Airliners.net

Quoting chrisnh (Reply 141): Quoting rutankrd (Reply 140): Going to Coventry best option would be Boston-Dublin-Birmingham with Aer Lingus return with pre-clearance at Dublin. Yes, economically, too. We favor Aer Lingus at our company. Last fall my trip to Coventry was Boston-YYZ-LHR on Air Canada and then a drive up from London to Coventry. Came back Heathrow-Montreal-Boston. That was terrific because, as with Dublin, I cleared up in Montreal. Basically a quick wave of the agent's hand as I transited at YUL. Marvelous. With all the new international carriers at Boston, pre-clearance elsewhere is the way to go. Long lines at Boston otherwise.

Or BOS-SNN-BHX with EI. It's a B757 rather than A330 and SNN is fairly empty. The only oddball thing is there's no transit, you clear passport control then go back to the departure gates and through security again (having done it yesterday morning flying JFK-SNN-MAN).

Quoting adamh8297 (Reply 149): CX wouldn't get the subsidies for running BOS-YVR-HKG from Massport the operating agency of BOS.

I too had thought that HKG-YVR-BOS made a lot of economic sense. Why do you think Massport wouldn't subsidize that route?

[quote=hinckley,reply=151]I too had thought that HKG-YVR-BOS made a lot of economic sense. Why do you think Massport wouldn't subsidize that route?

Massport's New International Service Financial Incentvies require the following:

New Destinations in:

-Asia/India
-Middle-east/Africa
-Central America/South America and Mexico City

Requires Nonstop, Year-Round Scheduled Air Service, Operated
at Least 4 Roundtrips/Week, Continuously, for at Least 1 Year

Financial Incentives Include:
-Landing fee rebates
-Marketing support

Quoting adamh8297 (Reply 152): Massport's New International Service Financial Incentvies require the following:

Good info. Thanks.

Just watched 3 in a row on the landing approach to BOS

Virgin A333, Lufthansa A346, SATA A310 ... lovely!

funnily, the smallest one (A310) was the loudest 

A new airline (Cathy or Qatar, can't recall which) was 'supposed' to announce BOS early in May. Well, here we are!

Quoting Surfandsnow (Reply 22): BOS is very interesting. In terms of new CX U.S. markets, I would have expected the likes of IAD, IAH, SEA, or HNL*

With AA handling DFW, CX might be less likely to go there. At some point, there will be IAH-HKG, if for no other reason than the connecting traffic. IAD also makes sense, being a direct service to the nation's capital.

Quoting flythere (Reply 145): Coz seriously I just don't see that much traffic for HKG-BOS to stand alone. Please correct me if I am wrong. Cheers

In 2006 when i relocated to Asia I did AA BOS>JFK connecting to CX JFK>HKG on the ol' A346's. There was about 35 or so passengers out of BOS to JFK of which half were continuing on CX. I know this because AA was severely delayed and we missed our connection and we were all stuck in a group waiting to be rerouted at JFK!

I can only imagine that traffic has grown since. Anyone have the PDEW numbers for the route?

Quoting flythere (Reply 145): Coz seriously I just don't see that much traffic for HKG-BOS to stand alone.

You would be mistaken. 60,000 annual passengers O&D is nothing to sneeze at. Factor in the potential to serve all of SE Asia and SE China including PVG and I'd say that's a significant market. BOS-HKG-SIN would be an instant winner.

My last international trip to London I used Air Canada BOS-YYZ-LHR (a 77W on the second leg) and LHR-YUL-BOS, so I have not been inside Terminal E for awhile. Is there enough extra counter space to accommodate new carriers beyond Turkish and Hainan (each of which I assume don't need a lot of linear room).

Quoting chrisnh (Reply 159): Is there enough extra counter space to accommodate new carriers beyond Turkish and Hainan (each of which I assume don't need a lot of linear room).

To the best of my knowlege, other than WN all the counters are common use, just like the gates. There's nothing stopping multiple airlines from using the same counters as long as the flights don't depart at the same time.

Quoting chrisnh (Reply 155): A new airline (Cathy or Qatar, can't recall which) was 'supposed' to announce BOS early in May. Well, here we are!

I do wonder if Massport is waiting for TK to start service next week before announcing.

Quoting adamh8297 (Reply 161): I do wonder if Massport is waiting for TK to start service next week before announcing.

That wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. If Cathay isn't going to start service before early 2015, who cares whether the announcement comes this week, next week, or three weeks from now. But if nothing is heard by mid-summer, then I'd wonder.

So has anyone speculated on what equipment Cathay would be using for BOS? Does CX have the 777-200LR?

