes the Swedish unit currently operates from Copenhagen to points in Scandinavia and the rest of Europe - to expand to as many as 53 routes by the summer. From Aalborg, it will add Palma de Mallorca from April, 2x weekly. “With the launch of the route between Copenhagen and Bornholm, Norwegian is following its business plan, which has further focus on domestic routes and the intra-Scandinavian routes. Norwegian currently flies between Copenhagen and Aalborg on the Danish domestic network in addition to a large number of direct international destinations from both Copenhagen and Aalborg,” the airline said February 15. Magnus Thome Maursund, Norwegian’s executive VP for network and pricing, elaborated: “We have said that we wanted to expand our presence on domestic traffic in Denmark. With one exception, the domestic routes in Denmark are characterised by poor competition, and this is to the detriment of customers.”<br/>

With its prospects ranging from extinction to new opportunities as pandemic-related restrictions are lifted, El Al's share price has been correspondingly volatile. The share price of El Al has changed direction in the past two months. After reaching its lowest level for more than a decade in December, because of the coronavirus pandemic and the severe blow that that dealt to the global travel industry, the share price started to climb, and it is now up 70% from that low, at NIS 3.5 (the level it was at in late October last year). Despite that, the return on El Al stock over the past three years is still a negative 60%, and the company's market cap is currently NIS 560m, and this after it has raised substantial equity capital in the past two years to improve its financial position amid the effects of the pandemic. The volatility in El Al's share price is a consequence of the extreme environment in which the company currently operates: on the one hand, the imposition of restrictions on flights in Israel and around the world threatens the company's very existence, while on the other hand recovery in the global tourism and aviation industries creates new opportunities for it. This week, the Israeli government approved substantial relaxations for incoming tourism and flights, due to come into effect at the beginning of March, among them allowing unvaccinated travelers to enter Israel, cancelation of quarantine for unvaccinated foreigners, and cancelation of the requirement for a Covid-19 test before departure for Israel. Since the forthcoming relaxations were reported, there has been a substantial rise in bookings for flights to and from Israel. El Al plans to restore routes that were halted during the pandemic, such as direct flights from Tel Aviv to Boston.<br/>

The nation’s low-cost carriers facing financial difficulties caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic are bringing in cargo planes and planes for long-haul flights to diversify their source of revenue. T’way Air, for instance, will introduce on Thursday Airbus A330-300 planes that can cover long-haul distances for more than 300 passengers. The plane will begin to operate within the country in March and then be used for longer routes to Singapore, Australia, Croatia, and Kyrgyzstan. “We will be the first low-cost carrier to implement business class seats with premium flatbeds that can offer a comfortable and spacious traveling experience to passengers,” said an official from T’way Air. South Korea’s biggest low-cost carrier, Jeju Air, will be the first to operate a cargo plane among local budget airlines. The 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter, the same model as the company’s passenger jets, will be used for transporting cargo. Another budget carrier, Air Premia, has been benefiting from its cargo business that recorded 281 metric tons of shipments last month. Air Premia began its international cargo transportation service last December, with its planes flying from Incheon to Singapore.<br/>

State-owned Kuwait Airways on Monday announced it would now purchase 31 jets from Airbus instead of 28 as part of a restructured deal in which it has also reduced orders for A350-900 jets. CE Ma'an Razoq told a press conference the restructured aircraft order, estimated to be worth $3 billion, would save the loss-making carrier a total of $200m. The new deal, which includes some aircraft already delivered, is for nine A320neos, six A321 neos, three A321neo-LRs, four A330-800neos, seven A330-900neos and two A350-900s. "All jets will be delivered by the end of 2028," Razoq said. The original 28 jet order was for 15 A320 neos, eight A330-800neos and five A350-900s, according to Airbus' website. Of the original order, the airline has already taken delivery of six A320neos and two A330-800neos, the website says. Kuwait Airways is now targeting to break even before 2026, Chairman Ali Aldokhan said.<br/>

Hong Kong’s Air Transport Licensing Authority said on Monday it had granted a licence to startup Greater Bay Airlines, clearing the way for it to operate scheduled commercial flights at a time of deeply depressed travel demand in the city. Greater Bay Airlines operated its first cargo charter flight last November after receiving its air operator’s certificate in October, but until now had not been approved to launch regularly scheduled commercial flights. The startup, which was approved to operate scheduled flights from Monday, will be competing against the financial centre’s dominant carrier, Cathay Pacific Airwaysand Hong Kong Airlines. Greater Bay Airlines has been cleared to operate scheduled passenger and cargo journeys on 104 routes with unlimited frequencies to and from Hong Kong, the city’s air transport licensing authority said on its website. The airline said Monday it would receive its second and third Boeing 737-800 planes soon and plans to expand its fleet significantly over the next five years in line with market demand. Its CE Algernon Yau said the licence meant the airline would be able to expedite launch preparations and apply for operating permits from destinations. “We look forward to the launch of our inaugural service soon,” he said, without providing further details. Hong Kong has put in place strict passenger and air crew quarantine rules as part of attempts to eliminate COVID-19 cases and open its border with mainland China. The restrictions have hobbled an aviation recovery in Hong Kong at a time when rival Singapore is loosening travel restrictions and reporting rising passenger numbers.<br/>

The CE of start-up airline Bonza now thinks the carrier will likely begin operations in mid-2022. Tim Jordan said that while it was still a “possibility” it could start flying late in the second quarter, its progress would depend on how quickly it can pass regulatory requirements with CASA. Jordan was speaking exclusively on a special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, which you can listen to above, where he gave more details on the airline’s previously secret plans to operate 25 routes across 16 destinations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Bonza is unique in that most of its services are so-called “point-to-point” leisure routes, rather than flying between, or to, capital cities. When asked by host Hannah Dowling what the next steps would be after the early rollout, Jordan said, “More of the same. We’re still missing some major cities and some major route opportunities, and a number of states and territories that weren’t mentioned at all yesterday. “We can’t say we’re here for all of Australia but not fulfil that promise.” Jordan also revealed he would walk away from airports that don’t come to the negotiating table on fees. He said the charges are the “single, largest cost” for airlines, and airports that want to benefit from Bonza’s low-cost leisure customers will need to be competitive.<br/>