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Nigerian airline Arik Air has something to cheer at the moment. The airline’s first international flight between London Heathrow and the Nigerian capital Lagos is performing ahead of all expectations, with the vast majority of flights operating at close to full.

There were fears that demand would fall during the current economic crisis, but Nigeria still has a healthy, cash rich economy, making it an attractive place for foreign investors and businesses.

Plans for further flight expansion have been revealed by the airline with flights to New York and Johannesburg due to commence in the second and third quarter of 2009 respectively. Arik Air plans to serve up to 11 international destinations within the next 5 years. The new routes will be service by two Airbus A340-500 aircraft.

Despite the global economic slowdown, Ethiad Airways, which is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), continues to grow in size and strength.

During 2009 the airline aims to increase its passenger numbers by 15% to a figure around 7 million. To cope with increased passenger numbers the airline plans to increase its fleet by 8 to a total of 50 aircraft. Increases in staff will also be required, and Ethiad plans to employ 15% more staff by the end of the year, bringing the total number of staff to around 8500.

Ethiad currently offers a total of 900 domestic and international flights per week which is an increase of 20% over the same time period last year.

Ethiad Airlines not only offers flights throughout the Middle East region and beyond, but also now offers cheap breaks and holidays in the region.

Continental Airlines has recently launched direct flights between New York JFK and Shanghai, China. It is the first American carrier to operate this route from New York.

The route is proving to be popular and is serviced by a Boeing 777 aircraft, which is capable of flying the route non-stop.

The flight to Shanghai takes Continental’s flight tally to China from New York to 3, with the other flights operating to Hong Kong and Beijing.

Continental Airlines are currently in the process of switching from the SkyTeam alliance to the Star Alliance network. Joining the Star Alliance network will increase the airlines capability to offer a wider range of flights at more competitive prices to routes across the globe by co-ordinating with other airlines whilst acting as a single carrier.

Icelandair is the latest operator to offer flights from the UK to the USA. It will soon commence flights four times per week between London Heathrow and Seattle. The flight will operate via its Icelandic hub and capital city Reykjavik and provides customers with a cost-effective way of connecting Europe and North America.

The airline will need to offer low cost deals on this particular route as it will be in direct competition with British Airways, which flies directly from Heathrow to Seattle. The duration of the Icelandair flight will be 12.5 hours, whilst the flight with BA takes just 9, so cheaper flight tickets will be the key to success.

As the airline continues to develop and change it has recently entered into a code share agreement with Alaska Airlines for onward flights throughout Canada, the western parts of USA and Alaska.

For the autumn season Iceland Air has revealed plans to reinstate its Reykjavik to Glasgow flight, which will operate twice weekly.

Despite the economic crisis in Iceland, which is forecasting the country’s economy will shrink by around 10% this year, Icelandair sees a positive future ahead and generates just 20% of its revenues in its home nation.

Malaysian based budget carrier AirAsia is showing signs of continuous expansion thanks to the high demand for cheap flights throughout Asia.

From April to the end of the year (2009) the airline is taking delivery of 14 new Airbus A320 aircraft. These new aircraft will mostly be for its Indonesian and Thai affiliate carriers. Expansion throughout Asia is continuing, with AirAsia planning new hubs in the region, in the beach / holiday regions of Phuket in Thailand and Penang in Malaysia, plus two new Indonesian bases of Medan and Bandung.

AirAsia offer incredibly cheap flights throughout the Asia region and its sister airline AirAsia X offer cheap long haul flights, notably London-Kuala Lumpur.