BIRMINGHAM - 6
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I'm at a loss to understand the fascination & interest in whether or not AI flying to BHX
It might edge the passenger numbers up a bit but the economic benefit to the airport other than handling fee's is marginal.
Lets face it how many non national Indian's are going to think great lets grab a flight to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal this weekend
There are lots of things that add up to make a route profitable, and if this was profitable before, given the 787s fuel economy, let's hope it is profitable again.
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Re Air India,
Yes from 1st August,competitive fares and some good connections.
Well done BHX for securing this service ,lets hope its well advertised. With just 18 Business class seats to fill, ideal for BHX.
Not heard much from the BHX bashers who scoffed it would never happen !
Nigel
Yes from 1st August,competitive fares and some good connections.
Well done BHX for securing this service ,lets hope its well advertised. With just 18 Business class seats to fill, ideal for BHX.
Not heard much from the BHX bashers who scoffed it would never happen !
Nigel
Nigel, I don't think it's a question of bashing, more believing than anything given AI's reputation at BHX. I hope this service takes off in a big way after all the disappointments with this route. I guess (if this works) that this is one of the reasons the 787 was built for to cater for the regional airports around the world. However I hope a direct route to India doesn't dilute EK's traffic or indeed put off any future plans QR might have.
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Not heard much from the BHX bashers who scoffed it would never happen !
Even the runway extension remains a dubious investment. If anything, Air India are proving that you can serve destinations like DEL with a 787 on the current runway, thus numerous other destinations can likewise be served.
The 787 may still be a teething baby, but its usage will grow in time. Of course, airlines want flexibility in the meantime, so if those of us extension sceptics have to tuck in to a hat or two over the first few years, we may well still be proven right in the longer run.
For the time being though, glad I wasn't one to say AI wouldn't come back, especially as the only hat I possess is a bike helmet, and that is going to taste pretty disgusting.
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Jaibird,
LOL.. yes think you saved your teeth by 24hrs as it starts 1st August.
Crewmeal,
I hope it is advertised properly, fares seem good and some good connections, and with only 18 Business Class seats ideal for BHX market share you would think..
In relation to the extension not being needed for this flight, well if I had researched properly I would have found that flight time to Delhi is about 8hrs 30 mins, and to Orlando, 8hrs 50 mins..
So if the current TOM 767 can make Orlando direct, then its not a problem for the AI 787 with probably less weight is it ? So I was wrong too.
We will have to therefore judge the extension, as its a long term investment against routes over 9 hours, and see in 20 yrs whether we have picked up enough such routes to claim it was worth it..it is silly to claim its a failure before it has a chance to prove itself.
Re Qatar , I certainly wouldn't rule it out yet, in fact a few crew that I know say their are strong rumours it will be starting soon.However whether crew have access to inside info that is 100% reliable I don't know.
The Air India announcement shows some full fare longish haul airlines are interested in BHX, that should add hope to our Qatar aspirations perhaps.
Nigel
LOL.. yes think you saved your teeth by 24hrs as it starts 1st August.
Crewmeal,
I hope it is advertised properly, fares seem good and some good connections, and with only 18 Business Class seats ideal for BHX market share you would think..
In relation to the extension not being needed for this flight, well if I had researched properly I would have found that flight time to Delhi is about 8hrs 30 mins, and to Orlando, 8hrs 50 mins..
So if the current TOM 767 can make Orlando direct, then its not a problem for the AI 787 with probably less weight is it ? So I was wrong too.
We will have to therefore judge the extension, as its a long term investment against routes over 9 hours, and see in 20 yrs whether we have picked up enough such routes to claim it was worth it..it is silly to claim its a failure before it has a chance to prove itself.
Re Qatar , I certainly wouldn't rule it out yet, in fact a few crew that I know say their are strong rumours it will be starting soon.However whether crew have access to inside info that is 100% reliable I don't know.
The Air India announcement shows some full fare longish haul airlines are interested in BHX, that should add hope to our Qatar aspirations perhaps.
Nigel
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Re Qatar , I certainly wouldn't rule it out yet, in fact a few crew that I know say their are strong rumours it will be starting soon.However whether crew have access to inside info that is 100% reliable I don't know.
