Over the last two and a half years the global aviation industry has experienced unprecedented turmoil, with Covid-19 and subsequent travel restrictions grounding airlines’ fleets worldwide, followed by the war in Ukraine and the closure of Russian airspace.
Many of the new routes announced in 2019 were postponed due to the pandemic and are only now coming online, and carriers have had to rethink their networks to best fit shifting demand. Here we take a look at some of the services set to launch in 2023 from carriers worldwide.
British Airways – Heathrow to Cincinnati
British Airways announced its 27th US destination in November, with flights between Heathrow and Cincinnati launching on June 5, 2023.
The flag carrier will operate five flights per week to Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International airport during the summer season, reducing to four flights per week during the winter.
There are currently no nonstop flights between the UK and the US states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana (Cincinnati is situated in Ohio, but the city’s metropolitan area straddles the three aforementioned states, and the airport is located in Kentucky). Delta operates the only service between Europe and Cincinnati, with flights into Paris CDG.
Delta – New York JFK to Gatwick
The US carrier will add a seasonal daily service between London Gatwick and JFK from April 10, 2023, a route it has not operated since 2008. It will be the airline’s first flights to Gatwick since 2012, when it switched its Atlanta-Gatwick service to Heathrow.
Delta will join an increasingly crowded field on the Gatwick-JFK route, including British Airways, Jetblue (which launched its flights in September 2021), and new entrant Norse Atlantic Airways, which commenced flights from Gatwick in August 2022.
Virgin Atlantic – Heathrow to the Maldives
Virgin Atlantic will launch a brand new service to the Maldives for winter 2023.
Seasonal flights will operate three-times-weekly from Heathrow, starting from October 22, 2023.
Virgin will go head to head with British Airways on the route, and will operate the flights with a B787-9 aircraft configured with 31 seats in Upper Class, 35 in Premium and 192 in economy.
United Airlines – Washington DC to Berlin
United will launch a seasonal service between Washington and Berlin in 2023, the only direct, nonstop service between the US and German capitals.
The route – which had originally been due to start in 2022 – will operate daily from May 23, 2023, using a B767-400ER aircraft, and will complement United’s existing New York Newark-Berlin route.
Aer Lingus – Dublin to Cleveland
Ireland’s flag carrier will launch a new transatlantic route to the US city of Cleveland in 2023.
The four-times-weekly A321LR service will launch on May 19, 2023, and at present will be the only nonstop route between Europe and the Ohio city.
The new service means Aer Lingus will operate a total of 15 transatlantic routes between Ireland and North America in summer 2023, as well as three long-haul services from Manchester.
Qantas – Auckland to JFK
Qantas will launch nonstop flights between Auckland and New York JFK summer in June 2023, with the new route initially operating three-times-weekly using B787 Dreamliner aircraft.
It will form part of a revamped Sydney-New York service, which will have been on hiatus for some three years by the time its resumes. The route had previously routed via Honolulu, but will now stop in Auckland before continuing on a nonstop, 16-hour flight to New York.
LATAM – Sao Paulo to Los Angeles
LATAM and its joint venture partner Delta announced plans for a new route between Sao Paulo and Los Angeles in November.
The three-times-weekly service will be the only nonstop route between Brazil and Los Angeles when it launches on July 1, 2023.
Flights will be operated with LATAM’s three-class B777-300ER aircraft, configured with 38 seats in Premium Business, 50 in Economy +, and 322 in economy.
Easyjet – Birmingham to Milan Malpensa
Easyjet will launch flights between between Birmingham and Milan next summer.
The thrice-weekly seasonal service to Milan Malpensa will commence on June 26, 2023, with flights on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.
The new route will be Easyjet’s 11th from Birmingham airport, with other destinations including Amsterdam, Belfast International, Edinburgh, Geneva, Glasgow and Lisbon.
SAS – Copenhagen to New York JFK
SAS has announced plans for a “new” route to New York JFK airport next year (the Scandinavian carrier has actually served JFK previously, albeit not for over 30 years).
The Copenhagen-JFK service will launch on February 9, 2023, initially with five flights per week before increasing to daily for the summer season.
