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EK is reducing US flights (SEA, BOS, LAX, FLL, MCO)

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EK is reducing US flights (SEA, BOS, LAX, FLL, MCO)

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Old Apr 19, 2017, 1:32 pm
  #1  
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EK is reducing US flights (SEA, BOS, LAX, FLL, MCO)

• Seattle goes from 2 flights a day down to 1 effective June 1.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/19/emira...ion-curbs.html

May want to check your awards and bookings.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 2:16 pm
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It would be interesting to know how much the increase in miles for an award seat impacted their revenue....some of us book award seats along with revenue seats and may have booked other carriers due to the high redemption.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 2:27 pm
  #3  
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I know how EK can stimulate demand...reduce the mileage required for its awards
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 2:44 pm
  #4  
 
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Originally Posted by kileysmom
It would be interesting to know how much the increase in miles for an award seat impacted their revenue....some of us book award seats along with revenue seats and may have booked other carriers due to the high redemption.

This has nothing at all to do with award tickets. It's the result of decreased demand for travel to the US from the Middle East, and quite likely directly related to the electronics ban, travel bans, and other factors.

From the political site The Hill's news report published today:
The Emirates airline on Wednesday announced it would be reducing flights to the U.S. in response to "weakened travel demand" amid pushback to President Trump's travel ban and other administration restrictions.

The Middle East's biggest airline said it would be "reducing flights to five of the 12 US cities we currently serve."

The airline's move is a "commercial decision in response to weakened travel demand to US," an airline representative said in a statement.

"The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US."
The full article is available via the link I posted above.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 2:49 pm
  #5  
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Originally Posted by AKCuisine
This has nothing at all to do with award tickets. It's the result of decreased demand for travel to the US from the Middle East, and quite likely directly related to the electronics ban, travel bans, and other factors.

From the political site The Hill's news report published today:
The Emirates airline on Wednesday announced it would be reducing flights to the U.S. in response to "weakened travel demand" amid pushback to President Trump's travel ban and other administration restrictions.

The Middle East's biggest airline said it would be "reducing flights to five of the 12 US cities we currently serve."

The airline's move is a "commercial decision in response to weakened travel demand to US," an airline representative said in a statement.

"The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US."
The full article is available via the link I posted above.
Because of course Liability Trump doesn't fly commercial, so he can't appreciate amazing airlines like EK that frankly seem like angels compared to AA/DL/UA.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:16 pm
  #6  
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Originally Posted by AKCuisine
This has nothing at all to do with award tickets. It's the result of decreased demand for travel to the US from the Middle East, and quite likely directly related to the electronics ban, travel bans, and other factors.

From the political site The Hill's news report published today:
The Emirates airline on Wednesday announced it would be reducing flights to the U.S. in response to "weakened travel demand" amid pushback to President Trump's travel ban and other administration restrictions.

The Middle East's biggest airline said it would be "reducing flights to five of the 12 US cities we currently serve."

The airline's move is a "commercial decision in response to weakened travel demand to US," an airline representative said in a statement.

"The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US."
The full article is available via the link I posted above.
There's lots of tech industry traffic to India. Any tech industry employee or tech company would be in deep guacamole were company-issued laptops to get pinched as a result of flying. So I could see "hey, you can't book a ME3 carrier as long as you have our confidential data and devices" being a corporate edict. That has to be killing EK's bookings.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:24 pm
  #7  
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I am, frankly, surprised that my employer hasn't banned EK & Co due to the laptop issue.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:25 pm
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Originally Posted by AKCuisine
This has nothing at all to do with award tickets. It's the result of decreased demand for travel to the US from the Middle East, and quite likely directly related to the electronics ban, travel bans, and other factors.

From the political site The Hill's news report published today:
The Emirates airline on Wednesday announced it would be reducing flights to the U.S. in response to "weakened travel demand" amid pushback to President Trump's travel ban and other administration restrictions.

The Middle East's biggest airline said it would be "reducing flights to five of the 12 US cities we currently serve."

The airline's move is a "commercial decision in response to weakened travel demand to US," an airline representative said in a statement.

