With operations at major East-West connecting carriers Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad sharply curtailed due to the Iran war, airlines are surging short-term capacity on direct routes between Europe and the Far East.
Lufthansa Group said Tuesday that Lufthansa Airlines and Austrian Airlines will add several flights on short notice in the coming weeks. Other carriers are also making additions, including Air India, Qantas and Cathay Pacific.
Lufthansa has already made additional flights between Munich and Singapore and between Frankfurt and Cape Town available for booking. Two special flights from Frankfurt to Riyadh are planned.
Austrian has arranged 10 special roundtrips from Vienna to Bangkok.
"The Lufthansa Group continues to monitor current market developments. We will communicate any further additional flights," the company said.
With India being a major origin and destination for Gulf carrier connecting traffic, Air India has stepped into the void. From March 10 through March 18, the airline will operate 78 additional flights on nine routes, including six Europe routes and Delhi-New York.
Air India said it continues to maintain its scheduled services to Europe and North America while "sustaining connectivity to several international gateways using alternative routings that are assessed as safe for operations," said chief commercial officer Nipun Aggarwal, referencing the longer routes flown with Middle East airspace closures.
Qantas thus far has added a fueling stop in Singapore for its Perth-London service, enabling it to add up to 60 customers on flights to London. But the airline is also exploring options to add more Europe capacity in the coming months.
Flights on Perth-London, as well Perth-Paris and European flights via Singapore, are more than 90% full this month, Qantas said, which is approximately 15 percentage points higher than normal for this time of year.
"Bookings for flights to and from Europe between April and June have also increased in recent weeks on these routes, as well as the Perth-Rome seasonal service which resumes in May," the airline said.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific said Tuesday that it will add London frequencies through this month and increase capacity to Zurich as flights to Dubai and Riyadh remain suspended.
Emirates, Qatar and Etihad typically occupy major roles in global East-West long-haul traffic, fueled by their convenient locations for flight connections and their reputation for good service. The airlines have resumed limited schedules as the Iran war continues, but the war is driving renewed demand for nonstop service between Europe and Asia that bypasses the Middle East.