New destinations?

[whodunnit2]

Anyone with any ideas what the 2 new destinations are that NR's says will be announced on Monday?

Abu Dhabi has had a whole bunch of cockpit gossip time. Any other hot ideas?

I know I could just wait until Monday .... so don't go there:}

[SweepTheLeg]

Chi-town. It's a done deal.

[treboryelk]

chi-town is worth a bet.....

others recently muted have been spanish destination (cant recall whether madrid or barcelona) and south american destination via cape town (rio or buenos aires),

[crewsunite]

Chicago is one for sure.

[Toe Knee Tiler]

Karaganda maybe?

[gofor]

I See SIA is doing Cape Town direct nowadays in a 777-200ER. Let us know on monday - TKS

[Cpt. Underpants]

SIN-CPT for SQ is seasonal, two months a year. If we increase African services, it's more likely to be Nairobi. We are fed a surprising amount of traffic from central Africa.

My money's on ORD and MAD, but who gives a rats behind anyway?

[third floor whore]

Yep.. who gives a rat's a55.
Just another couple of airports to navigate at 3am.

[The Wraith]

I doubt it would be anywhere in Africa. Despite the huge numbers of Chinese now in Africa in places such as Congo, Angola, Zambia etc, the SuperStars at CX would still rather simply add another LA or SFO rotation because that is about the limit of their powers of imagination and innovation. Why take a chance trying something new when you can sit in your office churning out the same old "safe bet" and maintain the simple life. I'm sure all the "Big Guns" in the World, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Carlos Slim etc all follow the same approach.....NOT.
Cathay makes money in spite of itself, so why bother tapping into the HUGE African market? We will leave that to those less capable airlines than CX, BA, LH, AF etc.....
Kenya Airways has 6 flights a week from Zambia to Hong Kong, and Ethiopian a similar number. Both are convoluted routes via Nairobi and Addis Ababa and Bangkok.....CX could pick up all that work with direct flights, but that would be showing a forward thinking and innovative mindset that CX, for all it's bluster, simply doesn't have. CX is just too cowardly to venture into Africa.
:ugh:

[Private Pile]

It's difficult to knock the company's business strategy when they are, financially anyway, performing head and shoulders above the rest. As well as potentially losing a lot of money starting up a new route that fails to make money, they would then lose face when having to pull out. Sadly for our lifestyles, it's all about the shareholders and not about new, sunny layovers. Look on the bright side... if they increase the LA's and SFO's they could reduce the stopover even further!!! :}

[The Wraith]

All of our present routes were new once as well. Using that logic from day one we wouldn't be flying anywhere.
Africa is a huge market both in terms of passenger traffic AND freight, and anyone who doesn't realize this must have been asleep for the last 10 years, or sitting in a Cathay City Route Planning office.
I fully accept that Cathay will miss the boat, however, because that is simply what Cathay does second best. First is treating the frontline staff with utter contempt.:ugh:

[Sqwak7700]

Stop spreading mis-information Pile. This place makes money DESPITE the mismanagement we have. Just look at all the bad decisions and missed opportunities.

Just a few examples: Fuel hedges, aircraft seating, silver bullets, a340-600s, BCFs, parking aircraft for less than 5 years, SLS, and so on. Imagine if none of these blunders had happened?

So stop giving credit were it is not due. :=

[AQIS Boigu]

With the mainland's mission to recolonise Africa it would certainly make sense to fly to Lagos or Nairobi from HKG...a few Chinese carriers as well as Kenya Airways are already doing so... Nigeria, Angola, Ghana and other lovely places are full of natural resources...

[buzz box]

Chicago on the 777 and Abu Dhabi on the bus...

[buggaluggs]

... and Kolkata on the freighter!!.... :}

[Rook]

I'm seriously hoping we dont do any more africa. No thanks.

[geh065]

Chicago and Abu Dhabi and a 4th JFK. To be announced tomorrow along with the new cabin.

[Nullaman]

and pray what will we use for aeroplanes + crews?

[Waterskier]

Cathay to launch Chicago and Abu Dhabi routes - Business Traveller (http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/cathay-to-launch-chicago-and-abu-dhabi-routes)

Seems to confirm what was said above (Chicago Sept 1st and Abu Dhabi June 2nd).

[moosp]

Chicago about a year too late. The market is already there, one carrier on the route and American standard service to boot. We would have cleaned up, but upset AA, our embedded LCC.

CX has always been conservative to the point of timidity on new routes. A company doctrine inherent in Swire, but frustrating to those of us who see obvious safe markets.

Abu Dhabi will be Amahs and ar**oles, polite and smiling workers going to or returning from virtual slavery and impossibly arrogant business classers of all races up the front.

And yet it is not such a bad place to spend a couple of nights...

[the reo]

NR hasn't been around for a couple of months! http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/evil.gifNR hasn't been around as DFO but he did sign off last weeks company news

[LongTimeInCX]

Hopefully the recent NR missive is nothing more than a guest appearance.

Who said Abu Dhabi was a new destination?
My log book from many years ago shows multiple trips there in a Cathay cucumber sandwich jet, although I think the only live creatures we carried back then were race horses!
IIRC, we stayed at the Jebel Ali which was a great place to stay.
It will also be interesting to see what progress has been made to lift Abu Dhabi out of the sand coloured stone-age it seemed to be in back then.

[Five Green]

If we go to ORD I cannot wait to see how CX will tell Chicago ATC how to run their world !

Peace Out

[treboryelk]

we already are going to chicago......the few times i have been in an out, unsurprisingly ATC and Cx seemed to work quite well together!

[cxorcist]

Controlling traffic at ORD is more mellow because there is more airspace and many runway options compared to JFK.

[sanook]

I can see a new commercial " Abu Dhabi Do"........