Throughout the pandemic predictions, suppositions and proclamations have all been consistently wrong. It is hindsight to ask if we should have closed the borders 12 months ago - but with the vaccine programmes delivering good results we can't allow mutated strains, resistant to the currently availa...
Jump to postGiven how badly the s*** has hit the fan in recent weeks, it’s not surprising that individual EU nations have taken a unilateral approach to restrictions (the Dutch as an example), but as the situation recovers, it’s important that testing requirements return to being coordinated at the EU level. A ...
Jump to postYou were advocating a complete shutdown with no exceptions in your previous post - “shut the lot down”. Words and language matter.
Jump to postWell said shamrock321, and I hope everything works out for you. It would take a rather cold-hearted type to tell a fellow Irish citizen they cannot travel home under any circumstance. We should keep some sense of perspective here. There’s more going on in people’s lives than just COVID-19. People st...
Jump to postAre the Government actively trying to encourage people to fly into Belfast with these draconian measures?
No issue following the quarantine rules on arrival, but fines of €2,500 for not having a PCR test completed before travelling? This is beyond crazy.
Indeed, I guess the onus would fall on the operating carrier to ensure compliance.
Jump to postIt would appear the PCR requirement will initially apply to passengers arriving from the UK and South Africa, with other countries to follow in due course. I suspect the specifics have yet to be agreed. It would be interesting to understand the constitutional position on this. Can an Irish citizen a...
Jump to postVicenza wrote:
But the purpose of Duty-Free is for items being purchased and taken out of a country permanently, not being bought at an airport for the purpse of a reduced price and being brought back in on a return flight.
Truly sorry but way too negative dstc47. Countries are vaccinating at extraordinary speed. Given that it is a new phenomenon and at the same time dealing with a continuing, even growing, pandemuc. What did you expect and why? I believe that any travel should only be permitted for those who have vac...
Jump to postWell, one can hardly blame airlines if they’re lacking a bit of Christmas cheer after the year they’ve had....I’m not quite sure what you’re expecting? Bargain basement fares the week before Christmas? €9.99 to the States? A free ticket raffle outside T2?
Jump to postWhile I don’t disagree that mistakes have been made in the UK, this new and much-publicised strain of COVID-19 can hardly be attributed to failed UK policy. Taking a step back, this blanket ban on UK flights is wholly unprecedented and indeed, quite incredible. Even during the worst days of the cris...
Jump to postJust when it seemed our aviation sector had reached peak-crisis, 2020 will deliver perhaps its final blow later today with the imminent ban on UK arrivals for an initial period of 48 hours. We end 2020 on a low, but with the hope that 2021 will bring better times. My thoughts go out to all those una...
Jump to postI think the livery looks perfectly fine on the shorter fuselages (A320/A321), but I find the livery on the A330 as underwhelming as ever. The ratio of green to white is much too low. It's more akin to a half-baked livery you might see on a dry-lease frame. Most carriers have tried to strike a bette...
Jump to postI thought it looked well on the Avro too, where the ratio of white to green was roughly 2:1. The A320/A321 is probably about 4:1 which I feel is about the limit. The A330 is about 6:1 which is far too much white.
Jump to postI think the livery looks perfectly fine on the shorter fuselages (A320/A321), but I find the livery on the A330 as underwhelming as ever. The ratio of green to white is much too low. It's more akin to a half-baked livery you might see on a dry-lease frame. Most carriers have tried to strike a better...
Jump to postIf advertising rates were the highest of any Irish magazine, it feels like there’s a strong business case for continued publication once traffic numbers rebound. From a health/safety perspective alone, it hardly makes sense to persist with shared inflight magazines for the foreseeable.
Jump to postAirways magazine is reporting that the fire is contained: https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/stored-british-airways-boeing-747-400-catches-fire-in-castellon-airport/?fbclid=IwAR0gVM7GW4gXkKPjTfDdAm-BOFE_SfrlUhh1Zg4HJiUtl6b87x4qyYPWYOY Slightly awkward wording, "There have been no injuries to regr...
