dailynewsnblog
Welcome to my 206th weekly routes article! As always, the purpose of this article is to discuss a small selection of subjectively exciting services. Seven mini-stories were chosen this week; all the routes launched or restarted between April 22 and 28.
Alaska Airlines Arrives In Europe
History was made on April 28, when 
Alaska Airlines jetted off from Seattle (its busiest hub) to Rome. That’s because it is the oneworld member’s first European route. And more than that, it is also its new longest link by both distance and block time, for now at least.
Served daily on the Boeing 787-9, the city pair has not previously had flights by any airline. As such, Alaska Airlines’ debut is particularly noteworthy. But it won’t have the market to itself for long. Next week, Delta Air Lines will join it to the Italian capital, albeit with a lower frequency. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rome was Seattle’s largest unserved European city last year.
Alaska Airlines plans two more European routes in 2026. On May 21, it’ll take off to London Heathrow (daily 787-9), followed a week later by Keflavik (daily 737 MAX 8). Will Madrid materialize because of Iberia and oneworld connection? Or will Alaska follow Canada’s WestJet in mainly serving leisure destinations?
In 2 Days: Alaska Airlines Launches 1st-Ever Flights To Europe
History is about to be made.
Washington Dulles Welcomes Next Long-Haul Airline
South Korea’s Air Premia is a self-described hybrid operator, although some say it is more of a budget carrier. Regardless, on April 24, it inaugurated service from Seoul Incheon to Washington Dulles. It joins Korean Air, becoming the second time the airport pair has ever had two airlines.
Air Premia runs three times weekly on the 787-9. As it avoids overflying Russian airspace, flights back to Asia are blocked at up to 15 hours and 35 minutes. On this basis, this route becomes the carrier’s new longest US link.
|
Days |
Incheon To Dulles; Local Times |
Dulles To Incheon; Local Times |
|---|---|---|
|
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays |
10:00 AM-10:50 AM (same day arrival) |
1:20 PM-17:55 PM+1 |
It is attracted to the size of the market. In 2025, Seoul was the second-largest Asian market from the DC area, beaten only by Tokyo. It becomes Air Premia’s fifth US route, joining Honolulu, Los Angeles, Newark and San Francisco. 29 weekly departures will be available in the first week of May, rising up to 34 weekly flights in the peak summer.
Wizz Air’s Three Additional Routes From The Italian Capital
You might not realize it, but Wizz Air’s most-served country is not in Central or Eastern Europe. It is Italy. This summer, the Southern European nation will account for a massive 31% of the ultra-low-cost carrier’s total flights. That’s much more than Poland, which ranks second (22%).
Wizz Air serves 26 airports in Italy, of which only two are within its top ten most-served list. They’re Rome Fiumicino (which ranks third) and Milan Malpensa (seventh).
Wizz Air And airBaltic Might Not Survive The Winter, Says Ryanair CEO
The continued unrest in the Middle East has seen the price of fuel rocket up, and airline share prices drop.
The carrier has just started or resumed three additional routes from Rome. On April 27, it took off for Tallinn (three weekly), having last served the Estonian capital between 2021 and 2023. Previously, Vueling and Estonian Air operated. It is Wizz Air’s new second-longest link from Rome, after Tenerife South.
On April 28, two new routes joined its map: Oslo (three weekly) and Varna (three weekly). It competes directly with Norwegian and SAS to Oslo, providing the most seats for sale to date, influenced by Wizz’s use of the A321neo. In contrast, the Bulgarian tourist destination of Varna has not been served from the Italian capital before.
Alaska Airlines Starts Four Routes From San Diego
It is unusual for my new routes articles to feature the same carrier in two separate mini-stories, but that has happened this week. All involve Alaska Airlines and San Diego, where the carrier is growing fast.
On April 21, Alaska took off from San Diego to Santa Barbara (two daily using Horizon and SkyWest E175s). The carrier previously served the route in 2021/2022. It’ll compete directly with Southwest later this year.
On April 22, Alaska took off from San Diego to Dallas/Fort Worth (two daily; mainly on the 737-900ER), Oakland (four daily; Horizon and SkyWest E175s), and Raleigh/Durham (daily; mainly using the 737-900ER). They’re all new to the carrier’s map.
Until 2018, San Diego did not have nonstop flights to Raleigh/Durham. Frontier operated until the following year, while Breeze introduced the long link in 2024. With Alaska’s arrival, this market will have two carriers for the first time.
It’s a heavily underserved city pair, too. In 2025, 400 passengers traveled daily, but only 61 flew nonstop (15%). A problem is the number of hubs (and the consequent considerable choice of indirect flights) on the way.
Alaska Airlines Surges In San Diego: 45% More Flights Added In 2026
Combined with Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska now offers nonstop service to 49 destinations from the airport.
Turkey Gets More Russian Routes
The popularity of travel between Russia and Turkey has increased significantly, which is primarily because of EU sanctions. In 2026, 12.7 million nonstop seats are available, which is the most to date. Compared to before the war in Ukraine in 2022, around four million additional seats have been added.
Turkish and Russian airlines have added many routes, some of which started in the examined period. For example, on April 24, Air Anka (a rarely discussed small Turkish carrier) inaugurated flights between Antalya and Sochi (four weekly).
The same day, Southwind (another Turkish operator, which is inevitably related to Russia’s Nordwind) introduced the same route (two weekly). On April 25, Air Anka’s first flight from Antalya to Krasnodar took off, with three to four weekly charter services.
In 2026, Russia is the second most-served nation from Antalya, behind Germany. They account for 55% of Antalya’s international capacity. The ever-popular tourist destination has flights from more than 35 airports in Russia with up to 65 daily departures.
Discover Is… Discovering Ireland
Flights from Germany to Shannon, in County Clare, have long existed to bring tourists to the West Coast of Ireland. They operated for years until 2019, with multiple airports having flights, including Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hahn, Lübeck, Memmingen, Munich, and Weeze. Condor, Lufthansa, Ryanair, and TUI operated them.
On April 25, Discover, which is owned by the Lufthansa Group, introduced a weekly service from Frankfurt to Shannon. This marked the leisure carrier’s debut in Ireland. It also marked the resumption of flights on the airport pair after a six-year absence, when Lufthansa pulled out. Frankfurt now has flights to three Irish destinations: Dublin, Cork, and Shannon.
LEAV Aviation Arrives At Münster/Osnabrück
Around 30 airports in Germany have scheduled passenger flights. Significantly, one of them — Münster — has just welcomed its next airline: LEAV Aviation. The operator, which used to only offer charter and ACMI services, bases one 180-seat A320 at the airport. Fun fact: Münster is one of the very few German airports with a 24/7 operation.
Three outbound leisure routes are currently operational: Heraklion (three weekly, but five weekly in the autumn), Fuerteventura (two weekly), and Rhodes (two weekly). This means that both Fuerteventura and Rhodes have returned to Munster’s network.
In the autumn, Palma de Mallorca will be served (weekly). This is the most popular leisure destination from Germany, and it is Münster’s second most popular destination by seats for sale this summer, after Antalya.