"The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US."
The full article is available via the link I posted above.
I'm not convinced. I wonder if the electronics ban and visas are just cover for Emirates continuing to tighten it's belt. There is no way Emirates is profitable on all these flights. And this is coming from an Emirates fan...
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:32 pm
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Originally Posted by Single_Flyer
I'm not convinced. I wonder if the electronics ban and visas are just cover for Emirates continuing to tighten it's belt. There is no way Emirates is profitable on all these flights. And this is coming from an Emirates fan...
Or put another way, ..... I wonder if the electronics ban was (at least partly) intended to make EK and ME3 less profitable on all these flights.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:36 pm
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Originally Posted by Frequentlander
Or put another way, ..... I wonder if the electronics ban was (at least partly) intended to make EK and ME3 less profitable on all these flights.
I think that could definitely be true. Still, my original hypothesis remains. I am guessing EK wanted to cut some flights and now this is a way to do it without losing face.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:52 pm
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Originally Posted by Frequentlander
Or put another way, ..... I wonder if the electronics ban was (at least partly) intended to make EK and ME3 less profitable on all these flights.
Didn't Trump recently learn from the Boeing CEO the utility of the Ex/Im Bank and correspondingly, how many American-made planes the ME3 buy? Of course that doesn't necessarily mean anything but I don't think it's obvious our government's policy is to hurt these airlines.
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 3:58 pm
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Originally Posted by ucdtim17
Didn't Trump recently learn ...........
Funniest thing I've read in weeks!
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 5:55 pm
  #13  
 
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More detail

NPR has published more detail from Emirates on why it's cutting flights to the US (including, as noted before, Seattle). The electronics ban is one factor, but there are others, mostly tied to restrictions from the current U.S. administration on flights from the Middle East and reduced demand that Emirates says has resulted.

NPR story, "Emirates Airline Cuts Flights To U.S., Citing Trump's Security Rules."
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 6:07 pm
  #14  
 
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Don't supposed belt tightening due to oil prices has affected ex UAE bookings as well haha. Would be great if EK would reduce AS award prices, you know to help fill the seats and all
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Old Apr 19, 2017, 7:06 pm
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by Seattlenerd
NPR has published more detail from Emirates on why it's cutting flights to the US (including, as noted before, Seattle). The electronics ban is one factor, but there are others, mostly tied to restrictions from the current U.S. administration on flights from the Middle East and reduced demand that Emirates says has resulted.

NPR story, "Emirates Airline Cuts Flights To U.S., Citing Trump's Security Rules."

With all due respect, the factors you mentioned and those cited in the NPR article were covered thoroughly in the link I previously posted to an article from the political site, The Hill. I only posted a short piece from that article, assuming that people would click through to read it in its entirety.

. . . .
The Emirates airline on Wednesday announced it would be reducing flights to the U.S. in response to "weakened travel demand" amid pushback to President Trump's travel ban and other administration restrictions.

The Middle East's biggest airline said it would be "reducing flights to five of the 12 US cities we currently serve."

The airline's move is a "commercial decision in response to weakened travel demand to US," an airline representative said in a statement.

"The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US."

Emirates said it had seen "healthy growth and performance" until the start of 2017.

"However, over the past 3 months, we have seen a significant deterioration in the booking profiles on all our US routes, across all travel segments," the statement said.

"Emirates has therefore responded as any profit-oriented enterprise would, and we will redeploy capacity to serve demand on other routes on our global network."

Emirates said it will keep an eye on the situation "with the view to reinstate and grow our US flight operations as soon as viable."

The announcement comes after a report Tuesday said Emirates had seen a drop in traffic to the U.S. following Trump's effort to bar travel to the U.S. from several predominately Muslim countries and the ban on large electronics being brought on U.S.-bound flights from select airports in the Middle East.

Gulf carriers such as Emirates, which has worked hard to boost its image in the U.S and even tapped actress Jennifer Aniston as a spokeswoman, have been scrambling to contain the fallout from the Trump administration's new security measures.

Some airlines started offering workarounds, such as providing loaner laptops and iPads to travelers on U.S.-bound flights or allowing passengers to check large electronics at the gate prior to boarding.

But airlines have still been worried about the damage of the electronics ban on their business and reputation.

The United Kingdom announced a similar electronics rule, but that ban does not affect Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, which have been major industry rivals in the U.S.

Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, told CNN that the security protocols will be "hugely disruptive" and he questioned why only some airlines and airports are singled out.
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