OAG has announced at the annual Routes Conference in Dubai,
the busiest new routes in September 2006 based on its analysis of international
flight schedules filed in from 1,000 airlines worldwide.Compared with this time last year, 2,133 new routes have been launched or reinstated
with a total of more than 18,000 new flight services now operating on these new
routes every week. That represents 3% of total worldwide flight schedules for this
month.

Topping the global chart of weekly frequencies is the route between Charlotte (CLT)
and Hilton Head Island (HHH) in North America with 124 flights per week. These are
turboprop services operated by US Airways.

Somewhat surprisingly, the joint second busiest new route in the world is
exclusively for helicopters, on the new commuter route between New York’s JFK
Airport and Downtown Manhattan Heliport with 120 flights every week. Regional
rankings put North America firmly ahead, with the top five busiest new routes and
seven of the top ten.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has 39 of the new or reinstated
routes, followed by Dublin Airport with 27, London Stansted with 26 and Moscow
Domodedovo with 25.

The majority of the 2,000+ new routes are domestic. When we look at the
international picture, the busiest routes are primarily intra-European. Leading this
chart is the new route between Ostrava in the Czech Republic and Vienna in Austria,
with 44 new flights per week operated by Job Air.

Commented Duncan Alexander, OAG’s Managing Director Business Development:
“Our statistics clearly demonstrate that airlines continue to expand their route
networks. Compared to this time last year there are more than 18,000 new flight
services operating on over 2,000 brand new routes. North America is leading the way
with the top 5 busiest new routes, which is remarkable considering it already has
the world’s busiest airspace.

Most of the top 20 busiest new international routes are intra-Europe, with the
eagerly anticipated New York JFK to Stansted transatlantic route ranking seventh. In
fact, every region is experiencing new route growth which bodes well for the health
of the industry.”
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