Jump to postBA resorting to rather extreme measures to ensure these 744s don't return to service...
Jump to postCertainly no harm. It was looking worse for wear when I was last there in February.
It's a little surprising they're putting money into a project that could hardly be deemed essential under the present circumstances, but no complaints here. It'll be nice to have a refreshed lounge to visit in 2021.
Will Covid revive the alliances? I doubt we will see the early return of all the direct connection routes. We will probably have to rely on the alliance connection networks for a while - such as they maybe! For example for 20 plus years I had to alliance connect to Moscow, Kyiv or Minsk. Then SU re...
Jump to postWhen you think back to when EI first joined OW in 1999/2000, alignment with other OW carriers was much closer. EI funnelled all its Spanish traffic via MAD and onwards with IB. Most Asia-bound passengers were funnelled via LHR and onwards with QF, CX and BA. On the US side there was AA. Traffic flow...
Jump to postI reckon there’s a less than 5% chance of EI ever joining OW. I expect there to be full “earn and burn” and reciprocal benefits between EI and the other JV partners, but little else. This can be achieved at much less cost and complexity than full blown OW membership and still offers most of the bene...
Jump to postI travelled on non-rev paper tickets in South Africa and the US as recently as 2014. It took a while in PLZ to locate someone who even knew how to process it. Most of the younger staff had never seen one before. Eventually an older guy from the ticket desk was called over to uncover the mystery! A r...
Jump to postI agree, MAN-NYC as part of the OW JV would represent a stronger offering but I'm not sure what the timeline for entry into the JV is. MCO is an interesting one given the various segments that make up that market. There's the Disney traffic, the grey-haired traffic, and a small amount of business tr...
Jump to postRoutes like MAN-BOS and MAN-ORD are pretty thin markets with circa. 45,000 passengers flying P2P in 2019 - enough to fill approx. 4x neos per week. Demand for the next 2-3 years is likely to be far below those levels. Granted, the market is bigger than 45k as there are sizeable numbers flying via DU...
Jump to postThanks for the feedback! I already feel a little less ignorant now, and that's all thanks to you sir!
Jump to postI'd also add that part of the reason EI can offer such attractive Y fares ex UK is they are filling J cabins at decent yields ex DUB. They won't have this advantage operating P2P from MAN. Make no mistake - P2P ex MAN is a very different strategy to the one they've pursued for the best part of a dec...
Jump to postBattling it out for P2P leisure passengers in a fairly price-sensitive market doesn't feel like the right strategy for EI. Huh? Thats exactly the strategy EI have been using for many years, with EI often coming up the cheapest to the US from the UK, and cheaper by a considerable amount usually. Onl...
Jump to postAssuming there is a new contract, savings in the region of 20% -30% sound plausible. Every dollar will count if they are to make MAN work. I'm not convinced the MAN experiment will be all that successful. Previous attempts by EI to establish UK bases (BFS, LGW) proved unsuccessful and I can't see MA...
Jump to postEven in the current config, the A321s are pretty spacious by today's standards. Full galleys back and front + four standard-sized lavs. Luxury!
Jump to postI suspect demand largely flatlined about a month ago shortly after schools reopened and Italy / Greece were removed from the Green List. I can’t imagine the evolving domestic restrictions having a very significant impact on demand for foreign travel at this stage. Most people flying since mid/late S...
Jump to postWhile I've been a strong proponent of airport testing, it's clear that given the deteriorating epidemiological situation across Europe, the impetus to get such a system in place has been lost for now. The time to act was in June when Europe was starting to re-open and the peak holiday season was sti...
Jump to postIt’s a fine balance indeed and it’ll take a very rounded character to steer EI through this crisis smoothly. Someone brave enough to make some bold moves, yet thoughtful and diplomatic enough to navigate the political environment. A skilled communicator who can secure buy-in for the chosen way forwa...
Jump to postHardly the best time for EI to be without a CEO, but we wish Mr. Doyle every success at BA.
I believe his time at the helm has been the shortest since Foley left in 2001. Here's hoping a strong replacement who understands the EI business can be identified quickly. Not an easy gig.
More akin to an interest-free loan to EI - the U.S. borders are likely to remain closed to non-residents for most of the travel window. I'd rather the cash in my pocket than an EI voucher. At any rate, the upside is limited as fares will remain low through most of H1 2021. 10% chance I might save EU...
Jump to postFor the foreseeable, relative performance is likely to matter a great deal more than absolute performance. Profits will be hard to come by on any route these days - that’s a given. The question will rather be - which routes are likely to provide some kind of contribution to my fixed cost base? The U...
Jump to postHigh fares, silly stopover rules, limited route networks, efforts to destroy LCCs - you are essentially describing every legacy operator that existed in the pre-deregulation era. This does not make it right, but it was par for the course at the time. EI bears little resemblance today to the airline ...
Jump to postYes, and all to the US....they have little interest in anywhere else so I don't accept that EI are overly concerned about the travel aspirations of Irish citizens, or non-US visitors Maybe you could highlight where I claimed that EI are concerned about the travel aspirations of Irish citizens, or n...
Jump to postIndeed, let's not underestimate the importance of EI. There are other factors beyond just basic connectivity that should be considered. 1. EI is the only 'hub' carrier at DUB. The network concept developed by EI at DUB over the past decade has helped generate sufficient traffic density to open route...
Jump to postI suspect EI service to North America will not look dissimilar to the above map for the next 2-3 years or more. The core routes of JFK (12-14x weekly), BOS (7-10x weekly) & ORD (7-10x weekly) + SFO (6-7x weekly) with possibly a limited service to MCO & YYZ (2-3x weekly).
Jump to postI agree that far more needs to be done in terms of testing. In terms of state aid for IAG and Ryanair - both are private companies and neither have made requests to the the Irish Government for such. Until a request is made, the debate around state aid remains somewhat academic. There is little the ...
Jump to postJust a thought on the international travel thing - holidays are, from a trade point of view, an export. Staycations are, in themselves, helping to support the Irish economy. The logistics certainly require some thought. I think as a basic first step, temperature checks should be performed on all pa...
Jump to postI should add to the above - any non-residents who test positive and have accommodation in Ireland that is suitable for effective quarantine should of course be requested to quarantine at that location rather than in a Government facility. The aim should really be to minimise the number of people req...
Jump to postI think it would be far more constructive if the time spent on the development of the so-called "Green List" was instead used to roll out testing regimes at our airports. It is only through a fast, effective testing programme that we can fully reopen our country while ensuring we have the...
Jump to postI think it would be far more constructive if the time spent on the development of the so-called "Green List" was instead used to roll out testing regimes at our airports. It is only through a fast, effective testing programme that we can fully reopen our country while ensuring we have the ...
Jump to postSadly, the unique character and brand that this site once had seems to have been completely destroyed. It doesn't even look or feel like a.net anymore.
Jump to post<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/OA260" class="quote" target="_blank">OA260</a> (<a href="#105" class="quote">Reply 105</a>):<br/><i><acronym title="Qatar Airways">QR</acronym> ...
Jump to postAccording to <acronym title="Ariana Afghan Airlines">FG</acronym>, Al Baker has said that <acronym title="Qatar Airways">QR</acronym> will commence <acronym title="Dublin (- Collinstown) (DUB / EIDW), Ireland">DUB</acronym>, and possibly <acronym title="Belfast - International (Aldergrove) (BFS / EG...
Jump to post<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/dstc47" class="quote" target="_blank">dstc47</a> (<a href="#89" class="quote">Reply 89</a>):<br/><i>Obituary of Captain Darby Kennedy who died a...
Jump to postNice to get a trip report covering this short-lived route. Personally I find the <acronym title="British Airways">BA</acronym> CityFlyer product to be way ahead of <acronym title="CityJet (Ireland)">WX</acronym> - both in terms of seat comfort and inflight service. I would go as far as to say that t...
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