The Week in brief
- China Southern Airlines has begun thrice-weekly, non-stop flights from Guangdong to Vancouver, a service that the Canadian Tourism Commission expects will generate $72 million annually.
- On November 1, KLM will re-start three weekly flights from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. KLM has flown this route before, but cut its Rio services 12 years ago. The city is now KLM's ninth destination in Latin America. "Because Brazil is experiencing such strong economic growth we see Rio’s inclusion in the KLM network as beneficial to our business passengers," Peter Hartman, the carrier's president and CEO, said in a statement. "Foreign investment in the region is increasing strongly, fuelled by the growing oil and gas industry."
- Qatar Airways recently completed its first A320 flight from Doha to Venice, launching what will become daily, non-stop service to the Italian city. Qatar is still in for a number of route expansions this year. The carrier will open up services to Kolkata, India; Medina, Saudi Arabia; and Montreal this summer. This fall, new routes to Sofia, Bulgaria; Oslo; Entebbe, Uganda; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Tbilisi, Georgia are slated to begin.
- World Airways has agreed to fly one Boeing 747-400 freighter for Saudi Airlines Cargo Company (SACC). Commencing in June, World Airways will operate the 747-400 on a full-time basis to address SACC’s growth in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
