ETStar From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 2103 posts, RR: 9 Posted (3 years 1 week 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 3705 times:
So, ET's summer schedule which begins in June for some reason has the following flights operated with the Q400 outside the country (trip length noted):
- Daily nonstop to Mombasa: 3:00
- Twice daily nonstop to Djibouti: 1:45
- 4x per week to Sana'a: 2:00
The nonstop to Mombasa may very well be the longest Q400 service.
Not only for June and July, their online booking shows 767 from June to at least November. August onwards was previously 737, just recently changed to 767.
rfields5421 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 6150 posts, RR: 25 Reply 6, posted (3 years 1 week 16 hours ago) and read 2782 times:
Quoting cchan (Reply 1): 3 hours is a long time on a turboprop!
Wimp Spoken like someone who has never flown a patrol in a P-3
Three hours is a long flight on any aircraft. The question is really will the target passenger group expect a faster flight or put up with the time frame?
ETStar From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 2103 posts, RR: 9 Reply 8, posted (3 years 1 week 15 hours ago) and read 2708 times:
There are a few Q400s sitting idle
Quoting rfields5421 (Reply 6): Three hours is a long flight on any aircraft. The question is really will the target passenger group expect a faster flight or put up with the time frame?
Probably beach bound vacationers. Also, the only competitor with connections to the rest of the world is KQ, and it does not have a reach similar to ET's outside of Africa.
cchan From New Zealand, joined May 2003, 1702 posts, RR: 2 Reply 9, posted (3 years 1 week 1 hour ago) and read 2496 times:
Quoting ETStar (Reply 8): the only competitor with connections to the rest of the world is KQ, and it does not have a reach similar to ET's outside of Africa
Also, I find KQ rather expensive. Does their product worth the price they charge, compared to EK, ET, QR, SA alike?
IMHO, ET seems to use aircrafts a bit small for a few routes. 73G ADD-JNB 5.5 hours, not comfortable at all. ADD-DEL-PEK seems to be a very long route for a narrowbody (752).
I am pretty sure that's what it is, coming from Europe. Doesn't LH have its codes on this route as well?
Quoting ETStar (Reply 8): Also, the only competitor with connections to the rest of the world is KQ,
not sure how much O/D traffic there is out of MBA. The real competition may be the low cost carriers going into MBA from Berlin, Milan, and other EU cities. If (and I am making assumptions here) most of the pax are holidaymakers who buy a package from a tour operator, my guess is that they will go for cheaper price over more comfortable rides.
Quoting cchan (Reply 9): Also, I find KQ rather expensive. Does their product worth the price they charge, compared to EK, ET, QR, SA alike?
At this point, KQ probably has a better product compared to its most direct competitor: ET, but this is largely due to the relatively aging metals that ET flies.
Quoting cchan (Reply 9): IMHO, ET seems to use aircrafts a bit small for a few routes. 73G ADD-JNB 5.5 hours, not comfortable at all. ADD-DEL-PEK seems to be a very long route for a narrowbody (752).
I agree. It seems to me that they are trying to maximize the utility of all their a/c, even at the cost of comfort. I hope this 'problem' goes away with the new fleet arrival in the coming years.
I don't have empirical data to base my argument on, but I would not be surprised if ET has the lowest cost structure (labor, a/c financing, etc.).
ETStar From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 2103 posts, RR: 9 Reply 12, posted (2 years 12 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 2051 times:
Well, they were not kidding when they said they'd deploy them regionally. Evening flights to the following destinations will be served nonstop from Addis using the Q400 starting this summer:
- Sana'a
- Dar Es Salaam
- Zanzibar
- Kigali
- Kilimanjaro
The longest flights stands to be that to Dar Es Salaam at 3:30. Is this going to be the longest scheduled service for the Q400?
Quoting ETinCaribe (Reply 11): At this point, KQ probably has a better product compared to its most direct competitor: ET, but this is largely due to the relatively aging metals that ET flies.
Not just the aging metals, but ET's upper class does not have the lie flat seats that KQ has. Don't know about in-flight service at KQ, but tend to think it is better. And now the Q400, which in my books is inferior to the E170, is a regional workhorse (and does not have J class). Meanwhile KQ is leasing two additional E170s.
Also, one thing to note is that ET has never leased additional B737-700s for its own ops since the initial 5 it acquired. Either their availability in the market is slim, or they just don't fit ET's needs - it has gone and ordered 738s however, which I believe would be replacements for 752s.
ETinCaribe From Ethiopia, joined Dec 2009, 624 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (2 years 11 months 3 weeks 6 days 3 hours ago) and read 1667 times:
Quoting ETStar (Reply 12): The longest flights stands to be that to Dar Es Salaam at 3:30. Is this going to be the longest scheduled service for the Q400?
Wow, that's a long time; let's see how that is going to work out for them.
Quoting ETStar (Reply 12): And now the Q400, which in my books is inferior to the E170, is a regional workhorse (and does not have J class). Meanwhile KQ is leasing two additional E170s.
let's see how this strategy is going to work out.
Quoting ETStar (Reply 12): Not just the aging metals, but ET's upper class does not have the lie flat seats that KQ has.
cchan From New Zealand, joined May 2003, 1702 posts, RR: 2 Reply 14, posted (2 years 11 months 3 weeks 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 1625 times:
Quoting ETStar (Reply 12): ET's upper class does not have the lie flat seats that KQ has
But their price makes up for it. ET's J class is affordable even for those passengers who usually fly Y. KQ's J class is a lot more expensive. MK also offers low priced J class with lie flat, but their network is small.
ETinCaribe From Ethiopia, joined Dec 2009, 624 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (2 years 11 months 3 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 1477 times:
Quoting cchan (Reply 14): But their price makes up for it
I guess if they want to be the 'value' (cheap) leader, that's fine. I think ET has better cost structures than its immediate competitors, so lowering the quality of the product is not needed, IMHO.
413X3 From United States of America, joined Jul 2008, 1983 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (2 years 11 months 3 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 1309 times:
I just laugh when people say it's a long time to be on a turbo prop. I'm not old enough but even I can remember the old days before everything was jets. People are so spoiled.
cchan From New Zealand, joined May 2003, 1702 posts, RR: 2 Reply 17, posted (2 years 11 months 3 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 1269 times:
Quoting 413X3 (Reply 16): I just laugh when people say it's a long time to be on a turbo prop. I'm not old enough but even I can remember the old days before everything was jets. People are so spoiled.
But by today's standards, 3 days' solid flying to get from Asia to Europe is a long time. I don't mind 2-3 hours on a turboprop as long as the weather is reasonably nice, it is hell on a bad day.
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Spoken like someone who has never flown a patrol in a P-3
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