Originally Posted by
Sotonsean
Air Tanzania are due to receive their third Boeing 788 in February 2024. Air Tanzania have previously stated that they intend on resuming London Gatwick once they receive their third airframe.
Air Tanzania previously held slots at London Gatwick prior to the covid pandemic. The airline had reportedly lost those slots and were hopeful in obtaining new ones for 2024.
Air Tanzania have been quoted in several travel and aviation media platforms over the last few months in regards to a resumption of a London service. If all goes to plan then hopefully Air Tanzania will soon announce the resumption of service between Dar Es Salaam and London Gatwick.
So on that regards I think we can assume that Air Tanzania could well be a possible contender for long haul at LGW.
Air Zimbabwe could well be another airline. The Zimbabwe authorities have recently stated that one of their priorities is to resume a link between Harare and London Gatwick.
Air Senegal announced a Dakar to London Stansted service prior to the covid pandemic. This service never materialised for obvious reasons. Air Senegal have just this week changed an order for two A220s to two A321Ns. Air Senegal have also stated that they intend on opening new routes from Dakar to Europe.
Air Senegal could well be another possible contender to announce LGW service.
Then of course there is the new national airline for Ghana which is due to officialy start operations in October 2023.
Ghana Airways have three Boeing 789 on order and the airline has previously announced that London would be one of the airlines first international routes. Whether that's LGW or LHR, there is the possibility that Ghana Airways could be yet another possible contender to announce LGW service.
I'm trying to think of a fifth candidate but the only one I can think of is Iraqi Airways.
Iraqi Airways is currently in the process of receiving brand new aircraft such as the A223 and Boeing 737 Max. I'm not sure if the EU ban on Iraqi Airways still exists especially when the airline is receiving brand new aircraft.
If Iraqi Airways can't fly with their own aircraft I'm sure they could use an ACMI operator for the meantime just like they previously did when they last used LGW.
But mentioning Iraqi Airways as a possible fifth candidate is probably a long shot but would be a very welcome addition.
So on that account I've mentioned four or maybe five possible contenders for LGW in 2024.
Air Senegal...Dakar
Air Tanzania...Dar Es Salaam
Air Zimbabwe...Harare
Ghana Airways...Accra
Iraqi Airways...Baghdad
We also have those airlines that we are already aware of that have recently requested slots from ACL at LGW for 2023/2024. Some are airline resumptions and some would be brand new to LGW as in the case of TAAG. They include the following airlines.
Azerbaijan Airways...Baku
Ethiopian Airlines...Addis Ababa
Royal Jordanian Airways...Amman
TAAG Angola Airlines...Luanda
Quite a few possible candidate's for long haul at LGW for 2024. If all of them did announce LGW then surely that would probably supersed 2023 for long haul.
Of those you mention, I can certainly see Ghana Airways and their 789s making an appearance at LGW soon, due to slot constraints and unavailability at LHR. Same also goes to Air Tanzania. Regarding Air Senegal, I'd expect MAG to be competing very hard to get this service launched at STN as was the original plan before Covid began, although they may well go for LGW depending on what GIP offer them
In terms of Asia and Asian airlines in general, could we see more come to LGW next year? One thing that has been flagged up consistently in the video interviews with the LGW commercial teams is that they are expecting a further increase of Chinese carriers and routes at Gatwick going forwards. Air China and China Eastern Airlines have already resumed LGW. China Airlines' days at LGW are sadly finished since they now have permanent slots at LHR. I'm wondering who could be next?