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_U...ut-us/about-our-airline/fleet.html

http://www.gcmap.com/dist?P=bos-hkg

As noted, the A359 seems to be 'the plane Boston was meant for.' But until that comes, they'd have to limp along with something either too big or too inefficient. That might be a compromise worth accepting, since you know the 'right' plane is coming along.

So according to this wiki entry, they do not get the A350 until 2016.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Airbus_A350_XWB_orders

So why enter a market like BOS in 2015 when you don't have the equipment? Don't get me wrong, would love to see CX come to BOS, but it just doesn't make sense in 2015. 2016 seems more logical.

The only reason I could think of to dive in sooner than later is they don't want to be late to the party, with TK and EK already operating at BOS.

Quoting jawake (Reply 165): The only reason I could think of to dive in sooner than later is they don't want to be late to the party, with TK and EK already operating at BOS.

Two airlines CX would need to beat - OZ and KE - scheduled to get A359 and 787-9 respectively in 2016 and may take a shot at BOS-ICN.

The rest of the Chinese carriers seem to be non-factors as BOS is concerned. The only close one would be CA. CA is due for Q1 2016 for 787-9 as but I'm not sure if they would try BOS-PVG or if even CAAC would grant it to them. They do have international routes from PVG (MEL SYD FRA) but no USA-China.

Quoting adamh8297 (Reply 166): but no USA-China.

IAD/IAH/SFO/LAX/JFK - PEK?

Quoting jacobchoi (Reply 167): IAD/IAH/SFO/LAX/JFK - PEK?

Oooops meant PVG-United States!!!!

It is now an OFFICIAL news for ZRH route launch!


Cathay Pacific expands European network with new service to Zurich

19 May 2014

Cathay Pacific Airways today announced that it will launch a nonstop daily service from Hong Kong to Zurich, offering passengers travelling from Hong Kong direct access to this leading financial centre that is also one of the world’s most attractive tourist destinations.

Tickets are already on sale for the new service that is scheduled to commence as a daily operation from 29 March 2015 (subject to government approval).

Located right in the heart of Europe, Zurich is an ideal transport hub, top banking centre and gateway to the scenic mountains and lakes of Switzerland. The new nonstop service will bring the country much closer to travellers from all parts of the world.

The Zurich service will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a four-class configuration featuring Cathay Pacific’s refreshed First Class, award-winning Business Class and new Premium Economy and long-haul Economy Class seats. Complemented by the airline's signature "Service Straight from the Heart" and a state-of-the-art on-demand entertainment system in all classes, passengers will enjoy a superior inflight experience when travelling between Zurich and Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Ivan Chu said: "We are very pleased to be able to add Zurich to our growing international network. Zurich and Hong Kong are two of the world’s leading financial centres, where people appreciate high standards of service, and we are seeing considerable demand for a quality travel experience, especially on long-haul routes.

"Cathay Pacific already has a significant presence in Europe and this new destination will help meet demand for both business and leisure travel between Switzerland and Hong Kong. The launch of Zurich, together with the recently announced introduction of flights to Manchester, highlights our ongoing commitment to helping strengthen Hong Kong's position as one of the world's great international aviation hubs."

The flight schedule for Cathay Pacific's Zurich (ZRH) service from 29 March 2015 is as follows (all times local):
CX383 00:15 HKG-ZRH 06:55 D 77W
CX382 13:30 ZRH-HKG 06:45+1 D 77W

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_H...rk-with-new-service-to-Zurich.html

Congratulations to CX and ZRH !!!   

Second confirmation of the 'Aspire Aviation' article ... that's awesome.

Now, only BOS is left ... c'mon CX ... launch it!!! 

BOS seems to just be killing it these days!

I wonder how LX will respond ... I've been thoroughly amazed that 2 major banking centers and LX used to have a monopoly on it

Regarding CA trying PVG-BOS I just don't see it happening. If CA wants to invade MU's territory there's a ton of larger markets to go after first - PVG-SFO/LAX for starters (but the latter is a mess now)

Quoting ASA (Reply 170): Now, only BOS is left ... c'mon CX ... launch it!!!

  

Quoting Jetblue1965 (Reply 172): Regarding CA trying PVG-BOS I just don't see it happening.

The Boston Convention and Business Bureau seems to be pushing hard for a PVG-BOS route. CX should jump on this traffic, albeit via HKG. Skip to about 6:55 on this video.
http://www.necn.com/pages/video?PID=2tFCyI0kAOXdZQmMsvt3OPWWIxh_jvbK

Quoting flythere (Reply 169): The flight schedule for Cathay Pacific's Zurich (ZRH) service from 29 March 2015 is as follows (all times local): CX383 00:15 HKG-ZRH 06:55 D 77W CX382 13:30 ZRH-HKG 06:45+1 D 77W

Why such a long turn around?

