—In late December, Beijing Capital Airlines began three-times-a-week flights from Hangzhou (HGH) to Vancouver via Qingdao. The Qingdao-Vancouver sector is 8,637 kilometers (5,358 miles) long making it the airline’s second longest after the 9,151-kilometer (5,686 miles) route between Chengdu and Madrid. Qingdao becomes the eighth Chinese city that can be reached non-stop from Vancouver according to OAG data for early January. The other seven airports are Shanghai Pudong (18 weekly flights), Beijing (14), Guangzhou (seven), Nanjing (three), Xiamen (three), Zhengzhou (two) and Shenyang (one).
Source: anna.aero
—On Feb. 16, Air Canada made Montreal its third Canadian hub to link directly with China, launching a daily 787-8-operated service to Shanghai Pudong. The carrier already serves Shanghai from Toronto Pearson and Vancouver. No other airline currently flies the 11,347-kilometer link between Montreal and Shanghai, however Air China does offer flights between Beijing and Montreal, the Canadian airport’s only other Chinese service.
Source: anna.aero
—Xiamen Airlines made New York its second destination in the U.S. on Feb. 15. On that day the carrier launched a three times weekly service from Fuzhou (FOC) to New York JFK (JFK), a distance of 12,477 (7,753 miles) kilometers. That’s over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) longer than the SkyTeam member’s previous longest route between Shengzen and Seattle-Tacoma, a route launched last September. No other carrier offers non-stop flights between Fuzhou and the US. Both routes are flown using the airline’s 787-8s. It also uses the same type to support service to Amsterdam and Vancouver
Source: anna.aero
—Air Canada began flights between Vancouver and Dallas/Fort Worth on Feb. 5. Flown on the airline’s CRJ 700s, the 2,818-kilometer (1,751 miles) Canada–U.S. city pair will be operated six times weekly.. Air Canada now serves a total of 15 U.S. airports from its Vancouver hub, of which three are in Hawaii. It already offers service to Dallas/Fort Worth from its biggest base at Toronto Pearson. On routes between Canada and the U.S. the national carrier now accounts for 45 percent of seat capacity with WestJet, its nearest rival at 19 percent. Both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have just over 9 percent of capacity.
Source: anna.aero
—Mexico’s Volaris began service to Miami, Florida on Feb. 1 with two new routes. On the 2,419-kilometer (1,503 miles), four times weekly service to Guadalajara, the Mexican carrier faces no competition. However, the 2,049-kilometer (1,273 miles) route to Mexico City (MEX) is already served by American Airlines (27 weekly flights), Aeromexico (21) and Interjet (12). Both routes will be flown with the carrier’s A320s. Guadalajara becomes the sixth Mexican destination now served non-stop from Miami. Volaris’ U.S. network from Mexico City now comprises eight destinations. Apart from Miami the carrier also serves Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando and San Francisco.
Source: anna.aero
—On Feb. 25, JetBlue Airways launched services from Fort Lauderdale Quito, Ecuador, marking the carrier’s first scheduled service to the city. Quito becomes the fifth destination for JetBlue in South America, with the airline having scheduled services to Lima in Peru, as well as Bogota, Cartagena and Medellín in Colombia.
Source: anna.aero
