I see, thanks for the info. Still, it is hard to keep up with all the route changes at OK. I wonder what "considering" means, HAM is currently served with 3 flights almost daily. CPH if remember correctly got increased frequencies a year or two ago but is now 3xalmost daily from September onwards.

Now it is official :
http://ekonomika.idnes.cz/csa-rusi-l...ko-doprava_vem

CSA to cancel from end October on:

LHR (not long ago they were on STN and LGW as well), CGN, MUC, BRQ, MAN (yes again)

not sure how smart is to leave large hubs like LHR or MUC, to CGN they had nearly no competition, people from BRQ will start using VIE and OS instead....

Wow, it is pretty brave (?) to give up cities like LON and MUC. They even had a short-lived connection MUC-France, didn't they? I wonder if the bus service to BRQ will be reinstated now. I really how they have done their analyses well and know what they are doing

Given their limited schedule I think it is sensible to stay away from cities such as LHR and MUC where the premium traffic would invariably go with LH and BA.

On another site it was mentioned, however, that at the same time frequencies to HAM, OSL and others would be cut, at times leaving them with only one daily connection. To me this looks more dangerous, as both the P2P offering and the connectivity of the Eastern European hub suffer dramatically.

BRQ does not seem right being one of their few captive markets but then I don't know the economics...

Wish them luck, though, if only for the few Skyteam miles I have in my OK account ;)

As a frequent flyer on CSA - Gold for 7 years in a row, I really struggle to work out why CSA has so may issues, Low cost base (relative to LH, BA, AF, KLM) , central location, decent airport but sadly security still on the 18th century. Yet they (management) still make a c*ck up of it (f*ck up if I want to be rude).

Pulling out of London is a nail in the coffin no matter what accountants say. LHR is seen as a "destination" which all major carriers fly too. It's a major transit hub. Leaving it shows your not a "player in the big game".

Dubai was a class example of CSA poor management - they pull out and Emirates move in. Emirates don't go to unprofitable destinations. Why did CSA move out ? Management ?!

The government should put pride aside and have sold CSA to Aeroflot who had money for planes, routes and fuel! AF/KLM don't, that's why they had to merge, both were bankrupt so why chase them ?!

http://airlineroute.net/2010/08/27/ok-w10/

I can selfishly say that Im glad that my favorite CSA routes are unaffected, however its a real shame that they cut this much. I really hope they know what they are doing. I guess that after these changes if they are left with profitable routes only, it might work well for them.

For me the same - they kept AMS and the eastbound routes alive (just Rostov goes from 3 to 2 weekly) - so fine for me. I have to be in MUC occasionally - so that means driving as the only alternative. BRQ is an understandable decision - it that means that the 'easy' plats from BRQ have to drive up to PRG ;-) - which now goes faster because of the completion of a motorway section that shaves about half an hour from the travel time from BRQ to Prague airport. Might have something to do with it.

Just back from Prague again, I too cannot understand CSA ending London Heathrow (unless they have only leased the slots out for a limited time; some of the slot transfers there have been done this way). Flights full both ways. Most pax seem Czech/E European, whereas on BA most seem British. Easyjet do not seem as dominant as they once were in Prague, CSA still very much in pole position. Plus they have extensive transfer opportunities on eastwards, which is how I have generally used them in the past.

The CSA catering, one roll, on the outwards was a bit thin, but better than BA who provided NOTHING to eat in the catering at all, on a route of this length. Mrs WHBM's :) roll went into her handbag and was appreciated the next day by the ducks in the river at Karlovy Vary. Waste not want not !

OK Business Class- Intra Europe
 

I'm booked on OK 689 and OK 422 next week. 689 is an Airbus and 422 is a 737. Seatguru lists Biz class for both flights as being standard economy seats with the middle seat blocked out... Is this true?

If I remember correctly (someone please correct me otherwise) the Airbuses have the middle seat blocked while the Boeings have the middle seat blocked and an enlarged backrest. For a very recent trip report see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-y-c-pics.html

OK422 is the ATH route which I fly regularly. The B737 they use is old; they even already used the whiteout to make it generic and ready to be sold. Interior is outdated, I prefer the Airbusses in this aspect.

As for the business seating; I generally dont travel business, but if the seats at row 4-9 are anything to go by (I think they are the same as business), its not the best. Especially middle seat is quite limited, altho that one is probably blocked.

According to that update http://airlineroute.net/2010/08/30/o...e2/#more-24236 it seems that PRG-BRQ will not come back to the air after Dec 31... Perhaps for the summer2011 schedule...

As an expatriate living in Brno I am disappointed (I use it quite often for personal and profesional trips) and surprised as it seemed quite full.

In 2006, I remember there were 2 flights (ATR42) a day. Then it was increased to 3 and then 4 (but 4 with SAAB, so as the machine is smaller the numbers of seat a day remained the same as with 3 flights a day).

I am very surprised that it has been abandoned for profitability reason as the flights were full even after a price increase: when orderd quite early ,in 2006 BRQ-CDG-BRQ cost around 5000 CZK and then it increased to 7500 CZK (I don't think it was totally due to the oil price peak...) but the flights remained quite full... Now the price went little bit down and still quite full.
Secondly it's surprising to go straight from 4 daily flights to 0... Why not to reduce (as for Ostrava and Bratislava) to 2 daily flights as it was in 2006.
And finally CSA may kill its local shares... Of course people travelling from Brno make a connection with CSA. Stopping the PRG-BRQ may motivate them to choose another airlines (there are the choice PRG) especially if they take the option to drive to Vienna instead of Prague (it's closer).

BRQ-PRG is very convenient in the morning (flight at 5:30am) at it allows to catch the early connections while PRG-BRQ allows to not leave too early (last Sunday, departure at 7:10pm from CDG, arrived at 10:30pm in BRQ)...

I believe it's disappointing for Brno airport as well it will have to live the daily Ryanair's BRQ-STN and the newly flight to Milan...

Do you think that flight may come back ?

Thanks Gnopps! Pretty helpful. I guess my only question would be "was it worth the 10k Delta miles I used to upgrade from Economy on those legs (5k per leg)"?

The current CSA fleet is 18 Airbus 320-series, 18 Boeing 737 (the previous type of this model, all now 10-18 years old), 12 ATR propeller aircraft, and one A310, which is now used only on holiday charters to the Caribbean and a few Mediterranean points. The replacement of the 737s by new A320s has ground to a near halt, only one a year has been delivered for the last couple of years.

The age of any CSA aircraft can be determined, uniquely, by the first character of the registration. After the OK- nationality mark they increment the first registration character by one each year. 2010 is P, thus OK-PET is this year's Airbus, the series restarted at A in 1995. Oldest in the fleet is OK-VFI, a secondhand ATR from 1990. The letter applies to the actual aircraft age, so secondhand aircraft are indicated accurately as well. I don't know another airline that does this but CSA has done it since 1945, they restart every 25 years (they skip Q), in 1970 and 1995, and are now on their third iteration through the alphabet.

Wow this is very interesting.
However I have a feeling there will not be a fourth iteration through the alphabet :(