Interestingly, EI is saying that whatever new base is selected will be used for short haul flights initially.
I guess that if that's their long term plan, they need to select a city that will be able to support a long haul operation.
You can look at some current airports which have very limited short and long haul ops.
Sofia, for example, has a brand new airport, but with a small airline. Probably a bit too far east, although it is popular with Irish property investors.
Krakow - a perennial favourite; a beautiful city, steeped in history; good population; potential for long haul growth, particularly to the US.
Berlin - Easyjet currently having a major base there, but very strong population, geographically at the centre of Europe; EI's unit costs lower than U2's.. Great potential for long haul expansion; Schonefeld soon to expand into Brandenburg Airport (adjacent site). Very good ground transport links; politically v. important. Could be a good guess.
Just a quick question, while I think of it: can the EI A320 simulator be used for A330 training as well, or do A330 crews still have to go to Aeroformation in TOU for their recurrent/upgrade training? With quite a few extra 330s likely to be coming in the near and medium term, that sim is going to be quite busy!
Last edited by akerosid; 14th Mar 2007 at 18:55.
Reason: Add question