Eastern Airways-3
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Looks like this is going to franchise operation Air France and Eastern that will happen later in the year
Which looks to be more routes and code share later in the year
Which looks to be more routes and code share later in the year
I see G-SAJD is departing Teesside for maintenance work at the Embraer OGMA facility at Alverca, near Lisbon as per the Teesside movements site.
Last edited by N707ZS; 16th May 2023 at 14:57. Reason: Wrong airline please remove all connecting posts.
Eastern have all but killed the MAN-SOU route. I know the market can’t sustain the Flybe 6 a day flights, but Eastern can’t hold on to one or two a day now.
So unreliable, stop, start, 1 flight then 2 flight then none.
They are selling seats in October but can’t guarantee they will be operated.
Trains are so unreliable and expensive, I’m now using BA to LHR as the only option.
my recent cross country train experience was 7 hours & costly, but there is no air alternative for a day return.
So unreliable, stop, start, 1 flight then 2 flight then none.
They are selling seats in October but can’t guarantee they will be operated.
Trains are so unreliable and expensive, I’m now using BA to LHR as the only option.
my recent cross country train experience was 7 hours & costly, but there is no air alternative for a day return.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Eastern have all but killed the MAN-SOU route. I know the market can’t sustain the Flybe 6 a day flights, but Eastern can’t hold on to one or two a day now.
So unreliable, stop, start, 1 flight then 2 flight then none.
They are selling seats in October but can’t guarantee they will be operated.
Trains are so unreliable and expensive, I’m now using BA to LHR as the only option.
my recent cross country train experience was 7 hours & costly, but there is no air alternative for a day return.
So unreliable, stop, start, 1 flight then 2 flight then none.
They are selling seats in October but can’t guarantee they will be operated.
Trains are so unreliable and expensive, I’m now using BA to LHR as the only option.
my recent cross country train experience was 7 hours & costly, but there is no air alternative for a day return.
Last edited by stewyb; 16th May 2023 at 16:06.
The railway bridge near Didcot being closed means trains between Manchester and Southampton are not a useful option until early June. In a month's time, when repairs are complete, trains should become viable again (albeit on the slow side)
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It looks as though the EMA-ORY service is getting delayed pretty regularly and presumably to wait for the crew from the previous night's ORY-EMA to be back in hours the next morning? Same seems to be happening only not quite as often down in NQY on the LGW route. Are they really that short of pilots?
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It looks as though the EMA-ORY service is getting delayed pretty regularly and presumably to wait for the crew from the previous night's ORY-EMA to be back in hours the next morning? Same seems to be happening only not quite as often down in NQY on the LGW route. Are they really that short of pilots?

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They seem to be doing a lot more charter work and don’t mind cancelling a scheduled route to accommodate a charter. I guess they know their scheduled routes are never long term so who cares about goodwill. I don’t get why the SOU-MAN route which they have a monopoly on has fallen away. Used it a few times and loads seemed good.
I agree with what has been said up-thread... they have pulled to route to focus on charters and the new Air France ORY feeders, which I'd imagine involve very little commercial risk for Eastern.
I really hope another airline picks up the route soon. I'll be journeying down to the south coast by train for the first time next week - just under 6 hours as opposed to 45 minutes! (and 50% more expensive)
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They seem to be doing a lot more charter work and don’t mind cancelling a scheduled route to accommodate a charter. I guess they know their scheduled routes are never long term so who cares about goodwill. I don’t get why the SOU-MAN route which they have a monopoly on has fallen away. Used it a few times and loads seemed good.

EU 261 was paid on a £79 fare.
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While the the management team at Eastern have ensured the airline survives while others have failed, is there an element of them holding it back also? When Flybe failed they had an opportunity to grasp but their apparent penny pinching gives the impression they don't have the management experience to move forward? Are they to reliant on oil money to be dynamic to grasp commercial opportunities?
While the the management team at Eastern have ensured the airline survives while others have failed, is there an element of them holding it back also? When Flybe failed they had an opportunity to grasp but their apparent penny pinching gives the impression they don't have the management experience to move forward? Are they to reliant on oil money to be dynamic to grasp commercial opportunities?
There has never been a company strategy other than just lurch from side to side picking up bits of work as and when they come their way and very much depending on the mood of the day of the MD. Eastern was riding the wave of utilising the J41s which he got for pennies, donkeys years ago. It’s a vile place to work and the day to day disorganisation is staggering to witness, but on the plus side, it has given many pilots their first flying job and a foot on the ladder.
The staff have always been Eastern’s best asset- treated like crap but always went above and beyond the call to bail out the company, time and time again. Don’t think there’s many of the true original staff left now. Many good guys were given the push around the pandemic and then shortly after asked to come back as they had miscalculated things. You couldn’t make it up! Shambles.
The only reason Eastern have survived is because the owner has pumped huge sums of his own money into it to keep it afloat. He just can’t bear to see it die. It’s been like this for years now. Any other “normal” company would have been wound up long ago!
There has never been a company strategy other than just lurch from side to side picking up bits of work as and when they come their way and very much depending on the mood of the day of the MD. Eastern was riding the wave of utilising the J41s which he got for pennies, donkeys years ago. It’s a vile place to work and the day to day disorganisation is staggering to witness, but on the plus side, it has given many pilots their first flying job and a foot on the ladder.
The staff have always been Eastern’s best asset- treated like crap but always went above and beyond the call to bail out the company, time and time again. Don’t think there’s many of the true original staff left now. Many good guys were given the push around the pandemic and then shortly after asked to come back as they had miscalculated things. You couldn’t make it up! Shambles.
There has never been a company strategy other than just lurch from side to side picking up bits of work as and when they come their way and very much depending on the mood of the day of the MD. Eastern was riding the wave of utilising the J41s which he got for pennies, donkeys years ago. It’s a vile place to work and the day to day disorganisation is staggering to witness, but on the plus side, it has given many pilots their first flying job and a foot on the ladder.
The staff have always been Eastern’s best asset- treated like crap but always went above and beyond the call to bail out the company, time and time again. Don’t think there’s many of the true original staff left now. Many good guys were given the push around the pandemic and then shortly after asked to come back as they had miscalculated things. You couldn’t make it up! Shambles.