Growth continues at Aarhus with codeshare and destination expansion

Aarhus will welcome another new carrier brand this summer as the European Capital of Culture welcomes SmartWings code on new flights between Denmark’s second city and Prague from May. The QS flight prefix has been added to all OK-operated flights, which will link the two cities 4 x weekly every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 11 May. SmartWings is a leading Czech leisure airline to Southern Europe and the Mediterranean area, thus bridging Aarhus with a number of new destinations beyond Prague.

Head of Airline Relations at Aarhus Airport, David Surley, welcomed the SmartWings codeshare commenting, “this is more good news for an already exciting 2017 and we are delighted that Czech Airlines partner SmartWings will add Aarhus to their timetable, it brings with it some great connections via Prague including Split, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Larnaca and seasonally such points as Heraklion and Hurghada all with the OK and QS codes”. Centrally located in Europe, Prague is a convenient hub for north-south connectivity from and to the Nordic region. “Prague is more central for the Scandinavian markets than you might think”, added Surley, “this creates some outstanding connection opportunities to and from mainland Denmark where customers can book flights with Czech Airlines or through SmartWings. The two offer slightly differentiated fare products when it comes to flexibility, baggage and such like, but collectively offer a great customer choice via a truly excellent and easy-to-use hub. We very much look forward to welcoming SmartWings on to Czech Airlines’ operation here and the arrival of SkyTeam alliance at Aarhus”.

Flights OK511 to Prague and OK510 from Prague will be codeshared as QS8511 and QS8510 respectively.

SAS’ codeshare offering at Aarhus has also been expanded and by recently confirmed partnership with Luxair, the Scandinavian airline now offers one or two connections per day to and from Luxembourg via Copenhagen in applying its SK code to Luxair’s Danish flights.

In other news, Aarhus-based tour operator ÅrhusCharter today opened sales to another new destination in its growing summer program for 2017. Having recently introduced the island of Ithaca, the tour operator today announced the Ionian destination of Sivota as also new from 20 May. Sitting on the Epiros Coast of western mainland Greece, Sivota is known as the ‘Greek Caribbean’ and is reached by new weekly direct flight from Aarhus to Preveza, operated by DAT Airbus A320 aircraft on Saturdays between May and October. “Sivota is a wonderful mix of upscale, luxurious retreats and charming boutique residences, oozing that incredible rustic Greek charm and breathtaking waterside location that appeals widely to Nordic travelers seeking tranquil coves, white sand beaches and an easy direct flight”, said the Airport in welcoming the news.