The Air India announcement shows some full fare longish haul airlines are interested in BHX, that should add hope to our Qatar aspirations perhaps.
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The Air India announcement shows some full fare longish haul airlines are interested in BHX, that should add hope to our Qatar aspirations perhaps.
I do worry about the draw it will have on Emirates' loads, but stand to eat my words if pax figures prove me wrong over the next twelve months.
That said, Qatar will, I am sure, have weighed up the current situation at BHX with the Air India launch. I think it would be foolhardy for them to launch now, at a time when loads on Emirates are not stellar and with Air India also now claiming market share.
The question which needs to be addressed is whether there currently is the demand for another carrier going east; I'm not convinced.
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Jaibird,
LOL.. yes think you saved your teeth by 24hrs as it starts 1st August.
LOL.. yes think you saved your teeth by 24hrs as it starts 1st August.
My issue is over the long term viability of the extension, and more to the point, over this ridiculous notion of a Midlands airport being a London hub, a concept which was firmly rejected when the whole Rugby Airport hoax was propagated more than a decade ago.
Now we have even more nonsense, with the "Go HS2" coalition trying to claim that the already inflated budget for HS2 is justified, because it will feed "a growing BHX". BHX is not growing - it has had one good route announcement against a tide of not much else happening.
Yet the second runway plan would need government funding to make it happen, something there is clearly not desire for in Westminster. So to say this justifies an already expensive rail project is grossly irresponsible. Brum Chamber of Commerce, as an organisation representing the businesses that pay the taxes to fund this largess, should know better.
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Quote:
Even the runway extension remains a dubious investment. If anything, Air India are proving that you can serve destinations like DEL with a 787 on the current runway, thus numerous other destinations can likewise be served.
But surely the runway extension will offer the opportunity for greater payloads i.e additional freight, thereby supporting route viability.
Even the runway extension remains a dubious investment. If anything, Air India are proving that you can serve destinations like DEL with a 787 on the current runway, thus numerous other destinations can likewise be served.
But surely the runway extension will offer the opportunity for greater payloads i.e additional freight, thereby supporting route viability.
Last edited by RealFish; 3rd Jul 2013 at 15:18.
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Runway extension
I believe the airports outlay for this project was in the region of £7M, funding for the rest was from different sources . I will stand to be corrected on that figure, but if that is correct then it was a very cute move by the airport , even if it's only for the kudos ! After all, £7M is the going rate for a run of the mill football player these days.
Air India V Emirates
Some are worried about these 2 fighting for the pax . I think it will affect turkmenistan to some degree , but when i told an indian friend about the new service she was glad as she and her family usually use LHR and will now fly from BHX on the 787.
QATAR
planeaddict :
I don't think they did , maybe you heard something more unofficial .
I believe the airports outlay for this project was in the region of £7M, funding for the rest was from different sources . I will stand to be corrected on that figure, but if that is correct then it was a very cute move by the airport , even if it's only for the kudos ! After all, £7M is the going rate for a run of the mill football player these days.
Air India V Emirates
Some are worried about these 2 fighting for the pax . I think it will affect turkmenistan to some degree , but when i told an indian friend about the new service she was glad as she and her family usually use LHR and will now fly from BHX on the 787.
QATAR
planeaddict :
They initially announced plans to serve BHX about a year ago
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Quote-
"But surely the runway extension will offer the opportunity for greater payloads i.e additional freight, thereby supporting route viability."
Exactly! And the runway extension enables flights of in-excess of 9hrs+.
Ok, so we have TK, EK, PK, T5 and now AI heading east which is great, what about heading west or south?
I'm only talking scheduled flights here but we only have CO and summer only TS transatlantic so surely there's scope to expand on this? IMO the 787 is the perfect aeroplane to serve BHX with long haul routes, so which destinations would be realistic? Mine would be ORD, ATL, YVR or LAX purely for connections.
A bit of a wish list I know but why not? ORD was successful but missed out big time on the restricted freight limit due to insufficient runway length for the 763. But with 787s coming online and the extension this won't be a problem. LAX would offer alternative westbound connections to Australasia. Any thoughts?
"But surely the runway extension will offer the opportunity for greater payloads i.e additional freight, thereby supporting route viability."
