Vueling launch summer Ibiza route

Vueling will launch a summer service between Barcelona and Ibiza Flights will operate from 15 June 2006 until mid-September.

Wizz Air expands into Slovenia and Croatia

From May 2006, Wizz Air will begin flights to Ljubljana. They will initially fly from Brussels (Charleroi) and London (Luton). In May, they will also launch a route between London (Luton) and Split, and will follow this up with a new route from Budapest to Split in June.

MyAir to launch Spanish flights

MyAir will launch summer routes to Spain from 21 July 2006. They will fly from Milan (Orio al Serio) to Palma and Ibiza, and also from Venice (Marco Polo) to Ibiza. These flights will be operated until early September.

Ryanair to launch second Finnish base?

Ryanair announced that they are looking for a second base in Finland. They currently operate flights to Tampere.

Finland has been a rocky country for low-cost flying in the past, with carrier Flying Finn disappearing in 2004, and many routes coming and going. This looks set to change with the expansion of Sterling and addition of Air Berlin flights to Helsinki.

Jet2 connect Newcastle and Tenerife

Jet2 will launch a route from Newcastle to Tenerife from October 2006. The route is currently scheduled to run for the winter 06/07 season.

Blue Air moves route to Arad

Blue Air will move their route to Verona (Brescia), scheduled to operate from Timisoara, to Arad instead. This will be the first low-cost route to operate from Arad.

Air Turquoise will fly to London

Air Turquoise, the second low-cost airline to be started in France (the first, flywest, is no longer with us), will begin flying from their base at Reims to London (Luton). They will begin flying this route from the end of March 2006.

Blue Air to begin flying to Frankfurt

From the end of March 2006, Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air will begin flying a new route between Bucharest (Baneasa) and Frankfurt (Hahn).

FlyGlobespan expands for summer

FlyGlobespan will launch new routes to Pula and Menorca from their bases at Glasgow (International) and Edinburgh. Both routes will begin at the end of May 2006 and are currently scheduled to operate until the end of October.

This will make FlyGlobespan the first low-cost airline to fly to Pula.

helvetic plans Italian expansion

helvetic will launch 2 new Italian routes from their Zurich base. From 12 April 2006, they will begin flights to Pisa and from 18 May, they will begin flying to Rimini.

British Airways to launch a low-cost?

British Airways have announced plans to streamline their (primarily) domestic subsidiary carrier, CitiExpress, to follow a more low-cost model. The new airline, to be called BA Connect, will allow single tickets to be purchased without penalty, and lower fares for passengers. They will also remove complementary food.

While it is clear that this is a step in the low-cost direction, BA maintain that this change will not make BA Connect a low-cost airline.

Air Berlin to go public?

There are strong rumours that Air Berlin may launch an IPO later this year. It has been suggested that this could net up to €700 for the airline.

Wizz Air lands at Prestwick!

From 28 March 2006, Wizz Air will begin flying to Glasgow (Prestwick). They will operate flights from Warsaw and Gdansk.

Wizz Air to connect Malmo and Kaunas

Wizz Air will launch a new route between Malmo and Kaunas on 27 March 2006.

Vueling expands Madrid base

From 20 February 2006, Vueling will operate 3 new routes from their Madrid base. They will begin flying to Lisbon, Milan (Malpensa) and Amsterdam.

Wizz Air to fly from London to Zagreb

Wizz Air will launch direct flights between London (Luton) and Zagreb from 26 March 2006. This will make Wizz Air the first budget airline to fly between the UK and Croatia.

Low-cost flights to Croatia have been discussed for a long time, and it is considered a potential goldmine for future route development.

easyJet network expansion continues

easyJet have announced an expansion for 2006, and will add 14 new routes to their European route network over the coming months. This includes expansion from Lisbon to London (Luton), Milan (Malpensa) and Paris (Charles De Gaulle), from Liverpool to Faro, Krakow, Menorca and Marseille, from Malaga to Dortmund and Berlin (Schoenefeld), from Milan (Malpensa) to Naples, Palermo, Olbia and Ibiza and from Geneva to Palma (Mallorca).

These flights will go on sale from Friday 06 January.

flybe to fly from Southampton to Cherbourg

From 24 May 2006, flybe will begin flying between Southampton and Cherbourg. This route is currently scheduled to be a summer service, and flights will operate until the end of September.