Quoting sierra3tango (Reply 174): Quoting flythere (Reply 169): The flight schedule for Cathay Pacific's Zurich (ZRH) service from 29 March 2015 is as follows (all times local): CX383 00:15 HKG-ZRH 06:55 D 77W CX382 13:30 ZRH-HKG 06:45+1 D 77W Why such a long turn around?

Thats pretty normal for many of CX's European operations. FRA, CDG, AMS, MXP, FCO, MAN all have schedules like this. Those flights that depart Europe at lunchtime arrive back to HKG between 6-8am. They do not want these pax to arrive much earlier as many of them connect to Cathays's 8:30 to 10am wave of regional Asian departures. Thats why the flights do not depart earlier than lunch time.

The reason they arrive into Europe so early in the morning is again for connections. These flights depart HKG around midnight. CX don't want them to depart HKG much later. The wave of Asian arrival flights from 8-10:30pm connect to these European flights. CX don't want to delay them to much after midnight.

The downtime in these European cities is not wasted however. Aircraft are often worked on by engineering, so the time is not wasted.

Quoting CX Flyboy (Reply 175): The reason they arrive into Europe so early in the morning is again for connections. These flights depart HKG around midnight. CX don't want them to depart HKG much later. The wave of Asian arrival flights from 8-10:30pm connect to these European flights. CX don't want to delay them to much after midnight. The downtime in these European cities is not wasted however. Aircraft are often worked on by engineering, so the time is not wasted.

Yes totally correct, and I would like to add on that those morning hours in Europe are good buffering time for CX planes just in case of some delay issues the night before in HKG.

Well, two of the three happened, I just wish my hometown wasn't the third! BOS-HKG would be the longest flight out of BOS, beating the current Top 3 (PEK in June, NRT, and DXB) by over 1200 miles. But with all of the Chinese (as well as Vietnamese and Cambodian) students coming here, this flight should be a winner should it ever be announced!

Good to see ZRH confirmed. And with 4-class, as was expected, they should have been flying this route for the last few years.. It's definitely a route I wish was in place 2 years ago! Now I've gone *A...

Quoting CX Flyboy (Reply 52): CX wanted to have rights to carry pax between MAN and DME. This was never approved and it was determined at the time that it would not economical to fly the plane to MAN with the plane half empty having had pax get off at DME. Remember at the time the European economy was worse than it currently it. MAN has been back in the plans in the last few years although the plan was to wait for the A350 to arrive and then launch it with that. (Perhaps it still is! I do not know how credible this article's source is). It was said at the time that the economics of the 77W could not make MAN work. However at the time, the 5th daily LHR flight was still in the planning and any new route to MAN would have to face being able to sustain itself with pax from the north, since there was no over-spill from LHR with the new 5th daily coming. The situation is now different. The 5th daily to LHR is pretty much as full as all the other flights and load factors are pretty high all round. They are already seeking a 6th daily but with the slots hard to come by, a new MAN route may be able to take advantage of some LHR over-spill as well as serve the people in the north. It would also not surprise me if a new MAN route was done as a tag-on to another European flight like it was done before when we used to do the route. As for BOS, this does surprise me a little bit as I had not really heard anything about it even rumoured until a few days ago when mentionned by one of the N. American based ground staff. Would be great if it happens. As for cannibalising New York traffic, I think the loads are good enough in New York not to lose too many pax to any new service elsewhere. It was like people saying the new EWR flight would cannibalise existing JFK services. EWR has been running for one month now, and the JFK loads are still good on the 4x daily flights there. EWR is also doing pretty well to the extent that they are looking into a second daily flight possibly this year. The only part of all this that makes me doubt some of the plans is that there are not enough 77Ws to go around. Sure, we get several more this year and some next year too, but with the 744s retiring, a rumoured 2nd Daily EWR, a MAN, a ZRH, BOS, as well as the already-announced 'new' 77W service to SFO, LAX, ORD, JNB (year round 77W) and AMS, there simply are not enough free aircraft around to do all these rumoured flights.

Yes very well said. MAN was intended to be served via DME as 5th freedom flight but it turned out that CX could possibly run them as separate direct routes.

Same concern goes for whether CX's current 33 77W or say around 36 by the end of this year could possibly enough for all the long-haul expansion needs!