AVGEEK
Copenhagen’s route development through an alliance shift
Johan Laurberg explains how Copenhagen works with airlines on routes and slots, including IndiGo’s Mumbai service and the airport’s changing hub role as SAS moves to SkyTeam.
The conversation
Episode 60:
What does it take to get a widebody jet from Mumbai to land in Copenhagen? It turns out it’s a mix of high-stakes matchmaking, "slot surgery", and sometimes even a twenty-year game of patience.
In this landmark 60th episode, Vishal Mehra sits down with Johan Laurberg, Senior Route Development Manager at Copenhagen Airports (CPH). We go behind the scenes of one of Europe’s most fascinating "hub identity transplants" as SAS moves from Star Alliance to SkyTeam. Johan reveals the secrets of the "dual-nation gateway", explaining how CPH serves both Denmark and Southern Sweden and why that potentially makes the airport a goldmine.
In this episode:
The 20-year route: Two decades of conversation to launch the Ho Chi Minh City link with CPH.
IndiGo’s northbound leap: How the Mumbai-CPH route overcame short lead times and visa hurdles to launch, and how did this route even happen?
Legacy vs. LCA: The difference between pitching to Air India and a "hybrid" giant like IndiGo.
The science of the bank: How CPH manages "slot surgery" between airlines and alliances.
The next frontier: Is a direct Bengaluru-CPH flight on the horizon?
Johan also explains how CPH is reshaping its hub role after alliance shifts, the commercial logic behind IndiGo’s Mumbai service, how airports and airlines align on new routes, and what makes Copenhagen competitive versus Stockholm and Helsinki.