For the world’s airlines, the winter 2018/19 (W18/19) season in the northern hemisphere starts this Sunday, Oct. 28 and runs through to March 30, 2019. An early analysis by anna.aero, a site that analyzes global airline traffic, indicates that:

—American Airlines will operate from the most airports;

—Turkish Airlines will serve the most countries; and

—Ryanair will offer the most tours.

Anna.aero points out that the same three carriers topped the same three charts last February when it previewed the summer season for 2018 (S18), which runs from the end of March until the end of October. The research company based its analyses on global schedule data for a typical week in January 2019. The main findings of the anna.aero analyses of scheduled flight information are show in the charts that follow.

 

1. American Leads Big 3 U.S. Carriers, which Lead All Airlines Worldwide in Airports Served: In a ranking which suggests that U.S. airlines are well-positioned to serve inbound flights that will connect to second- and third-tier destinations, the big three U.S. carriers (American, Delta and United) are at the top of the rankings for most airports served in a typical week during W18/19, occupying exactly the same positions they did in the equivalent period last year. A large percentage of the airports these American majors fly to are domestic facilities in the US, and some will only see flights from their regional subsidiary or partner carriers. More than two thirds of the airports served by each of the USB3 airlines are located in their home market. Delta has the biggest proportion of US airports in its schedule, with domestic facilities accounting for 70% of the nodes in its network during the week that was analyzed.

According to anna.aero, the vast majority of the top 15 airlines, based on airports served, have increased the number of destinations in their networks since last winter. In total, 13 of these operators have added more airports for W18/19. The biggest increases have come from Aeroflot (18 more airports), China Southern Airlines and Qatar Airways (both up 11). The only top-ranked carriers to reduce the number of destinations this winter are Delta (four fewer airports) and British Airways (one less).

 

2. Turkish Airlines Serves Most Destinations, while Middle East Carriers Have Expanded: The carrier once again tops the table below as the airline serving the most country markets. It will fly to 30 more countries than second place Air France, maintaining the same lead it enjoyed over the French flag carrier in W17/18. Both carriers have increased their winter country counts by three. Turkish Airlines has added Gambia, Sierra Leone and Zambia to its network. The top three carriers offering the most country markets and five of the top 15, are based in Europe (highlighted in blue). The other airlines marking up the top 15 include all members of the Big 3 carriers in the Middle East (highlighted in orange) and four major North American network carriers (highlighted in red).

3. Ryanair Stays on Top in Number of Routes Served: The ultra low-cost Irish carrier Ryanair will serve more routes than any other airline during the week analyzed by anna.aero. It also led this category during the equivalent period in W17/18. In doing so, Ryanair has increased its winter route inventory by 11 percent and will offer 360 more airport-pairs than second-placed American Airlines. Five of the 15 airlines offering the most routes this winter are based in Europe (highlighted in blue in the table below), with a further five registered in North America (highlighted in red). The remaining third (highlighted in green) include four Chinese operators and one from South America.

 

 

—The biggest news last week regarding overseas air service was not what was new, but what is no longer, as low-cost European carrier Primera Air went bankrupt on Oct. 1. As recently as the past couple of months, the airline announced two new bases in Brussels and Berling and new flights beginning next year between Brussels and Newark, Brussels and Berling to Boston and Washington D.C. and Berlin to New York JFK—as well as several other North American destinations. And last month, Primer announced even more new routes between Europe and the U.S. It remains to be seen if other carriers will attempt to secure the slots after administrators decide what to do with the defunct carrier’s assets.

 

—In the meantime, EasyJet has signed an agreement with Virgin Atlantic to join its flight connections through Worldwide by Easyjet service, which it launched in September 2017. This alliance will allow flights from Barcelona to Orlando or from Edinburgh to Las Vegas thanks to the connection of the two airlines at the London-Gatwick airport, the company said in a statement.

 

—Cathay Pacific Airways launched the longest link in its network on 15 September when it commenced flights between Hong Kong and Washington Dulles. It will serve the 8,139-mile connection four times weekly.

 

—American Airlines will launch its first direct flight between Buenos Aires and the city of Los Angeles  next December 20; it will operate three times a week.

 

—Beginning March 31, 2019, Air France will serve Dallas-Fort Worth airport from Paris Charles de Gaulle.  DFW thus becomes Air France’s 13th U.S. destination.

