irishguy28

modularmayhem

direct DUB-LAX would be great, especially on a *A carrier

Yoshi212

And US preclearance?

irishguy28

Absolutely. I don't believe that ET would be considering this without the prospect of preclearance.

Dublin (and Shannon) were hoping to persuade other carriers to move their existing European stopovers to Dublin (the only one that was revealed in public to be under discussion was Air India) but nothing ever came of it. Or to begin new services, such as BA's LCY-JFK flight which preclears in SNN, and this proposal.

It was reported some time ago that Emirates had applied to operate fifth freedom flights between Ireland and the US, but that the Irish (and probably US) government were unwilling to allow it. There was speculation that Etihad would receive permission more easily, given their alliance with Aer Lingus, but it seems they have not pursued this option.

Yoshi212

ET is definitely giving expansion a slow but steady try. I also like the competition as it is often best for the consumer.

I would of course like an EK JFK/EWR-LON/MAN/GLA route to give some competition on the route and another way to get to Europe and/or DXB to beyond.
Or if one of the newer routes such as IAH/DFW doesn't perform quite to expectations or something new like MIA/MEX via the UK would sounds nice to me.

Jasper2009

I like the idea of a DUB-LAX non-stop flight.

While ET isn't a first-class airline, it's probably the 2nd best African airline. The product on the 787 is quite solid and I was actually pleasantly surprised by the service and catering when I flew them last year.

While I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to fly ET, I absolutely wouldn't mind choosing them over EI/UA/old LH/IB/AZ in C.

Yoshi212

It may be farfetched or wishful thinking but maybe this will be the motivation for ET to become the TK of Africa. Improving product and creating a decent network to connect people beyond ADD.

Jetstreamer

Is there a reason why the photo used in the first post is of the GVA hijacking? Surely there were more appropriate photos to use?

irishguy28

Presumably because it was preferable to their only other file photo - the burning 787 at Heathrow.

DELLAS

Indeed ! Sadly some Irish media still do not do their research. RTE the nations national broadcaster to which we have to shell out EUR160 a year for the pleasure of often has a history of using out of date pictures to report on Aer Lingus and other topics. ( as recently as June during the strikes ) .

There are lots of recent images of ET that even a kid could obtain online.

antichef

I presume I am the only one interested in going the other way! DUB-ADD is good for me! I regularly go to Nairobi, and one of my favourite routes out is NBO-ADD-LHR on the 787. I then have to get back to Belfast or Dublin, depending on which way out I went - Etihad/Emirates ex DUB or BA ex LHR.

This would poss be a handy run for me to avoid LHR! Assuming times were sensible (unfortunately my travel plans seldom are)

irishguy28

Indeed. But as a commercial entity, The Irish Times cannot just conduct a Google image search, and copy and use any image they find, and for which they don't have the rights, and which they have not licensed. That is why, in the first instance, they will choose only from those images that have already been added to their own library

EDIT: in a similar vein, if you were watching BBC News reports yesterday, you may have seen ancient footage of old-livery Delta planes being run to accompany the "Delta flight to TLV turns back" story.

DELLAS

ET are more than happy to provide photos for media use and provide permissions so an email to their media dept in ADD would enable The Irish Times to provide a correct image of a B777. Travel trade publications do it all the time. I guess it comes down to attention to detail and how focused the publication is on research.

Ber2dca

Preclearance in Dublin for a flight from Africa...I guess one could expect the CBP agents there to get a lot more suspicious in the future.

Yoshi212

Sad but true. Hopefully the times are slightly different than the other standard flights to the US as that is already a longer than standard line. None the less I want to see this go forward for both LAX-DUB options, DUB-ADD-XXX options and for ET as an airline.