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Czech Airlines is preliminarily planning to introduce new connections to Central Asia with its 2009 summer flight schedule. With the local authorities and its partner airlines, the Airline www.czechairlines.co.uk is presently discussing the possibility of introducing new flights.

In addition to two brand-new destinations in the Czech Airlines network, service on a number of existing routes would be bolstered and departure times would improve, such as to allow passengers to make better use of connecting flights from Prague, says Czechairlines.co.uk.

The preliminary draft summer flight schedule will be subject to numerous discussions both inside the company and externally. The planned modifications of the Czech Airlines summer flight schedule can also change in response to current customer demand.

Planned New Routes

The Central Asian region has a great potential, in terms of a well-paying clientele, which Czech Airlines has seen in the success of its Almaty route opened this year. In addition to the great demand, Czechairlines.co.uk also has a very good name in the region. Hence, it is negotiating about launching flights to two brand new destinations in the region. The Airline would like to offer both flights twice a week, employing Airbus A319 aircraft.

With the summer flight schedule, flights to Moscow will also see a boost, to four flights from the Czech Republic to Moscow. Czech Airlines also wants to increase its service to St. Petersburg. Its traditional night-time flights to Beirut will be supplemented in the high season with two daytime services.

The new night-time flights to Hamburg and Stuttgart, introduced in the popular winter holiday season, will be retained. Also, the successful summer service to Heraklion, introduced this year, will continue. In addition, service to Almaty, Cairo, Minsk, Damascus, Skopje, Istanbul, Yerevan, and Tbilisi should be bolstered.

Flights to Manchester will be newly operated in a more attractive time, with an evening departure from Prague and a morning return from Manchester. This will be enabled by the capacity released following the temporary reduction of flights to Dublin. Dublin Airport did not grant Czech Airlines airport slots with the requested morning departure time for the 2009 summer season.

Service on the route would thus not be possible, due to the capacity constraints. Czechairlines.co.uk will, however, maintain a presence in the market. Service reduced to the minimum will be maintained between Ireland and the Czech Republic, at a time suitable for Czech clients, i.e., departing from Prague on Friday and returning on Sunday.

The last flights presently offered on business days will be operated on 13 January from Prague, and 14 January from Dublin. Czech Airlines nevertheless does not rule out returning to daily operations on the Prague – Dublin route in the future. With the shift of flights to Manchester to the more attractive morning time, capacity from the noon flight to Manchester will be freed up, which Czech Airlines will use for introducing a third daily flight to Copenhagen.

The Flight Schedule Preparation Process
In essence, the preparation of a flight schedule is a continuous process. Czechairlines.co.uk employs a Lufthansa Systems planning system for planning routes, placing them into the flight schedule, and achieving ideal connections. For each flight schedule, a comprehensive proposal must be available about six months before it enters into force, and discussions must be launched with operating units both outside of the Airline and within, which assess the feasibility of the new proposal.

Then, with it in hand, about five months before the effective date, the employees of the Flight Schedule Department attend an IATA slot conference, where they try to obtain the required slots from individual airports, i.e., the times for the arrival and departure of an aircraft.

The times obtained are then processed again by the system and discussed with operating units. Approximately two months before the summer flight schedule enters into force, a proposal should be available that will then be approved by the Management Board.

A new air service takes off in the UAE with twice-weekly flights linking Abu Dhabi with Sir Bani Yas Island, phase one of the Desert Islands project in the emirate’s Al Gharbia western region.

The service provided by private operator Empire Aviation on behalf of Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer of Desert Islands project, will operate return flights every Thursday and Saturday to Sir Bani Yas Island with more flight soon to be announced.

The service can also be chartered on demand as part of the accommodation package offered by Desert Islands Resort and Spa.

Operating two eight-seater Cessna Caravans, the flight to Sir Bani Yas Island – home to the Arabian Wildlife Park – will take approximately 50 minutes as opposed to a two and a half hour car journey from the UAE capital.

‘This service is providing greater accessibility to Sir Bani Yas Island which is an incomparable destination and presents a face of Arabia many could never imagine,’ said Lee Tabler, CEO, TDIC.

And to mark the launch of the service, Desert Islands Resort & Spa, the boutique 64-room operated by the award-winning Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas, is offering a special weekend package for two.

The package includes flights and two-nights stay including breakfast and island activities. The offer is valid until March 31st.

The Desert Islands Resort and Spa, which opened only three months ago, signalled the launch of Sir Bani Yas Island onto the international tourism map. Guests at the distinctive, beachfront resort can enjoy a range of adventure activities. Outdoor activities include: 4×4 tours of the Arabian Wildlife Park, which has one of the world’s largest herds of Arabian Oryx; kayaking through mangrove forests; snorkelling in the protected water,s which are rich in marine life; or hiking and mountain biking across the island’s ancient salt domes.

Sir Bani Yas Island, a former Royal nature reserve, is an 87 square kilometre island just off Jebel Dhanna in Al Gharbia. Guests arriving by car are provided with boat crossing to the island. Sir Bani Yas Island is the first phase of TDIC’s flagship Desert Islands destination, which comprises eight islands and an onshore gate.

It may not be a familiar name yet, but Etihad Airways, based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be flying into Athens three times a week, increasing to five flights a week by summer.
While the Abu Dhabi-Athens flights may not fit in with the usual itineraries for some travelers, the airline will also be operating a Melbourne-Athens flight.

The airline also offers flights from New York to Abu Dhabi, but as of yet, there’s no word on whether they will provide New York – Athens flights anytime soon.