Originally Posted by
FD1971
A 3/7 private charter should not be compared with real airline operations.
Quite often, companies argue that the time savings are well worth it to have those flights.
Delta learned it the hard way a few years ago. Most of their routes turned out to be far more difficult than originally expected.
And there is another main difference between the ME3 and airlines from the US and EU in those markets.
Corruption is a major issue. EK can simply pay everyone they have to have in order to make it work locally, Compliance is probably not a real issue and even if it would be a topic, a nephew of the owner would take care of it. @:-)
The US3 and EU airlines are simply subject to completely different laws regarding transparency and Compliance and would have a far more difficult time...
Delta's failure to open the LAD route had noting to do with bribes (or failure to pay one!). Delta's failure was due to not conducting even the most basic due diligence. Augusto Tomas, Angola's Transport Minister, was wooed by Delta and was wetting himself at the prospect that Delta would provide training and advice on how to improve Angolan aviation in return for a slot at LAD. The carrot that most wet Tomas' appetite was the prospect that one day DT might be granted permission to fly to the US and that Delta could provide training to assist the Angolans in achieving this. A DT liveried aircraft on the tarmac at JFK was an image the Minister desperately wanted to make a reality.
But he was shot down by Manuel Vicente, the CEO of Sonangol at the time. Vicente was quite happy with Sonair chartering two aircraft from 5Y, and charging Chevron etc outrageous fares for direct flights to IAH. Why would Sonangol, the engine of Angola, allow Delta in to this party?
With regard to your comment that EK is corrupt, UAE actually beats France and various other EU countries in Transparency International's anti corruption index for 2014. And the USA only just beats the UAE! If you think only Arabs etc pay bribes in countries like Angola you are deluded. Just look at Cobalt!
EK's Angolan strategy meanwhile appears genius. It has partnered with DT and now achieved daily flights - something few non African airlines have managed (only TAP also has daily flights). And it is slowly cleaning DT out of the corruption that has festered within it as it restructures DT and tries to make it profitable.