Czech Airlines arrives in Aarhus and with it brings Delta and SkyTeam

Thursday 11 May was a day of celebration for 2017’s European Capital of Culture, as Czech Airlines opened new 4 x weekly service between Prague and Scandinavia’s fifth largest metropolitan area, Aarhus.  The new CSA flights are the first direct link between Aarhus and a central European capital, bridging mainland Denmark with the airline’s Vaclev Havel Airport hub and providing new connectivity to destinations across eastern and southern Europe, the Middle East and beyond on Czech Airlines’ network.

More reason to celebrate at Aarhus; as Prague brings the addition of a new Delta Air Lines codeshare as the first US carrier flight numbers to feature the Danish city, and for Aarhus Airport marking its entry on the SkyTeam route map.  The OK510 service Prague-Aarhus will also carry the DL8751 flight number and the OK511 return flight also DL8733, connecting to and from Delta’s direct service between Prague and New York’s JFK.  To-date, existing New York connections via Copenhagen, by Star Alliance carrier SAS, have linked it with Newark.  Other codeshare carriers at Aarhus include Air Canada, Austrian, Lufthansa, Thai and Singapore Airlines.

“This is three celebrations in one”, commented David Surley – Head of Airline relations at Aarhus Airport, “the introduction of Prague as a frequent direct service is ground breaking for us, it’s our first central European hub connection and a hugely popular destination not only for citybreaks, but for business travellers too.  Additionally, international demand to Aarhus has been growing at an unprecedented rate, visitor numbers are literally soaring as European Capital of Culture and Denmark’s fastest growing city, the economy and commercial importance of Aarhus has been accelerating, so this is a very timely connectivity development”.

The first SkyTeam operator to open Aarhus operations, Czech Airlines’ four-weekly flights by ATR aircraft are complemented by demand-led increase to A319 capacity on busier dates.  Delta’s codeshare via Prague to the USA will be implemented on/after 20 May.  “We are delighted to welcome the Delta Air Lines brand at Aarhus by way of codeshare”, said the Airport, “we have high demand for US connections and not enough supply to-date, so the convenience of this new connection via Prague to JFK adds greater traveller choice, not just for New York, of course Delta have a huge onward network at JFK reaching far into Latin America, Canada and even Hawaii.  It’s great!”.

Aarhus Airport offers SkyTeam passengers flying Czech Airlines and holding Sky Elite Plus status or flying business class, use of its airline lounge and other associated privileges.  The airport also features a highly convenient express bus shuttle to and from downtown; buses are timed around flight movements rather than a fixed schedule, for added convenience, so CSA and Delta passengers enjoy just a few minutes wait before transfer to downtown and a drop-off just one hour before take-off.