Exactly! And the runway extension enables flights of in-excess of 9hrs+.
Ok, so we have TK, EK, PK, T5 and now AI heading east which is great, what about heading west or south?
I'm only talking scheduled flights here but we only have CO and summer only TS transatlantic so surely there's scope to expand on this? IMO the 787 is the perfect aeroplane to serve BHX with long haul routes, so which destinations would be realistic? Mine would be ORD, ATL, YVR or LAX purely for connections.
A bit of a wish list I know but why not? ORD was successful but missed out big time on the restricted freight limit due to insufficient runway length for the 763. But with 787s coming online and the extension this won't be a problem. LAX would offer alternative westbound connections to Australasia. Any thoughts?
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I think it will affect turkmenistan to some degree
Ok, so we have TK, EK, PK, T5 and now AI heading east which is great, what about heading west or south?
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splash&dash.
I agree about ORD.That service was relatively successful and as you rightly pointed out suffered from restrictions on freight carriage,particularly in hot weather.There has been noises about the service returning but we await that announcement.Not only that ,it seemed to complement the EWR service rather
hinder it,proving 2 airlines could operate similar services across the pond.Remember the PHL didn't do too badly while it operated.In fact both EWR & PHL went out with similar loads for much of that summer.However I don't know how good the yields were,and that unfortunately is the problem.
As for QTR those stories first surfaced towards the end of last autumn,early winter.If the airline still intend to start up then as others have said it will depend
on how far up the pecking order BHX is.I'm not so sure QTR will be too worried about AI as they will be looking further afield for onward connections and possibly taking pax off EK and TK to the far east.T5 may be the biggest loser.
It is all speculation of course but as long as BHX mgmt are talking to airlines then anything is possible.
I would like to see Oslo,Helsinki and perhaps an eastern European city or 2 added as well as the usual suspects VIE,MAD and PRG.
With the recent success of JLR and the reborn MG series it would also be nice to see some freight schedules added as well.We can dream can't we?
I agree about ORD.That service was relatively successful and as you rightly pointed out suffered from restrictions on freight carriage,particularly in hot weather.There has been noises about the service returning but we await that announcement.Not only that ,it seemed to complement the EWR service rather
hinder it,proving 2 airlines could operate similar services across the pond.Remember the PHL didn't do too badly while it operated.In fact both EWR & PHL went out with similar loads for much of that summer.However I don't know how good the yields were,and that unfortunately is the problem.
As for QTR those stories first surfaced towards the end of last autumn,early winter.If the airline still intend to start up then as others have said it will depend
on how far up the pecking order BHX is.I'm not so sure QTR will be too worried about AI as they will be looking further afield for onward connections and possibly taking pax off EK and TK to the far east.T5 may be the biggest loser.
It is all speculation of course but as long as BHX mgmt are talking to airlines then anything is possible.
I would like to see Oslo,Helsinki and perhaps an eastern European city or 2 added as well as the usual suspects VIE,MAD and PRG.
With the recent success of JLR and the reborn MG series it would also be nice to see some freight schedules added as well.We can dream can't we?
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Air India
Air India launches Delhi from August 1st - Birmingham Airport
Press release announcing the service
Pete
Press release announcing the service
Pete
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Considering the 757s will not be around forever it will be interesting to see what United will do when they're gone
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Air India at Birmingham
It looks as if the new AI service will originate and end in ATQ according to the Hindustan Times. So answers all the sceptics who thought only ATQ could work now the route serves both ATQ and DEL. 
Link Air India to relink Amritsar, Birmingham from Aug 1 - Hindustan Times
AI 113 1246 ATQ 1030 DEL 1145 1330 BHX 1800 788
AI 114 1246 BHX 2130 DEL 1005 1205 ATQ 1315 788
In typical AI fashion their website shows the connecting flight as A321
Link Air India to relink Amritsar, Birmingham from Aug 1 - Hindustan Times
AI 113 1246 ATQ 1030 DEL 1145 1330 BHX 1800 788
AI 114 1246 BHX 2130 DEL 1005 1205 ATQ 1315 788
In typical AI fashion their website shows the connecting flight as A321
Last edited by Daza; 3rd Jul 2013 at 23:39.