easyJet launch Helsinki and Portuguese domestic routes

easyJet have today put on sale three new routes for the winter 2008 season, featuring their first flights to Helsinki and also their first domestic route in Portugal. From the beginning of November, easyJet will launch the only low-cost route between the United Kingdom and Helsinki when they launch daily flights from London (Gatwick). From 27 October 2008 they also will begin flying between Lisbon and Funchal, and from Madrid to Sofia.

Volareweb adds flights from Milan

Volareweb will begin flying from Milan (Malpensa) this winter with ten new routes, adding to their operation at Milan (Linate). From the end of October 2007 they will begin flying from Milan (Malpensa) to Alghero, Cagliari, Helsinki, Lodz, Maastricht, Manchester, Oporto, Pescara, Rotterdam and Wroclaw.

These are available to book now at www.volareweb.com.

Summer services from gotlandsflyg

gotlandsflyg will operate four new routes this summer from Visby, on the Swedish island of Gotland. They will launch flights from Visby to Oslo (International), Helsinki, Gothenburg (Landvetter) and Hamburg (Fuhlsbuettel). The flight dates vary but will operate between June and September 2007.

11 new routes from Barcelona for clickair

The recently launched Spanish low-cost airline, clickair, has launched an assault on the competition at Barcelona airport. Over the coming months they will launch 11 new routes, including flights to Verona (Villafranca), Venice (Marco Polo), Naples, Rome (Fiumicino), Pisa, Helsinki, Bucharest (Otopeni), Budapest, Vienna, Jerez and Warsaw.

They will also launch two new routes from Seville to London (Gatwick) and La Coruna.

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.

Helsinki is new base for Sterling

Sterling, the Scandinavian low-cost airline currently in the process of merging with Maersk, will make Helsinki a base from March 2006.

From the end of March, they are scheduled to begin flying 11 new routes from Helsinki to Rome (Ciampino), Prague, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Paris (Beauvais), Nice, Malaga, Faro, Crete, Budapest and Bologna.