Originally Posted by
EK77WNCL
But that's the point... Build it and they will come! It would create demand, and based on the fact that Emirates probably already has a ton of passenger and cargo contracts in the region going East, chances are some of them might go, or want to go west, and could pick Emirates
Emirates is a big name in the region, United not so much. I'm not denying that it would be hard for the first few years to get the ball rolling but if anyone knows what they're doing, it's Emirates
The UK regional market is heavily leisure driven, and with the pound trading between 15 - 20% lower than a month or so ago, demand for leisure travel is likely to soften. Inbound, your average American is so geographically challenged that the only places they really know in UK are London, Stratford upon Avon and Edinburgh, so it will always be an uphill task getting US tourists to use a service to NCL, or for that matter BHX. The UK tourist boards don't help, with their over concentration on London as a destination.
I wonder if UA would have stuck with NCL for another season, had the events of 23 June not unfolded in the way they did, with the exchange rate consequences that followed. We shall never know.
As for business traffic, a daily service is the minimum requirement, multi daily preferably, so again regional airports, aside MAN are always going to struggle.