dailynewsnblog
Welcome to my 214th weekly routes article! While 90+ routes started in the examined period, only a small selection is included in this article. Six mini-stories were chosen; all the services launched between June 24 and 30. You can see last week’s jam-packed edition here.
United Makes History With These Three Routes
On June 27, 
United inaugurated three brand-new routes to Maine; Cirium Diio shows they have not had nonstop flights before. They include the Star Alliance member’s two Pacific hubs of Los Angeles and San Francisco to Portland. They are Portland’s top two longest-ever scheduled links.
Each service runs during the day and operates weekly on the 737 MAX 8. The final Los Angeles flight of the season will depart from California on September 19, which is more than a month before the final San Fran departure.
In the 12 months to March 2026, Los Angeles had 33,700 round-trip local Portland passengers, while San Fran had 31,000. While United has a quarter of the former market, its share rose to 41% from the Northern California airport; most people connected in Washington Dulles.
On the same day, United introduced the first-ever nonstop flight from Denver to Bangor. The Saturday service, which uses the 737-800, runs until September 4. It is Bangor’s longest-ever scheduled operation. The market had 12,800 passengers. Notice the model of the 787 in the following celebratory image.
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Riyadh Air Begins Fourth New Route
That did not take long. Having only recently officially launched the first three routes to London Heathrow, Jeddah, and Dubai, 
Riyadh Air’s fourth link – to Cairo – is now operational.
The service to the Egyptian capital began on June 25. Flying daily, the brand-new airline deploys Riyadh Air’s 290-seat Boeing 787-9. The startup airline’s operational fleet currently consists of five frames with that capacity.
2.2 million local passengers flew between the capitals of Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the 12 months to March 2026. It is among the world’s most-trafficked markets. With an average base fare of just $131 one-way, the city pair was not particularly high yielding.
Riyadh Air competes directly with multiple other operators, including Air Arabia Egypt, Air Cairo, EgyptAir, flyadeal, flynas, Nesma, Nile Air, and Saudia. Up to 29 daily flights are available, with widebodies operating up to nine of them.
EVA Air Arrives At Washington Dulles
Washington Dulles has welcomed the first-ever nonstop service from Taipei, courtesy of EVA Air. The initial departure was on June 26, with EVA running four times weekly on the three-class, 278-seat 787-9. In the winter, with stronger headwinds, the block time back to Asia will be a whopping 17 hours and ten minutes.
38,000 people flew between Dulles, Reagan, and Baltimore and Taipei, although that meant it was not within the top ten Asian markets. When all passengers, cabins, and airlines are considered, Dulles’ average base fare was over nearly $1,600 each way (excluding taxes and any fuel surcharge), which was influenced by strong premium travel.
Transfer markets via Taipei will be important to help fill the aircraft, especially during the off-season. Critical targets without backtracking include Manila (68,000), Ho Chi Minh City (60,000), Bangkok (50,000), and Singapore (35,000).
WestJet Commences Two Routes To Iceland
Canada’s second-largest airline has just inaugurated two more routes to Iceland. On June 26, WestJet took off from Edmonton to Keflavik, which is the international airport serving Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík.
Served weekly using the 737 MAX 8, the final departure of the season will leave Canada on September 4. The market, which covers 2,667 nautical miles (4,939 km), was last served by Icelandair in 2020.
On June 27, WestJet began another route: Winnipeg to Keflavik. Also flown weekly on the MAX 8, the last service will depart from Manitoba on September 5. Flights were last available with the now-defunct Iceland Express in 2011. At 2,429 nautical miles (4,499 km) each way, WestJet’s offering has become Winnipeg’s new longest route.
The two additions mean that WestJet now has three routes to Iceland. The first was from the carrier’s primary hub of Calgary, which launched in May 2024. In 2026, a daily MAX 8 service exists during the peak summer.
Condor Debuts In Cairo… With The Embraer E190
On June 26, the German carrier Condor introduced its next city market. This is quite a different approach compared to its traditional network, which broadly revolves around sun-and-spade destinations.
The airline now operates daily from Frankfurt to Cairo. Not only will it target the 140,000 local passengers, but also those connecting elsewhere via Germany’s busiest airport. This includes London Gatwick, which only recently joined Condor’s map.
Flights to Cairo are notable, not least because they do not use Condor’s A320s or A321s. Despite the maximum block time of nearly four-and-a-half hours, the Embraer E190 (leased from Helvetic) is deployed! And flights leave the Egyptian capital at the fun time of 2:05 AM.
Another new route from Cairo to Europe is worth mentioning. On June 29, EgyptAir took off from the country’s capital to Venice (two to three weekly A320neo). The market has not been served in the past 20 years, if at all. EgyptAir now serves three Italian cities (Milan, Rome, and Venice), with up to six daily flights.
Take Off: Wizz Air & Volotea Start 15 Routes
Some airlines, usually budget carriers, often commence many routes in quick succession. Between June 24 and 30, the full period covered by this article, Wizz Air and Volotea collectively inaugurated 15 new and returning links.
The ultra-low-cost carrier Wizz Air began eight of them: Tirana to Alghero and Radom; Oradea to Dortmund and Rome Fiumicino; and Rome Fiumicino to Chania, Kefalonia, Menorca, and Rhodes. Several are brand-new, including Tirana to Alghero. Until this year, no flights existed. Now Ryanair and Wizz Air operate.
Then there’s the rarely discussed Volotea. The carrier has launched seven routes: Lille to Biarritz, Murcia, and Toulon; Limoges to Menorca and Oran; and Venice to Corfu and Murcia. Four are brand-new, including the service to Algeria’s second-largest city.
