Thomas Cook are to cease selling package hoildays/charter flights from 30 April. Still trading but online and to customers. Majority of passengers on charters were this party bookings.

Will be a loss but EI and fr will pick up the slack.

Do you have a link?

Isn't Direct Holidays part of Thomas Cook Ireland too?

I'm using the app so can't post one but it's on Facebook/ and twitter.

Yes Direct holidays are also part of them.

Well Im guessing that will mean the Dublin-Cancun route they good as announced at the London trade fair will not happen.

It will impact on what little sole charter traffic that operates from DUB such as QS and other oddities that were in last sunmer. A long way from all the MON flights operared for Directholidays.

Thomas Cook - official.

Thomas Cook to shut Irish charter operation

EI Toronto
 

Aer Lingus bringing forward the launch of the Dublin-Toronto route to 14th April

Don't expect EI to be picking up the slack from Thomas Cook in any significant shape or form. The business plan is now heavily focussed on growing ACMI. The benefits are that its low risk and provides guaranteed revenue. Leasing new aircraft to serve additional routes would mean someone is putting their neck on the line. Should there be demand on any overlapping Thomas Cook routes and larger aircraft be available then they could conceivably be switched to free up additional seats. Like most airlines the summer has the aircaft and crews maxed out just servicing the existing schedule.

MCDU2

EI already have increased flights on lots of the same TCX routes. They are looking for specific aircraft for such routes long before this news. There may be nothing major out of it but EI and travel agents work well together and if there is demand from then EI will serve there needs where possible.

Capacity to Turkey is all but restored except a flight to AYT, Wings Abroad will increase flights. Only a matter of time before EI add AYT or even another service considering the success Izmir is for them.

A little surprised at the YYZ move, clearly bookings are good!

Some more figures about EK at DUB
Emirates Doubles its Dublin Service :: Routesonline

DL S14
 

Will DL be using the A332 on the DUB-ATL route?

Also, will DL add extra flights to JFK over the peak summer months like they did last year?

Not currently to ATL, they are being moved to another US base, while its to early to know JFK, usually March before they are confirmed.

Got any numbers to support that? The increase in frequencies (eg: Canaries flights) were announced well before TCX pulled out. Without new airframes and recruitment of more pilots and ccms I can't see any "significant shape or form" as I stated earlier. The current fleet during summer is maxed out as are the crews hence the hire ins last year.

The other thing to bear in mind is that the charter pax are notoriously price sensitive and fickle. Not the target market the current business plan is focusing on.

A lot of people know TCX ending was coming, its being know since the review a year ago, they have a very very bad summer last year compared to Thomson who had a great one and current trends for 14 suggest the same, Sunway see double digit growth in bookings before TCX closure announced. They hadn't even launched there summer brochure for this year and people knew it was not good. EI are the main winners as TCX website using only EI scheduled flights for future bookings.


Faro see the A332/3 twice weekly, Corfu gains extra weekly, Izmir increased capacity, Lanzarote extra weekly. Thomson add Ibiza while Ryanair move into Crete. They were getting it from all sides. There is always room within current capacity levels to fill more so the above extra will help and overall capacity for 2014 will be up with FR adding other bits.


EI are watching for a few extra aircraft to work with tour operators and benefit themselves. There is some room in current schedules for extra's to be added.


I'm wouldn't be surprised if they add a Turkish route if Wings Abroad and Sunway can't get operator to fill BJV and AYT. TCX picked the worst time to announce this and it shows poor management, they knew well before last week of the closure.


There won't be anything major but there will be small things.

Tarom increasing capacity by 50% for the summer, started last summer 3 weekly flights increased to 4 in October and increasing to 6 weekly in March.


Not sure how long it will last with Ryanair starting 4 weekly service and there is Blue Air's 3 weekly service to.

Will do very well as back door way into uk via dub up the road to belfast in the uk job done.

Don't see why the analogy when they have been given the keys to the front door too.

TBH the only reason I can see its such success if the 06.05 arrival OTP connecting that area of Europe which is purely served from here.

Probably won`t be too long before Dublin-Sofia services are relaunched.

