Emirates 'eyeing' BFS
 

Which is exactly what I predicted as far back as May:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...27#post1353327

A nice colourful T7(hopefully) or A330 into BFS?

Happy days.

...just imagine..."Emirates 70, hold at the Alpha One 25 hold for the Cherokee on short final...":E

NWSRG

It will probably be an A330 as that's what EK usually 'pioneer' a route with. As for the callsign it will most likely be somewhere between EK027-EK037 because Emirates allocated:

EK001-008 to DXB-LHR-DXB,
EK009-EK016 to DXB-LGW-DXB,
EK017-EK020 to DXB-MAN-DXB,
EK025/26 to DXB-GLA-DXB &
EK039/40 to DXB-BHX-DXB.

Due to a shortage of slots at LHR and LGW, Emirates is developing more routes to the regions. Already in the pipeline are a 3rd daily MAN, 2nd daily BHX and they have had their eyes on DUB & CDF for a while. EDI rumour still rumbles.

Standby for some news when these existing plans have been actioned as it would be easy for Emirates to 'tag' BFS on to any of the new or existing services to the UK either daily or say 4 or 5 times a week initially then either make it a 'non-stop' and/or a daily service. I'm just wondering where they would HOTAC the crews. The Hilton at Templepatrick is nice but I would prefer Europa. Knowing my luck it would be the Dunadry!!!
Are you A330 or B777 rated?

:ok:

:O 330 rated...but only on a 15" TFT with XP running...:{

:D Some nights that's the best place to be....!!!:yuk: :yuk: :yuk:

Don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but apparently the decisions for this year and next have already been made and neither BFS nor DUB is among them. Hamburg and Brussels are said to be at the top of the list, although they're not making any announcements yet.

Bloody annoying, particularly from a DUB perspective. We've been hoping EK would fly in, giving us our first direct link with the middle east and Asia, but to no avail. There was a rumour about DUB and about the new Dublin Airport Authority having talks with EK, but clearly they see opportunities elsewhere. However, with EI's t/a ambitions blocked, they will start looking East and EK - which has virtually had DUB at its own discretion for many years - will have lost the chance.

Not necessarily,aeroskid and you won't burst my bubble.

EK operates on a reciprocal arrangement basis whereby they wont let EI into DXB if EK are denied access to DUB.

So the odds are that EI have already probably had the nod for a good while to operate to DXB but had neither the spare equipment nor a strategy to develop Mid East/FarEast/Australia destinations but concentrated on their T/A routes.

They are eyeing lots of destinations and I had heard of Hamburg and Brussels but they were rumbled about last year and the previous year. The truth is if BFS happens, it probably wont be until after the end of next year at the earliest but EK do like springing surprises and the 3rd MAN and 2nd BHX have always been linked with 'continuations' possibly to other UK/Eire destinations. Remember Vienna came as a complete surprise as did Seychelles.

:ok:

akerosid,

you sure it is brussels? I hear benelux is still a few years away.

Hamburg seems to be right though with the other route being Geneva.

bhx-dxb
 

From another website BHX-DXB will operate with A330 equipment from 1/6/04 is this a sign that both services inc new one will be operated by airbus aircraft??
Daza

Pontious

Not true l'm afraid.

Dubai holds few restrictions and none for western airlines from operating into DXB. Nothing to do with EK.

And it's fifth freedom rights for all who want it.

EI can come as soon as they are ready. But with capacity nearly at saturation till concorse 2 is finished they had better time it well.

halas

Pontious - CDF = Cortina D'Ampezzo - or do you mean Cardiff (CWL). Sorry, just in a very pedantic mood tonight.

Would service continuations really work - surely it would be much cheaper to feed in using someone like Flybe?

The whole point on going via Dubai is that you get to connect somewhere that's a pleasure to use, about half way through the journey (nice time to stretch legs), instead of making a short hop, then a long jump. Adding any extra stops would negate this advantage quite rapidly - CO haven't done it, why would EK?

Jabird

I did indeed mean that Jewel in Cymru's Crown. Sorry.
As far as DXB being a 'Transit Stop', the 'Powers that be' here are promoting DXB as a major holiday DESTINATION and the main business and finance DESTINATION for this part of the world.
The money spent here in investment is astounding and in the 'traditionally' low season here ( June- October) virtually all of the hotels on Jumeira Beach were chockablock with European tourists. Dubai is a Boomtown and EK want the pax they carry to get off in DXB and enjoy the place.

Halas

Mayte, I stand corrected. I was led to believe that the KLM/EK AMS route was a 'recipro' that EK hadn't yet exercised and that EI/EK had a similar arrangement that neither had exercised.

:ok:

>>Don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but apparently the decisions for this year and next have already been made and neither BFS nor DUB is among them. Hamburg and Brussels are said to be at the top of the list, although they're not making any announcements yet.<<

Unconfirmed reports suggest that BA are a bit peeved at EK 'poaching' the regionals.

Perhaps BA may retaliate with regional
services to Dubai themselves.?

Or more likely they will advertise some good deals on fares to Dubai from the regional airports via LHR ??

BA seem to be advertising cheap deals from Dubai at the monent, contra-poaching.?

BA are totally UNCONCERNED about the locals as far as NI is concerned .....Whats hello cleared to land 25 in arabic?:ok:

BA services from the UK regions to Dubai?

Funniest thing I've read on PPRUNE in weeks!

If BA have put up with the likes of CO picking up traffic with direct services from the UK regions to New York (major destination in its own right as well as transfer point), why in heaven's name would they want to pull a stunt like starting services to DXB (which, although certainly a growing tourist destination, is still principally a transfer hub) with no onward feed? I can just see the scene in Waterside: "Well, we have a couple of spare 767s, and everyone agrees that Citiexpress management have done a stellar job over the last couple of years ;) so let's give them the 767s to run Edinburgh-Dubai and Bristol-Dubai nonstops. That'll stop pesky Emirates in their tracks!" :\

And as for BFS-DXB: I don't know whether a full 777 or A330 would have any takeoff limitations out of DUB. Other than that, can anyone offer any rational reason why EK would choose to serve the relatively small BFS market before the relatively large DUB one? :confused: Or is this thread just one of those reality-distortion zones where anything is possible and pesky considerations like market sizes don't enter into the reckoning?

It's all a load of rumour bollox! Airports talk to airlines all the time about new routes etc, very few actually get going for one reason or another. Emirates are more likely to start DUB-DXB first as the above post states. Would be good for NI though if it came off.

The lastest figures show 78% of pax on UK-DXB routes are using DXB to transit. With all the growth going on there, both in terms of route capacity (A380s + Etihad also announcing a new route per month through AUH), and construction (Palm Island, hotels etc), how is this figure likely to change - presumably more people will start seeing DXB as a destination in its own right, or at the very least as an alternative stop over to SIN, BKK or HKG on the way to Oz?