Routes: United, Singapore, Delta, American, Airberlin, LATAM, Volaris

In international route news, United will increase Shanghai service but drop Vietnam; Singapore Airlines will reroute its eastbound Houston to Singapore flight; Delta will increase its Caribbean presence via code-sharing; American will trim its LAX-Brazil schedule; Airberlin will add more U.S. flights and expand code-sharing with American; LATAM adds a new Miami market; and Mexico’s Volaris plans two new U.S. routes.

According to Routesonline.com, United Airlines plans to add a second daily flight between San Francisco and Shanghai Pudong, and has already opened it up for reservations. The second frequency is due to begin on October 14, using a 787-9 Dreamliner, although the carrier is expected to replace that with a 787-8 next spring.  Meanwhile, United also plans to discontinue service to Vietnam at the end of October when it terminates its current Hong Kong-Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) route, which it serves with a 737-800. A United spokesman tells TravelSkills that the carrier is working with its joint venture partner ANA to offer a greater number of new connections to Ho Chi Minh City via Tokyo Narita than United currently offers through Hong Kong.

Effective October 30, Singapore Airlines will make a big change in its eastbound flight from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Singapore, which currently operates via a stop in Moscow. After October, the carrier will drop Moscow from that route, replacing it with a stop in Manchester, England. The five-days-a-week service will depart Houston at 8:15 p.m., arriving in Manchester at 10:05 a.m. and eventually in Singapore at 8:20 a.m.

Delta has filed for Transportation Department approval to begin code-sharing with San Juan-based regional carrier Seaborne Airlines. The planned code-sharing would put Delta flight numbers onto Seaborne flights from San Juan to five destinations not currently served by Delta: Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands; Dominica; Nevis; Anguilla; and La Romana in the Dominican Republic. The code-sharing would also increase Delta-coded flights from San Juan to destinations already served by the Atlanta-based carrier, including St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

American Airlines plans to reduce frequencies between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil from seven flights a week to five effective December 1, and will also change planes on the route from a 787-8 to a 777-200ER.

In Europe, meanwhile, American has added more code-share routes with partner Airberlin, putting its code onto the latter’s flights from Dusseldorf to Bologna, Florence, Stockholm and Venice; Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca; and Munich to Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Meanwhile, effective with its winter schedule starting in November, Airberlin will increase Miami-Berlin service from two flights a week to four, and New York-Dusseldorf service from seven flights a week to eight. The carrier is also adding a new daily New York-Berlin flight, and extending its Los Angeles-Dusseldorf service from seasonal to year-round. Airberlin will also boost Chicago-Berlin frequencies from four flights a week to five, and Ft. Myers-Dusseldorf from three a week to four.

LATAM Airlines Brazil has set a September 24 start for new once-a-week service on Saturdays between Miami and Recife, Brazil, using a two-class 767.

Mexico’s low-cost Volaris Airlines has added a couple of more U.S. routes, launching service three times a week from Seattle to its Guadalajara hub, and twice a week from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Monterrey. Both routes use A320s.

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