Emirates A345's Going to India???

[A300Man-2005]

Heard last night (albeit bloke said down pub) that EK's A345's are going to Jet Airways India.

Anyone else heard this? Also, is it the ones currently in the fleet or the ones that are being put together in Toulouse??? Has 9W bought out the manufacturing slots???

Jet expanding in a big way, it seems.

[flybystring]

Its more than pub talk

This weeks flight international reports that all the current and future A345 and A346 will be traded with Boeing in a deal to purchase 777-200 LRs. Also it is reported that EK will order in excess of 100 A350's. It would appear the deal is similar in some ways to the singapore deal to get rid of the A343's that we currently have, but on a far larger and more complex basis.

On the basis that the A350 is not going to be in service until 2009 this could cause some interesting career problems fo current airbus FO's. If as predicted 50% of the A380 skippers come from the B777 and with the regimes current ban on transition upgrades, command could easily extend by another 4 years.

ie current Airbus FO's may have to wait 7 years for a command while they are leapfrogged by guys with less than half that time in the company but on another type.

The Gulf news today also reported the story so it looks like it is legit.

It may be about time for our new SVP Flight Operations to to some premptive man management before he sees his current FOs bail ship even faster

[heywood u bleume]

Perhaps a little inaccurate. The Flight International article states that the likely deal is for "up to 50 A350s", and an unspecifired number of B777-200LRs. Also the trade-in deal was for A340-500s and the older B777-200s, (no mention of the A340-600s which are, after all, for a different job than the A345s). The Gulf News article says Emirates and Qatar may order up to 120 aircraft between them. I don't know where this rumour about half the A380 Captains coming from the 777 comes from. Probably the same place the rumour that a B777-300ER can carry a full load to JFK and do it burning 30 tonnes less fuel than a A345. (i.e. the planet Zog). There is a considerable money and time saving to be had CCQ'ing from the 340 and that is, as I understand it, the current plan. It may all change I'm sure, and certainly the chosen brethren with enough wusta are bound to move across to join the side-stick master race.

HUB:hmm:

[A300Man-2005]

So where does 9W come into the picture then, if at all??

[desert_knight]

From ATWOnline

Jet Airways of India is in final talks concerning an order for up to 15 long-haul aircraft to replace and supplement three A340s leased from South African Airways and four new A330s that will be leased from ILFC beginning next April. Jet is evaluating aircraft such as the A340-600 and 777-300ER and availability of delivery positions in 2007 is a key criterion, CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told ATWOnline in Tokyo at the IATA AGM. "Our priority is to expand our long-haul operation," he said. Jet will increase its daily London flight to thrice-daily as soon as possible; "We just bought two more slots at London Heathrow, one from United," Prock-Schauer revealed. The airline also plans to add cities such as Manchester or Birmingham and swap widebodies for the 737s currently being operated on some Asia routes, such as to Singapore. Prock-Schauer prefers to open new routes to China instead of Japan, along with routes to Africa such as Durban and Nairobi. Services to France and Germany are desired as well. But the next step, he said, is to launch nonstop flights to New York as soon as possible. "We start with six weekly flights via Brussels to New York on June 23. We have not decided if we will go to JFK or Newark," but Jet will codeshare on the flights with Continental Airlines, which has a hub at Newark. He would not confirm reports that Jet will lease two A340-500s from Emirates, but sources close to both carriers confirmed to this website that Jet is in talks about the deal and aircraft should be available for the coming winter.

[flybystring]

Sorry yes on re reading it it does not mention the A346, but if they can the A345 can you seriously see them taking the A346, I doubt it epecially as 50% are options.

THe 100+ A350 was reported in the Gulf News, the bastion of actual and factual journalism in the UAE.

[heywood u bleume]

Flybystring, sorry to yank your chain but I have the article, (Gulf News, June 1 business section) in front of me. "Emirates and Qatar Airways to place orders for up to 120 aircraft". The article explains Emirates will order a combination of A350s and Boeing 777-200LRs without specifying a number; Qatar airways will take 50 to 60 B787s. (By my calculations that leaves a maximum of 70 Emirates orders, probably less). This ties in with the Flight article pretty accurately in my view. Also there is every reason for Emirates to take the A346, (I think 10 firm orders and 8 options). The A345 was taken because it was the only ulta-long haul aircraft available at the time, as the 777-200LR would not be available until much later. The routes envisaged for it have not materialised and it has been employed on routes for which it was never designed or purchased. The A340-600s that are on order are the high gross weight version which will not be available until 2007. This means that on a summers day in Dubai they'll take a full load for 14 hours, whilst the B777-300ER will do about 11 hours. The B777-200LR, which will shortly be available, has greater range than the A345 so it makes sense that if Emirates wishes to be in the ultra-long haul game they need the longest range equipment, so a swap is sensible. The A346 HGW and the B777-300ER are not competing at EK, they are complimentary. The main rival to the A346 has to be seen as the A380. If the 11 to 16 hour sector lengths are on destinations where 380s can be gainfully employed, then the A346 becomes redundant.

HUB:8