Originally Posted by
roverman
I heard a whisper that it is Ethiopian. They have or did have an ADD-DUB-LAX service, so it could be a switch of that one or a new route entirely. Exciting, but will there be many seats on sale ex-MAN going west?
From a purely economic point of view why would Ethiopian route a west bound through Manchester whilst routing a least three others via Dublin a few hundred flying miles away ?
BTW the east bounds fly over Dublin nonstop
However did find this on the Irish government transport web site quoting With regards to Ethiopian Airlines operating fifth freedom passenger air services, in 2015, my Department approved an Addis Ababa - Dublin - Los Angeles return service, which operated until Q4 2018. In late 2018, my Department approved an Addis Ababa - Madrid - Dublin return service, with Madrid being a technical stop only. This was changed to a fifth freedom service for the summer 2019 season, once all aeronautical authorities granted approval.
My Department has recently received a formal application from Ethiopian Airlines to operate an Addis Ababa - Brussels - Dublin with return service for the winter 2019 season. This would replace the Madrid 5th freedom route. The Department is currently initiating a process of stakeholder engagement and evaluation before determining whether or not to grant an authorisation for this service.
Seems a few years old however possibly source of the debate if Ethiopian are recasting some of the North Western European routes.
I suppose Dublin looses the triangle via Madrid gaining our Brussels tag whilst Manchester gains a non stop from Addis going on over the Atlantic a lá Singapore. 5th freedom shouldn’t be an issue via the UK either .