Emirates
chinapattern
The original rumour was the third service was due March/April 2012 but that was before the pax figures went south at the same time as Manchester's Middle Eastern flights expanded a tad.
It was then thought to be Q4 2012 but the new rumour is now 2013.
As for the A332's it depends on which rumour you believe for the number of
disposals this year, which is anything from two to eight.
However once the summer schedule commences eight A332 services are upgraded to 777/A343/5 and only two new frequencies commence, Milan in June and Rome in October which was announced this week. Ho Chi Minh starts in June as an A332 but gets replaced at the end of October and I have taken that into account.
The A332 fleet is 26 with 20 the end of year figure rumoured, which could suggest that BHX won't be getting the A332 morning flight this year. Of course it could start with a three class 773 or 77W but unlikely.
Emirates used 8 three class 77W's in February out of 58 flights, which helped with load factor a little bit.
Pete