Welcome to my 178th weekly routes article! It includes six mini-stories about subjectively exciting services that took off between August 5 and 11. While dozens of routes worldwide were introduced during the examined period, only a select few intriguing additions are covered in this article.

United, American & Delta’s Routes This Week

On August 5, United Express lifted off from Chicago O’Hare to Lafayette (Purdue University), with an 11-weekly SkyWest CRJ200 operation. It replaced Southern Airways Express, whose Caravans served the short route until the day before.

On August 6, American Eagle began flying from Chicago O’Hare to Idaho Falls (daily SkyWest E175)—a route last served 35 years ago—and Roanoke (daily Republic E175). Three days later, Eagle started its new longest-ever RJ flight by distance, from Dallas/Fort Worth to Quebec City (weekly Envoy Air E175).

On August 11, the last of the US big three carriers, Delta, reintroduced an Endeavor-operated CRJ700 service between Indianapolis and Raleigh/Durham. Running daily, it was last flown in 2020.

Southwest Begins 9 Routes In 2 Days

Southwest has started nine additional routes, all of which lifted off on either August 5 or 10. All are domestic and within the Lower 48. Only four have previously been served by the increasingly evolving carrier, including San Francisco-Austin.

The additions include five of Southwest’s new 11 shortest mainland routes: Sarasota-Orlando; Fort Myers-Orlando; West Palm Beach-Orlando; Louisville-Nashville; and Indianapolis-Chicago Midway. Most of these routes are served twice daily and obviously exist to feed other flights.

It is the third time that Southwest has operated Fort Myers-Orlando. The first occasion was between October 2005 and November 2012; the second was from November 2020 until January 2024; and the third attempt has just occurred. In 2023, only 62% of seats were filled. Will the airline do better this time?

Qatar Airways Is Back In Aleppo

Aleppo is Syria’s second most populous city. Qantas Airways’ return occurred on August 10, and it came nearly 13 and a half years after flights were halted due to Syria’s then civil war. Qatar Airways’ resumption followed that of Turkish Airlines last week.

The route from Doha covers 988 nautical miles (1,830 km) each way. In August, Qatar Airways serves it three times weekly, with both the 260-seat A330-200 and the 305-seat A330-300 deployed. Flights rise to four weekly in September and will be entirely operated by the A330-300 during the winter. Historically, the route used narrowbodies.

Aleppo is one of 30 Middle Eastern cities to see Qatar Airways’ passenger aircraft, encompassing 10 countries in the region. The Syrian capital, Damascus, welcomed the return of the airline in January. That route is now served twice daily on A330s. It competes directly with Syrian Air’s A320s.

Kuujjuaq’s Gets 2 Notable Developments In 3 Days

Until now, Kuujjuaq, in the far north of Canada, has not been featured in my Weekly Routes article. Yet, two notable developments have taken place within days of each other.

On August 6, Air Inuit began nonstop service from Montreal to Kuujjuaq, replacing the stop in Québec City. Flights mainly use the classic 737-300 (or even the 737-200). Towards the end of September or in early October, the 737-800 Combi will be used instead.

Three days later, Canadian North inaugurated a weekly 737-400-operated Ottawa-Kuujjuaq service. It is part of the Ottawa-Kuujjuaq-Iqaluit link. This replaced what Canadian North previously flew (Montreal-Kuujjuaq-Iqaluit), with its exit driven by Air Inuit’s new nonstop flights. Decently, but unusually, the airline celebrated the history and impact of the route that has ended.

ASKY Jets Off To Next Destination

The Togolese carrier ASKY gets little attention. Part of the Ethiopian Airlines Group, it has 14 aircraft: nine 737-800s and five 737 MAX 8s. It uses them to connect multiple African cities via its Lomé hub.

To enable the airline’s one wave of flights a day (see the following image), its entire fleet remains overnight at outstations (i.e., not at Lomé). This has big consequences, including high costs because of overnighting crew and maintenance at other airports. It relies on high fares to help offset the costs. It concluded that it’s cheaper than adding more waves of flights, with all that would entail. It also means it can use higher-capacity aircraft with lower seat-mile costs.

The Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott is ASKY’s latest network addition. It is the airline’s most northerly city yet. Flights run via Conakry three times weekly on the 737-800. Fed by multiple arrivals, services leave Lomé at 13:00 and get to Nouakchott at 18:45. They depart the next day at 06:50 and return to Togo at noon, thereby connecting the Mauritanian capital to multiple other African cities.

Wizz Air Has Celebrated 3 Million Passengers At Sibiu

Occasionally, this article covers non-route celebrations. In the past week, Wizz Air celebrated carrying its three millionth passenger at Sibiu, which is in central Romania. It coincided with welcoming its second aircraft based at the airport.

Sibiu has been part of the ultra-low-cost carrier’s network since 2014. During this time, 20 routes have been flown. Of these, 11 are available in August 2025: Basel, Dortmund, Hamburg, Hahn, Karlsruhe, Luton, Madrid, Memmingen, Nuremberg, Rome Fiumicino, and Vienna.

Wizz Air currently has 42 weekly departures from Sibiu, meaning it has a 60% share of the airport’s activity. It is the airline’s fifth busiest of 13 Romanian airports served in the peak summer.

Source: Simple Flying