Air Astana launches flights to Phu Quoc: Air Astana will be launching direct flights from Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to the tropical resort island of Phu Quoc in Vietnam on 3rd December 2024. The service will be operated by Airbus A321LR aircraft three-times weekly on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Together with the direct Almaty-Phu Quoc service launched on 28th October 2024, total frequencies from Kazakhstan to Phu Quoc will increase to eight flights a week. The schedule provides passengers with the flexibility to connect through both hubs. The Astana-Phu Quoc service departs at 21:30 and arrives in Phu Quoc at 07:45 the following day, with the return flight departing Phu Quoc at 09:15 and arriving back in Astana at 16:15.All times local.
Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines increase services: Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines (SIA) will boost flight frequencies between Jakarta, Indonesia, and Singapore in the fourth quarter of 2024, increasing capacity and enhancing connectivity between the two South East Asian hubs. SIA will operate eight daily services from 22 November 2024, up from six currently. Garuda Indonesia will expand its daily flights from four to six starting 1 December 2024. The airlines will extend their codeshare arrangement to include these new services. Today, they codeshare on flights between Singapore and four Indonesian cities (Denpasar, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya), as well as routes between Singapore and London (Heathrow) and Mumbai. By 1 December 2024, the carriers will operate 390 weekly codeshare services, including 362 between Singapore and Indonesia. In the first quarter of 2025, Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines will deepen their frequent flyer programme partnership by allowing GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer members to earn and redeem miles on codeshare routes.
Scoot expands network to Padang, Phu Quoc and Shantou: Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), announced the launch of three new flight services to Phu Quoc in Vietnam, Padang in Indonesia and Shantou in China. Flights to Phu Quoc and Padang will commence on 20 December 2024 and 6 January 2025, respectively, and will be operated on the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft while flights to Shantou will begin on 16 January 2025 on the Airbus A320 family aircraft. From 20 December 2024, Scoot will operate three times weekly flights to Phu Quoc. Two more weekly flights will be added from 25 January 2025, bringing the total number of weekly flights between Singapore and Phu Quoc to five times. In addition to the new destinations, Scoot will be making some adjustments to its network to better match capacity to demand and optimise fleet deployment. Scoot will add two more weekly flights to Jakarta, bringing the total number of weekly flights to 19 times weekly from 24 November 2024. Services to Koh Samui will be increased from 14 to 21 times weekly from 20 December 2024, and services to Davao will increase from five times weekly to daily flights from 22 December 2024. Flights to Vientiane will increase from four to five times weekly from 9 February 2025. Operations to Nanchang will be suspended after the last flight on 14 February 2025. With the launch of services to Phu Quoc, Padang and Shantou, Scoot will operate 31 weekly flights to three cities in Vietnam, 84 weekly flights to 11 cities in Indonesia and 89 weekly flights to 17 points in China by January 2025.
Cathay Pacific resumes direct passenger flights to Hyderabad: Cathay Pacific is excited to announce the resumption of its non-stop passenger service to Hyderabad, the capital city of India’s Telangana state, starting from 30 March 2025. Now open for booking, Cathay Pacific’s upcoming Hong Kong-Hyderabad service marks the airline’s latest step in strengthening its network presence in India and enhancing connectivity at its home hub, Hong Kong. The non-stop service between Hong Kong and Hyderabad will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A330-300 aircraft, featuring Business and Economy cabins. The service will operate three times a week upon launch, increasing to five times a week from 1 September 2025. Currently, Cathay Pacific operates 31 return passenger flights per week to four destinations in India, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. This rises to 39 return flights per week by 30 March 2025, and increases further to 43 return flights per week by 1 September 2025. Aside from the five-times-weekly Hyderabad service, this will include double-daily flights to Delhi, 10 flights per week to Mumbai, and daily flights to Bengaluru and Chennai.
Qantas takes off for Palau: Qantas customers can now book flights to the airline’s newest destination, with fares to Palau on sale this week and the inaugural service set for take-off from Brisbane in December. Joining the airline’s growing international map, the Pacific Island Nation of Palau is made up of over 300 islands and is home to UNESCO World Heritage Listed Rock Islands. It marks the national carrier’s fifth international route to launch from the Sunshine State in the last 12 months following the recent commencement of services from Brisbane to Vanuatu and Manila. The service, known as the ‘Palau Paradise Express’, will operate as part of a contract awarded to Qantas by the Federal Government and will help maintain strong trade, tourism and people to people links between Australia and Palau. Qantas CEO International Cam Wallace says the airline was thrilled by the response to the announcement of the new route last month.
Flydubai and Batik Air announce strategic interline agreement: Flydubai, the Dubai-based carrier, and Batik Air Malaysia have announced today an interline agreement that will offer flydubai passengers access to more than 40 destinations across Batik Air’s network via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). The interline agreement will offer passengers seamless connectivity between the UAE, Malaysia and beyond as they explore new routes on the carriers’ combined networks, offering the convenience of a single booking and through-checked baggage. Flydubai customers will have the opportunity to explore more than 40 destinations across Southeast Asia on the Batik Air network including Hanoi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Osaka and Sydney. In addition, Batik Air passengers will have the opportunity to travel conveniently to 38 destinations on flydubai’s growing network across Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and Southeast Europe as well as the GCC and the Middle East. This includes unique destinations such as Entebbe, Istanbul, Milan-Bergamo, Prague and Zagreb.
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