I will never understand the lack of love for TRN.
It's a cultural, manufacturing, sporting, finance center, quite large metropolitan area and quite underserved for european connections.
This would seem to tick all the boxes if I were route planning. If VCE can get 2xdaily, TRN would easily be 1xdaily.

GBM

I don't want to sound negative here, but I think EK is just exploiting their current resources to gain the most out of their market presence in places like Italy. Reasons behind this are probably to beat competition like QR who I hear is also ( or did at one point in time) increase frequency to VCE, by taking advantage of existing markets and forcing competition not to expand in the market before EK can. I'm not doubting that TRN can't sustain at least a daily flight to the M/E, I just think that EK wants to take advantage of some of the markets it is already established in to make competition harder, also because it knows it is already successful in these markets. Also EK can keep its fixed costs low by focusing on destinations it already has service to, which is pretty good considering how much money EK spends on launching a route! I remember that the LAX and SFO launch came to something around $10 million + or something!

I'm travelling Mid-April, hopefully this isn't changed to include my dates. If F is suites then I'm fine with the change, go with a 77W.

Changes eff. 1st March 2013:

http://airlineroute.net/2012/03/21/ek-mar13/

B77W to replace A345; A345 to replace A343. A343 to be phased out.

Looks like no A380 for DME in the near future.

2-class 777-300ER operating on those days when A380 not operating. This includes FCO, KUL, ICN. However selected days it'll be 3-class 77W with non-Suite F

Hi guys, newbie here.


would anybody here happen to know if EK is also looking into the possibility of mounting flights between DXB-CEB anytime within this year or possibly next year? I'd love to have EK in CEB primarily because QR will already end its DOH-CEB route for 8 years this Saturday 26th March. CEB is the main hub of central and southern Philippines and with this decision coming from QR, it would greatly affect CEB's direct air linkages between the Middle East & Europe considering a large number of Filipino workers and western tourists take this route to the Philippines without passing through MNL. From Cebu, you can virtually be connected to popular destinations in the country like Boracay, Palawan, Bohol, Camiguin, Bicol Peninsula, etc in less than an hour.

Why do you think CEB will/would work for EK if it doesn't work for QR?

well, I really don't know the real reasons behind the pull-out but for 8 years that QR served DOH-CEB, at least you can tell it really was doing well. There are really loads of people esp. OFWs and western tourists which uses that route as the only access to central and southern Philippines. I heard one of the reasons was economics but more importantly, its the high taxes, operations cost and other excessive fees being charged to foreign carriers in the country that likely trigger the halt just as Air France-KLM is also pulling out in MNL due to the same reasons.

I would say fares ex the Philippines are the cheapest in the whole region. You can have loads of full flights, if that is not generating enough revenue due to low fares, you're not profitable.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...l-squeeze.html

Face posted this in another forum, good read.

EK says whole load of airlines will fail in fuel sqeeze.

Also mentions future additional new destinations in France, and the UK.

It'll be either Edinburgh, or Belfast. ;)

......

Good edit. ;)

I'd like to see this, too. CEB is a great place and its "efficiency" in its international wing makes it a wonderful alternative to the crap you have to go through in NAIA in MNL.

What about Cardiff as a possible destination?