SAS currently serves New York’s Newark airport from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. The Star Alliance carrier will compete with Skyteam member Delta on the New York JFK-Copenhagen route.
El Al – Tel Aviv to Dublin
El Al will launch a route between Tel Aviv and Dublin in 2023.
The three-times-weekly flights operated by B737 aircraft will begin on March 26, and will mark the first nonstop service between Ireland and Israel.
Flights are set to take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with a flight time of approximately six hours. There will be both economy and business class cabins on board.
British Airways – Gatwick to Aruba and Guyana
BA is set to launch flights from Gatwick to the Caribbean destinations of Guyana and Aruba.
The twice-weekly routes will be operated by the airline’s B777-200 aircraft, with flights to Oranjestad in Aruba beginning on March 26, 2023 and operating via Antigua. The route to Georgetown in Guyana will start on March 27 and operate via St Lucia.
The new services bring BA’s Caribbean network to 17 destinations.
Philippine Airlines – Manila to Perth
The carrier had originally announced plans for the route in 2019, with four-times-weekly flights having been scheduled to launch in March 2020.
This was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the flag carrier has now confirmed that a thrice weekly service will launch on March 27, 2023.
Norse Atlantic – Paris CDG to New York JFK
Start-up carrier Norse Atlantic plans to launch flights between Paris and New York from March 26, 2023.
The carrier’s daily two-class B787 flight from Paris CDG will depart at 1945 to arrive into New York JFK at 2200, with the return service departing New York at 0030, arriving back into the French capital at 1405.
Jetblue – New York JFK to Paris CDG
Jetblue also plans to launch flights between New York and Paris in summer 2023.
It will be the US carrier’s second transatlantic destination following the airline launch of service to London in August 2021.
While the route has been announced, bookings have not yet opened and scheduled are still to be confirmed.
Eastern Airways – East Midlands to Newquay
Eastern Airways plans to launch a new route between Cornwall Airport Newquay and East Midlands airport in 2023, which it says “will save almost ten hours compared to surface transport options on a round-trip”.
The daily year-round service will commence on February 10, 2023, operated by 72-seater ATR aircraft – and will join Eastern’s existing service from Newquay to Gatwick, which is set to increase to three-times-daily next year.
Luxair – London City to Antwerp
This route has been served previously, most notably with Flemish airline VLM and more recently Air Antwerp, which ceased operations in June 2021.
Luxembourg’s flag carrier Luxair will initially operate four flights per week between London City airport and Antwerp starting on January 16, 2023, rising to five flights per week from March 29 next year.
Ryanair – Shannon to Newcastle
Ryanair is set to launch a new route between Shannon and Newcastle for summer 2023.
The carrier will offer a thrice weekly service (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from March 26 next year.
Ryanair will base a third a third aircraft at Shannon airport next summer, and will offer a total of 24 routes and 180 weekly flights from Shannon – a 60 per cent increase on 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Virgin Atlantic – Heathrow to Turks and Caicos
Virgin Atlantic is set to launch a new route to Turks and Caicos in winter 2023.
A twice-weekly year-round Turks and Caicos service will start on November 15.
Flights will operate in conjunction with the carrier’s existing Montego Bay service, routing Heathrow-Turks and Caicos-Montego Bay.
Virgin will go head to head with British Airways on the route.
Lufthansa – Frankfurt to Belfast City
Lufthansa will launch flights between Frankfurt and Belfast City in April 2023, marking the only nonstop service between Germany and Northern Ireland.
The route will operate four-times-weekly from April 23 using a two-class Embraer aircraft.
The flag carrier is also set to resume flights between Frankfurt and Gatwick for summer 2023, complementing the airline’s existing services from the German financial hub to Heathrow and London City.
Loganair – London City to Orkney
Loganair will launch a new route between London City and Kirkwall airport in Orkney in April 2023.
The three-and-a-half-hour service will route via Dundee, with passengers not being required to leave the aircraft during the stopover.
Flights will operate twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays, as part of expanded schedules to and from Orkney next summer.
