New Airline Routes in Brief: WestJet, Voepass Linhas Aéreas, Volotea, Vietnam Airlines, Royal Air Philippines

WestJet plans to resume three seasonal services to Orlando International Airport over the coming weeks, the U.S. airport has confirmed. Flights from St. John’s will restart on Oct. 16, operating weekly through June 24, 2024; service from Halifax returns on Oct. 21 and will be 2X-weekly until June 28; and Winnipeg-Orlando resumes three times per week on Oct. 29 through May 3.

Brazilian regional carrier Voepass Linhas Aéreas is expanding from Belo Horizonte. Flights to Comandatuba, Ilhéus and Porto Seguro will start on Dec. 15 using 70-seat ATR 72 aircraft. Voepass CEO Eduardo Busch says the new routes will increase domestic tourism and enhance connectivity for passengers.

Spanish airline Volotea is opening a new connection between Florence, Italy, and Prague from March 22, 2024. The route will operate twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. It increases the number of destinations served by the carrier from Florence to eight domestic and five international points. Volotea says it also plans to offer flights from Pisa to Olbia, Sardinia, and Nantes, France, from next year.

Vietnam Airlines has scheduled the launch of two new routes to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Flights to Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport will be launched from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) on Dec. 1, followed by service from Hanoi (HAN) the next day. Flights will be offered four times per week from SGN and three times per week from HAN, OAG Schedules Analyser data shows. Both routes will operate using A321 aircraft.

Royal Air Philippines has resumed operations from Clark International Airport (CRK), Philippines, with a route to Hong Kong. The service was inaugurated on Oct. 8 and will operate daily using Airbus A320s. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows one other airline serves the market at the present time, with Cebu Pacific offering six round trips per week using a mix of A320s and A320neos. Royal Air Philippines last served CRK in January 2023 with flights to Caticlan, Philippines.

Uganda Airlines has commenced a new route from Uganda’s capital Entebbe to Mumbai, India. The route will be offered three times per week aboard A330-800s. Mumbai becomes the 12th international destination served by the carrier and only its second alongside Dubai outside the continent of Africa.