Blue Air haven't long left, so a good move by TAROM to get them off the route to cosy up next to Ryanair ~ I understand a lot of connecting traffic thanks to SkyTeam partners for them as well as Romanians going to/from Bucharest and within Romania.

I could see it being re-introduced for Winter operations by Aer Lingus, it done well back in Winter 2008/2009 with Topflight using some seats, didn't do well in the Summer months, and Aer Lingus preferred to use there aircraft elsewhere wisely.

Etihad to go double daily
 

Etihad to go double daily on Dublin-Abu Dhabi July 15

Wow, competition is really hotting up between Turkish, Etihad and Emirates all going double daily this year!
Wonder how long before we see Qatar or will they go for Cork or Belfast instead?

Dublin - Sofia
 

Hello,

Referring to Sofia & Bulgaria skiing.

Is there any tour operator serving ski holidays to Bulgaria from Ireland? The only crowd I found balkan.co.uk serving Belfast only. They list Dublin however no flights are loaded or are they full? It is a terrible website.

Bulgaria ski conditions are known to be quite erratic, having poor snow rattles the confidence of skiiers, damaging the seasonal demand. I plan to go this season but I will not book until snow conditions improve.

If EI or FB team up with a willing tour operator plus considering changes to the immigration laws perhaps a weekly A319 could work next season 2014/15 ? (Assuming there is no ski charters from DUB)

Think it`s quite likely for Dublin to Sofia to be relaunched in next winter`s schedule by Aer Lingus or some other airline.

Jet2 operate charter for ski company to Bulgaria from BFS every Saturday during season.

EY double daily from 15 July, extra B777 and 3 A332 weekly.


There was annual ski flights to Bulgaria until this season when they stopped. I believe ski holidays are much stronger this season so it could be returned next year or year after.

EY & EK now both double daily, when you consider EI couldn't make DXB work back in the Celtic tiger it just goes to show the amount of transit pax they must get.

I appreciate a lot more people now living in AUS etc but who is suffering from these guys gain? BA via LHR? Is 4xdaily sustainable?

EI pulled out of Dubai because it could see significant demand for US flights. At the time they'd have us believe it wasn't anything to do with bad timings, bad service or poor onward connections.

Island of 6.5 million served by only 4 x daily flights. SQ and QR must kick themselves at a missed opportunity.

You're comparing apples with pears. Aer Lingus can get you to Dubai, just like Virgin do from Heathrow. Emirates however connect to many, many destinations going East from Dubai. DUB is a spoke on the Emirates hub and spoke network, EI was mainly point to point. The same applies to Etihad.
Singapore took a major hit at MAN when the ME3 went big time, that's at the extremity of the range of the B777-200ER, nowadays MAN routes MAN-MUC-SIN on a B777-300ER. I reckon that ship has sailed for DUB, the desert carriers are just too strong.

You know you could be right Skip. One day Europe will probably transit through the desert.

Windavia will begin a weekly service to Funchal, they will be replacing Sata who have reduced fleet. Flights run from 13 April to 12 October on Sundays.

Maybe might bring the price down a little as well for hols to fnc

Reported on another site that ET (Ethiopian Airlines) is looking at ADD-DUB-LAX from next January. Presumably 787s.

Would mark a return to LAX (presumably traffic rights would be awarded), but also first direct African route from DUB - and ADD is a very good hub for the continent.

ET
 

Mm hope it happens but not a chance USA will allow traffic rights IRL LAX
What's in it for them , USA I mean ?

What was the other site and please guys lets not make an Air India out of thus story please!!

It's on Travel Extra, you could say its more than a rumour considering the CEO announced the plans in Dublin and said discussions are going well at the minute.

Seems a strange one. Their 787s have the range to do direct flights to LAX, and the runway isn't long enough at DUB for their 777s to do it. Still fingers crossed, first 787 scheduled Dublin service maybe.

However do Ethiopian's 787's have the range to do it from ADD's 7,656ft elevation runway? Even if it is over 15,000ft long.

In the audio clip on the site, the CEO clearly says they plan to use 777s. Maybe he hasn't checked the runway length? :cool: