NiallS wrote:

Here are some estimated load factors for new routes from Dublin based on CSO 2018 figures. This is just my own estimates so may not be entirely accurate due to flight cancellations, possible extra flights etc.

Aeroflot SVO (This is assuming the A320 used is in the 140 seats configuration rather than the 158. SeatGuru indicates that it's the 140 seat version)
October 2018: 49%
November 2018: 39%
December 2018: 66%

Cathay Pacific HKG
June 2018: 83%
July 2018: 93%
August 2018: 92%
September 2018: 77%
October 2018: 73%
November 2018: 62%
December 2018: 75%

Croatia Airlines ZAG
May 2018: 77%
June 2018: 81%
July 2018: 88%
August 2018: 88%
September 2018: 78%
October 2018: 69%

Unfortunately the loads for Hainan to PEK were too difficult to calculate due to the variety of aircraft used on the route and the Edinburgh stopover. But in general the loads appeared to be in the 30/40s.

Looking good for Cathay so and I’m delighted. Had the pleasure of traveling to MEL with them out of Dublin, probably the best business class service out do Dublin.

Icelandic carrier Wow Air collapses, ends all flights

Icelandic budget airline Wow Air has collapsed and gone out of business after failing to finalise an equity deal with investors.

All Wow Air flights, which includes flights between Dublin and Reykjavik, have been cancelled with immediate effect.

www.rte.ie/news/world/2019/0328/1039075 ... r-flights/

Sad end, but I guess inevitable. Hope those with bookings will be able to cancel and get their money back.

At least we still have Icelandair operating out of DUB. Maybe EI in the future too. I wonder if EI will be expanding any short haul routes this year after closing Stuggart and Murcia

The use of the 321neos on some european routes will free up some 320s. Unless they plan on disposing of the existing 321s.

There's an argument however for an additional type to be introduced into the fleet, likely operated by a third party, with the C series or Embraer E190 being the most suitable as the 320 is a bit large for most potential new routes in Europe. With the SSJs being returned, cityjet will have to go looking for another type to replace the aging Avros. The CRJ is probably capable of filling most of that role.

KeevaOS wrote:

At least we still have Icelandair operating out of DUB. Maybe EI in the future too. I wonder if EI will be expanding any short haul routes this year after closing Stuggart and Murcia

They seem to have an aversion to the Scandinavian market, much to my frustration being based in Stockholm at the moment. I think Ryanair could pull it off though - there seems to be a strong leisure travel market building between Iceland and Ireland.

I suspect that EI's comings and goings on the Scandinavian market, with services opening and closing, may have damaged their reputation there. I cant see Dublin to Iceland ever supporting more than one carrier, as poor Wow goes down we have to hope Icelandic stick with it.

EI321 wrote:

With the SSJs being returned, cityjet will have to go looking for another type to replace the aging Avros. The CRJ is probably capable of filling most of that role.

It definitely seems to be going that way with CRJs operating with Cimber and the SAS/Hop! operations. They can't do LCY though, so unless they leave that destination entirely they're going to have to look at E-Jets or C-Series.

dstc47 wrote:

I suspect that EI's comings and goings on the Scandinavian market, with services opening and closing, may have damaged their reputation there. I cant see Dublin to Iceland ever supporting more than one carrier, as poor Wow goes down we have to hope Icelandic stick with it.

SK are well established out of DUB with good coverage to ARN , CPH.OSL. I prefer to fly SK its a good product. EI find it hard to compete in SK's market. They are best to look at other options. Indeed trying then cancelling a few times over the years might have put people off.

Shame about WOW but Id rather have a stable and reliable service from FI which we now seem to have.

With the collapse of WOW, how likely do you think Aer Lingus will enter the DUB-DTW market? Would they be able to run alongside Icelandair?

flymco753 wrote:

With the collapse of WOW, how likely do you think Aer Lingus will enter the DUB-DTW market? Would they be able to run alongside Icelandair?

I honestly don't think WOW serving DTW was ever really a factor in Are Lingus not serving it. I can only imagine it'll be coming with the A321LRs, they have to fly somewhere and it's one one the biggest underserved markets within their range. The problem is that it's a Delta fortress, so they won't be able to rely on much (if any) connecting traffic stateside, having said that, MSP is a Delta hub too and they're going for that, so it might be sooner rather than later.

Will aer lingus overnight a321LR or a320s in Europe like CDG/AMS/FCO the same way they overnight 2 in LHR every night?

Presumably they will be doing transatlantic sectors over night.

Aer Lingus caused 'gratuitous distress' to cabin crew member in handling captain's alleged violence threat

The Labour Court has found that Aer Lingus caused ‘gratuitous distress’ to a cabin crew member in how it dealt with an allegation by her concerning remarks made by an Aer Lingus captain.

In the case, Labour Court deputy chairman, Tom Geraghty has rapped Aer Lingus on a number of fronts in how it handled the cabin crew member’s grievance over disputed remarks by the airline captain to the woman that he threatened physical violence against her husband to her.

www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/irel ... 13966.html

—-

At the controls as Aer Lingus continues steep ascent
Newly-installed chief executive Sean Doyle is targeting further transatlantic expansion

There’s no room for complacency in this business.” It’s not exactly a mantra, but it’s a phrase that Aer Lingus chief executive Sean Doyle repeats often enough to make clear that he does not believe in taking things for granted.

Doyle took over at Aer Lingus at the start of the year, inheriting a business that had just earned record operating profits of €305 million in 2018 and had grown its transatlantic operations, the chief focus for expansion, by 17.5 per cent.

www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-a ... 1?mode=amp

—-

Aer Lingus have updated their website with a preview of the ATR and 757 in the new livery although its unlikely the 757s will wear it.

https://www.aerlingus.com/experience-ae ... craft/atr/

DY to use A333 on SWF until 30 June.

EI321 wrote:

Aer Lingus have updated their website with a preview of the ATR and 757 in the new livery although its unlikely the 757s will wear it.

https://www.aerlingus.com/experience-ae ... craft/atr/

Looks quite awkward on the ATR to be honest. The Avro looks great though, seems to be a perfect fit for the smaller aircraft so hopefully it ends up being the same for the ATR fleet.

JAmie2k9 wrote:

DY to use A333 on SWF until 30 June.

Wonder where they sourced that from?

EIBoston wrote:

JAmie2k9 wrote:

DY to use A333 on SWF until 30 June.

Wonder where they sourced that from?

Evelop Airlines.

EI111/110 Cancelled today and again on Monday. 3rd time in a week!

EI321 wrote:

Aer Lingus have updated their website with a preview of the ATR and 757 in the new livery although its unlikely the 757s will wear it.

https://www.aerlingus.com/experience-ae ... craft/atr/

Looks great on the ATR. Amazing how old and dated the outgoing livery now looks when lined up against the new livery at T2.

Etihad used a Boeing 787-9 to DUB on EY45/42 this morning (30 March), with a 787-10 to be used tomorrow (31 March).

Think this will be the first time EY have sent a Dreamliner to DUB & also will be the first visit of the 78X to DUB?

Separately, looking forward to seeing AirBaltic and TAP both resuming their routes from DUB to RIX and LIS, respectively, from 31 March!

How do EI propose to increase transatlantic services if they cannot operate the current schedule? If it is pilots surely that will be a continuing problem?
Am i right in thinking that both Air Baltic and TAP are returning to Dublin?
Definitely time for a Star Alliance lounge

eirflot wrote:

How do EI propose to increase transatlantic services if they cannot operate the current schedule? If it is pilots surely that will be a continuing problem?
Am i right in thinking that both Air Baltic and TAP are returning to Dublin?
Definitely time for a Star Alliance lounge

Indeed both returning TAP must be about 15 years and BT around 6.

Would be nice to have LOT back too. They are expanding rapidly and a DUB service is an obvious gap!

alancostello wrote:

flymco753 wrote:

With the collapse of WOW, how likely do you think Aer Lingus will enter the DUB-DTW market? Would they be able to run alongside Icelandair?

I honestly don't think WOW serving DTW was ever really a factor in Are Lingus not serving it. I can only imagine it'll be coming with the A321LRs, they have to fly somewhere and it's one one the biggest underserved markets within their range. The problem is that it's a Delta fortress, so they won't be able to rely on much (if any) connecting traffic stateside, having said that, MSP is a Delta hub too and they're going for that, so it might be sooner rather than later.

Here is the thing before WOW entered DTW KEF was the 55th largest O/D market out of DTW. When WOW came in a served the route it went from 55th to 5th and I think DTW-DUB is quite the same because of all the leakage to ORD and YYZ. If EI would just make it happen already the potential is enormous on this route. But sadly I think EI will pass on Detroit just because it's Detroit and the perception the city has. On a side note people are getting tired of Delta and their high fares in the DTW and the NK growth at DTW is a clear indication of that. Now is exactly the right time for EI to jump in if they want to be a powerful force in the growth at DTW.

Great to see TAP back but it’s not been that long since they were at DUB, they gave it a go in maybe 2008-9 but the financial brought it to a premature end.

shamrock321 wrote:

Great to see TAP back but it’s not been that long since they were at DUB, they gave it a go in maybe 2008-9 but the financial brought it to a premature end.

Hopefully it will work for them this time around. They have a better product and a clear focus on what markets they want to seriously target. Seems they will aim to pick up Brazil, Madeira and the Azores. They seem to be getting some USA traffic too purely because they are offering cheap one ways compared to EI BA who are still stuck in the old fares system.

TAP have also stole some package holidays seats from EI saying that EI are capitalising on there own XXX-DUB-LIS from US.

So excited to see TAP back in DUB, great timings , great prices , great range of destinations ... they’ve clearly thought it through and are very very serious about DUB

I’m having difficulty getting seats to the Middle East on Aeroflot in the class I want these days , hopefully SU will add capacity soon too

DUB should really be on the map for every network carrier these days

Galwayman wrote:

I’m having difficulty getting seats to the Middle East on Aeroflot in the class I want these days , hopefully SU will add capacity soon too

SU are getting a lot of India bookings. Also their N Class sale fares to DXB for EUR364 are popular and still available on a lot of dates.

Am I right in thinking that TAP used to send 727s and even the occasional A340 to Dublin?

EI321 wrote:

Am I right in thinking that TAP used to send 727s and even the occasional A340 to Dublin?

Yes and also A310’s. TAP had a previous schedule of FAO-LIS-DUB and also operated for Air Columbus on charter services between Dublin and Portugal in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

eirflot wrote:

Would be nice to have LOT back too. They are expanding rapidly and a DUB service is an obvious gap!

LOT seem like the most notable absent European airline at Dublin. Especially since Aer Lingus droped Warsaw there surely must be demand for them to fly to Dublin.

OA260 wrote:

shamrock321 wrote:

Great to see TAP back but it’s not been that long since they were at DUB, they gave it a go in maybe 2008-9 but the financial brought it to a premature end.

Hopefully it will work for them this time around. They have a better product and a clear focus on what markets they want to seriously target. Seems they will aim to pick up Brazil, Madeira and the Azores. They seem to be getting some USA traffic too purely because they are offering cheap one ways compared to EI BA who are still stuck in the old fares system.

I'll be on the inaugural TAP flight tomorrow. I had a look at the seat map there and currently around 70% of seats are occupied in economy.

One of my fondest earliest aviation memory was the TP 340, IIRC it was a Saturday evening departure.

EI321 wrote:

Am I right in thinking that TAP used to send 727s and even the occasional A340 to Dublin?

Also the L1011 was a regular weekend visitor. One of their fleet was in Air Mozambique (LAM) livery and that always caused discomfort with concerned passengers not wanting to fly what they thought was an African airline.

They also operated the 727, and I have an early memory of a cockpit visit in the early ‘80s coming back from Faro.

Hopefully LOT will be back in DUB soon now that they have so many fights to Asia that need feed

BestWestern wrote:

EI321 wrote:

Am I right in thinking that TAP used to send 727s and even the occasional A340 to Dublin?

Also the L1011 was a regular weekend visitor. One of their fleet was in Air Mozambique (LAM) livery and that always caused discomfort with concerned passengers not wanting to fly what they thought was an African airline.

They also operated the 727, and I have an early memory of a cockpit visit in the early ‘80s coming back from Faro.

703s and 721s in the early 80s, and then switched over to the new 732s. All of these were seasonal charters.

It would have been around 1981/82. 99% sure it was a 727, but recall the aircraft felt really old. One of those special memories that got me hooked on aviation. Showed me the route on the aviation maps, inc en route waypoints, and got me to radio for weather, which was quite amazing for a 9 year old, who didn’t realise that I was radioing a VHF broadcast.

BestWestern wrote:

It would have been around 1981/82. 99% sure it was a 727, but recall the aircraft felt really old. One of those special memories that got me hooked on aviation. Showed me the route on the aviation maps, inc en route waypoints, and got me to radio for weather, which was quite amazing for a 9 year old, who didn’t realise that I was radioing a VHF broadcast.

The 727s they sent to Dublin at that time, were very old, as the newer 200s didn't visit. The always looked as if they were powered by coal. A great memory to have.

NiallS wrote:

LOT seem like the most notable absent European airline at Dublin. Especially since Aer Lingus droped Warsaw there surely must be demand for them to fly to Dublin.

LOT could not make the numbers work when they tried DUB before and if they do it again they will need to push their connections more as point to point from the Polish ex pat community is very price sensitive. They just book the rock bottom cheapest. Hard to make money on. I was a regular on the DUB-WAW route and it was a great service with two flights a day. It would be great to have it back.

I've heard rumours that LOT is reluctant to open a route to DUB to due the relatively long block time required.

Hello folks!
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