Edinburgh-3

[VickersVicount]

Was EY AUH daily again for high summer and going back to just 5 / wk now?
EY is a bit of a mixed bag on this route with fluctuating frequencies and loads.

[A350Saltire]

AUH is now 5x per week year round except August when it is daily.

July load factor was 96% and I'd expect August's to be up there too.

[edi_local]

I don't really see how it is a mixed bag.

It's been 5 per week for over a year, same operational days every week, same aircraft at the same time every operational day. Loads are strong and there is very little disruption to their schedule. Only August brings some change in that it goes daily due to the demand.

[Morus193]

Beijing

The latest I have read about Hainan to Beijing is its awaiting Chinese government approval, do we know what the expected start month could be? Any chance of a start before the end of this year?

[canberra97]

Surely no one can answer your questions before any final approval from the Chinese government is secured and even when it has been given I think any start will be in 2018 not before the end of the year.

[inOban]

September up 8.4%. international still growing steadily (14%) but domestic soft, and will presumably fall further when Ryanair drop STN.

[4eyed anorak]

Finnair increasing from 5 per week to 9 per week.

[inOban]

I noticed that. I suspect they will be using Embraers rather than Airbus.

[4eyed anorak]

Apparently Brussels Airlines are upgrading their flights to a A319 from next Saturday.

[Sk1schoolsam]

I wonder if that’s capacity increase or just a reflection on issues they have had with the leased Cityjet Russian built aircraft. Seen a few cancellations. May be ending there Cityjet agreement. Is the schedule remaining the same?

[SWBKCB]

Were the cancellations due to a/c reliability? If, so what?

[GoEDI]

I believe the SSJs are needed on thinner routes to cover RJ100 retirement and E145/Q400 leases ending, so EDI gets the A319.

[Sk1schoolsam]

Yes it’s the 100 seat E90LRs scheduled now. This looks like both a frequency increase (to with there long haul Far East operations?) as well as an increase in seats ( up from 660 p/w to 900 p/w). Positive news.....
Will the use of the E90 sacrifice any freight potential for the Far East?

[Sk1schoolsam]

Further reduction in seats to New York in S18 (following United cancelling the second daily Flight) with Norwegian reducing the Stewart route frequency from daily to 5 weekly. Providence seams to have benefited gaining the 2 extra.
We’re they not achieving decent load factors?

[HH6702]

Pound over the dollar and last few years been a lot of over capacity over profits something has to give

[Breathe]

I note that tomorrow will be the last Brussels Airlines flight operated by CityJet, and thus will mark an end of CityJet services at EDI after many years.

[CabinCrewe]

I flew on an SSJ with CityJet/Sabena to BRU and was a pleasant flight (aided by it being half empty!)
How often have SN proper (mainline) operated this route on a larger jet for any length of time?

[Sk1schoolsam]

As well as introducing the A319 the frequency seams to have dropped to twice daily and once at the weekends. Has this capacity reduction been in place for a while?

[VickersVicount]

I couldnt recall the various frequency reductions for QR and EY- just to see if an obvious explanation for over 5% drop on QR and 24% drop for EY cw last year.
Fairly big drops regardless on both routes.

[OltonPete]

Etihad & Qatar

VickersVicount

CAA stats for September 2016 show Qatar and Etihad were daily and the latter is now 5 a week.

Qatar is still daily as far as I know and is just suffering as is BHX and MAN and it does make the Cardiff start up even more bizarre. Heathrow was the only UK airport up on Doha and it was the same in August. July was grim for BHX and MAN although EDI was up 1% but there again it was July.