 

—The budget airline Eurowings will operate another U.S. route from the Düsseldorf hub: beginning July 3, 2019, the Lufthansa subsidiary will fly to Las Vegas three times a week. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, a long-haul Airbus A330 or A340 aircraft takes off in the direction of Las Vegas, then head back on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

 

—Air France and its subsidiary Joon are launching a new long-haul U.S. route in the summer of 2019. As of March 31, Air France will fly from Paris/Charles de Gaulle to Dallas/Fort Worth up to five times a week.

• On September 1, Qantas has launched year-round direct flights between Melbourne, Australia and San Francisco.  The 12,646-kilometer (7,858 miles) ultra-long-haul route will be operated four times per week.

 

• Icelandic airline WOW air is to launch seasonal flights from the UK to Florida in December with one-way fares starting from under £130 ($169). The inaugural flight to Orlando International Airport will depart on December 18 from London Gatwick and Edinburgh. There will be three flights a week, but all of them will operate via Reykjavik, giving a total journey time from London and Edinburgh of just under 14 hours.

 

• American Airlines is expanding its international network with new flight offerings out of Philadelphia International Airport to a handful of European destinations. Starting next summer, American will add a total of nine new European routes, with four of them available out of Philadelphia.

From Philadelphia, flights will now be available to Dubrovnik, Croatia; Berlin, Germany; and Bologna, Italy. American will also begin offering daily summer flights to Edinburgh, Scotland from Philadelphia for the first time.

 

Service to Dublin, Ireland and Munich, Germany are being added at Dallas-Fort Worth, while Chicago is getting flights to Athens, Greece and Phoenix’s offerings expand to include London. In Charlotte, daily year-round service to Munich will be added. The new flights will function on a seasonal basis. Service starts between next March and June and will last through September and into October, coinciding with peak summer travel season.

• Also from American Airlines: Next March 31, the carrier will launch daily flights between London and Phoenix, Arizona. The summer only service will operate between Lond Heathrow and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, will be operated by a two-class Boeing 777 featuring Premium Economy. It will be American’s first transatlantic flight from Phoenix and it will complement the service operated to Phoenix by British Airways, its transatlantic partner.
• Is a deal close between those seeking agreement between United Airlines and three Latin American carriers? In a process that has been in the works for more than a year, according to a consensus among the observers who cover the matter, United Airlines is closer to finalizing joint-venture agreements with Colombian flag carrier, Avianca, Panamanian Copa Airlines and Brazil’s Azul.

 

“I think we will do it in the not too distant future, but it is difficult to predict the exact moment. All the turmoil in Latin America complicates things,” said company president Scott Kirby at the recent International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver,” adding, “These agreements would improve connectivity between the US and Latin American aviation markets and create growth opportunities.”

—On Aug. 1, Avianca, the flag carrier of Colombia, started services from Lima, Peru to Orlando and on Aug. 2 from Guatemala City and San Salvador, El Salvador to Orlando.

—WestJet’s low-cost Swoop airlines is entering the U.S. market, announcing flights from Canada to Las Vegas, Mesa (Phoenix), Tampa Bay, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. The schedule includes routes from Edmonton to Las Vegas and Mesa; Hamilton to Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa Bay; and Abbotsford B.C. to Las Vegas. Flights are available for booking from Oct. 11, 2018 to April 27, 2019. Sample prices include $99 flights from Edmonton to Las Vegas (one-way), as well as $99 flights between Hamilton and Orlando.

—Korean Air is launching a non-stop route between Boston and Seoul Incheon airport next year. Beginning April 12, 2019, the airline will operate five flights a week on its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The flights are part of a new joint-venture between Korean and Delta Air Lines.
The Boston route is second Seoul route added by the airlines since their joint venture partnership launched in May. The two carriers have already confirmed plans for flights between Seoul and Minneapolis/St. Paul next year.

—JetBlue has announced new and expanded Mexico City service with daily nonstop flights from both New York City and Boston. Service between New York JFK and Mexico City, as well as service between Boston and Mexico City beginning Oct. 25, 2018. JetBlue is offering fares starting at $150 one way from New York and $153 one way from Boston. JetBlue currently operates two daily flights between Mexico City and both Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. JetBlue first landed in Mexico City in 2015 and by this October will operate more than forty weekly flights between the U.S. and Mexico’s capital city.

—American Airlines has launched its latest international route from Philadelphia with daily service to Mexico City. The Mexico from Philadelphia, with it already operating to Cancún 15 times weekly this summer. American already serves Mexico City from Charlotte Douglas, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami.

—United Airlines is again strengthening its Washington Dulles hub network with a new international route to Tel Aviv starting next May 22nd. It becomes the third direct service to Israel after Newark Liberty and San Francisco. The Washington Dulles-Tel Aviv service will connect easily with more than 70 domestic routes in the United network.