Norwegian Air Shuttles from Warsaw to Malaga? Photo by Valter Jacinto

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries in Berlin—

The liberalization of air traffic across Europe has created some improbable flight patterns and routes in recent years. As such, it always pays to learn more about major and smaller air carriers and their proposed routes. After all, the flag an airline flies no longer dictates which route it serves. Norwegian Air Shuttle, for example, now offers a year-round service on the Warsaw (Poland) to Málaga (Spain) route.

Here’s a quick look at some improbable routes making “airwaves” in Europe:

Lufthansa from Milan, Italy

The German national carrier, Lufthansa, offers plenty of flights from Milan to Germany. No surprise there. But the German airline has this year also launched non-stop services from Milan’s Malpensa airport to Rome, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Budapest, and Bucharest.

Why? Alitalia’s financial troubles encouraged non-Italian airlines to enter the Italian market and Lufthansa didn’t waste a moment in establishing its Milan base. With similar intent, the Austrian carrier Air A!ps has been trying its luck on Italian domestic routes, operating a hub out of Perugia airport.

Lufthansa connects Milan to Europe. Photo by caribb

Aer Lingus at London Gatwick

The Irish carrier Aer Lingus, still jealously guarding its independence from avaricious Ryanair, has this year developed a very visible presence at London’s Gatwick Airport. Aer Lingus now offers direct service from Gatwick to a dozen non-Irish destinations including Munich, Vienna, Vilnius, and Bucharest.

Air Berlin in Spain

An unlikely dominant carrier on the Spanish island of Mallorca is not a Spanish airline at all, but Air Berlin, which this winter offers non-stop flights from Palma de Mallorca to more than a dozen other Spanish airports alone, not to mention a galaxy of direct links to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal.

True devotees of utterly improbable flights in Europe can fly with Syrian Arab Airlines from Berlin to Vienna or opt for Kuwait Airways as an unusual carrier for a non-stop flight from Paris to Rome.

Know how to go

Finding out about these unusual air routes is not always easy. Who would have guessed that Air Malta would offer direct flights from Catania airport in Sicily to Geneva, Munich, or London?

The timetables published on airport websites are a good source of information, but for a comprehensive guide to all scheduled air routes the undoubted authority is the subscription-based OAG service. Those reluctant to splash out on an OAG subscription can find some decent listings at the Alternative Airlines website.

About the authors: Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner are regular contributors to EuroCheapo and together edit hidden europe magazine.

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In late March, 2008, the Norwegian low-cost carrier will begin flying between Oslo and Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s main settlement. Svalbard, an archipelago roughly half-way between Norway and the North Pole, has emerged as a big, and very expensive, eco-destination over the last few decades.

The cheapest Norwegian Air Shuttle round-trip we found was just NOK1542 (€195; $265), including taxes.

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Photo by Thomas Thiemann

Yesterday it was announced that Norwegian Air Shuttle would purchase FlyNordic. We’ve been fans of FlyNordic since our intra-Scandinavian night flight adventure in the summer of 2005, replete as it was with friendly flight attendants and a truly low one-way fare.

FlyNordic, which is currently owned by Finnair, flies to seven destinations within Sweden and an additional eight destinations across Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Norwegian Air Shuttle flies to nine destinations within Norway and a further 42 across the rest of Europe.

Flycheapo reports that FlyNordic will be maintained as a separate brand. We’re relieved. We don’t want that branded flower motif and cool font to disappear.

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