Originally Posted by
RadioGirl
Classic - you have no logic or facts to back up your point-of-view, so you just retreat to insults and irrelevant allusions.
I think anyone reading this can see how much of an "expert" you are.
Sorry for being so blunt, but I simply do not have the time and most of your arguments are not really worth an investment of time (most of them have been answered already or are not really part of the discussion)
As pointed out before, EK paid for my trips to Dubai&the air show and also paid me teaching at their training facilities (back in the days when the Tennis Stadium was just around the corner) , so maybe you should stick to announcing the next song and singer instead of trying to play airline analyst.
Originally Posted by
cargueiro
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.
Sounds like a good example how business in being conducted in certain parts of the world. Thanks for that. ^
And, of course, it is far easier for a carrier like EK to do business over there in comparison to airlines like the US3 or EU3, carriers subject to completely different Compliance guidelines.
One should also not underestimate private charters these days, safe, fast and not that expensive, so certain parts of the market are simply not there anymore for classic airlines flying Widebodies through hubs. Oil markets seems to lead the pack in this regard, at least after DCX Aviation closed shop and did not connect Stuttgart and Detroit any longer.