the bubble will bust soon enough gents...and then they wont be buying billions worth of Airbii or Boeings on govt gauranteed loans....

EK dropped out of HAM-JFK because the demand was for DXB-JFK. HAM became a meaningless tech stop for 300 transit pax and 50 joiners. Difficult to grow a market when the flight is already full so it became a non-stop service.

Will the same happen to MXP?

Lee Moak is an idiot who is driving ALPA to the point of revolt. Most of the regionals are ready to decertify ALPA because of his lack of leadership and the same is true for half of the new united. All Lee cares about is keeping his cushy ALPA president job and believe me it's very cushy. The US airlines should be scared, their product has devolved into nothing more than flying chicken buses to Tijuana. The airplanes are old, the service sucks and there is very little to separate one carrier from the next. If congress ever reopens and decides to implement free skies allowing foreign carriers to operate within the borders then all of Lee's nightmares will certainly come true.

Incorrect. The HAM - JFK was the third JFK flight from DXB; the original 201/203 services were ALREADY running. The 205 did not grow into a direct service but rather was withdrawn as a means (according to HAM station staff at the time) of pacifying LH and the German government as EK tried to open Berlin and/or Stuttgart...

When I operated that particular flight there was a lot of HAM - JFK traffic and vice versa!

I may have time for ALPA and their incessant whinging once they understand what a level playing field is, and stop pretending US carrier does not benefit tremendously from the very practice he is arguing against.

In other words, when every single US carrier has closed every single non-US base and withdrawn from any and all routes similar to the one ALPA are complaining about, then he will have a case. Until then he is nothing but a xenophobic politician, distorting facts and omitting details to further his case and career.

As for the 'US airlines are best' comment, that really does say it all - talk about living in a bubble of delusions!

Having flown 4 sectors in a United B747 with no PTVs or sockets for laptops in 2013(FFS),these airlines need to shape up to the real world and offer what the flying public want.The service level on the DL B747 fleet was until recently awful from Japan to the US.This is the result of airlines being shielded from competition.

Is not the rights that DL and UA have to fly pax between BKK and HND/NRT an invasion of someone else's market?.The same to Singapore from Tokyo,I believe as well.There seems to be a double standard here.

If EK/EY or QR ever start from Bangkok to Japan-and maybe on to the US west coast,DL and UA will be fighting a losing battle for pax.

So much for the land of unfettered free enterprise.

Didn't TC say in an interview recently, that the last piece in the EK jigsaw (I'm paraphrasing) was services from Asia to the USA?

SOPS,

Bring it on!.

I would imagine a ready market out of Japan(for one) if they get the rights.

Yes, TC did say that. Emirates has wanted to connect the pacific for a long time. With the Qantas deal, it is that much easier.

Wait until you see Qantas flights operated by Emirates to Hawaii, SYD-LAX, etc.

Ignore the poor fellow and let's get back to the subject. Malpensa to NYC is just the beginning..

I remember when PanAm B272 flew around Europe claiming WW2 grandfather rights

Wasn't Hamburg- New York the beginning? That didn't do that well and it's long gone. Maybe the worried posters can sleep-easy.

Although there's already an A380 earmarked for the new route.

I bet our good friend of 20+ years at DL has thought on more than one occasion of one of the ME airlines at some point!

What about SQ offering JFK-FRA or IAH-DME? Or Kuwait Airways offering LHR-JFK? Last time I checked the paying public had free choice to "pay" for the best product that's being offered?

Anyone fancy an 8 hour flight down the back of DL's rot box 767 with Nancy who's got a face like a spaniel? Or we could pay less and get a better service?

Up to you public!

A friendly wager!
 

I bet one of his family members have ridden on us somewhere in the world and went back and told him.."man you should have seen the service, we got blankets, pillows, newspapers and even magazines. Hey wait a second, didn't the US carriers use to do all this too? They had cabin crew less than 30 years old and the oldest couldn't have been over 40. They were polite dressed nice and even smiled and ask me if I needed anything. The pilot still dressed as professional, too. The aircraft were clean (most are leased by the way) everything worked and they had more than 6 movies to choose from..wow it was just like the good old days." Oh yeah, this was on a DXB-DOH less than an hour flight.!!! The only reason any US carrier is showing a profit now is because of the crazy extra fees they are charging, that they don't get taxed on. Aviation will never be the same in the US, and that is why customers are filling up all of EK's airplanes. It is hard for me to understand why and how a CEO can run these companies in the ground and it is sad to see.....best of luck to everyone.

At least EK flies there with a Boeing...could be more insulting with Airbus...hey Captain how many jobs created just because EK buying hundreds of Boeings?
And what should Iraqis + others say about the way your country spreads its wings wherever it wants,without looking for fair competition??? Come on Capt go change your spectacles and wear high visibility jacket when you walk around your plane...

Come on guys , go and get an education and see where these aeroplanes come from ! Airbus is assembled in France , Boeing is assembled in USA. Neither are built in those countries. EK 's A380's with US built engines probably has nearly as much US content $ dollar wise as a lot of the Boeings. When you look at where the various parts are built its quite interesting !

Cultural references aside, you can see Stexup's point about defending the same people who gave the shaft without hesitation at profit share time and so many other shafts. Doesn't make sense to me either.

Judging from that excerpt quoted above, I think Lee Moak is a particularly well-spoken pilot who has ennunciated his point with great effect. IMHO most pilots are nowhere near as concise, effective or cerebral.

I suspect that Lee knows full-well much of what he says is not reasonable however this is politics and convincing the less deep thinking masses is part of his job. It's SOP in a role like his.

Stexup
 

Your abusive language and behavior are a disgrace for our profession specially in a public forum. Thank God you were banned. You should not be anywhere close to an airplane.
Mfan

Seems that the abusive language was coming from both directions, with some pretty inflammatory things being said about the French - I would assume the same standard would be applied to those comments, with those posters also banned?!

Disagree with Stexup's style if you wish, but he is not incorrect about the slave mentality in ME carriers. And when you have slave labour, you will always have a massive competitive advantage over those who do not enjoy the ability to abuse their workers at a whim.

That's the true EK "edge". The US carriers just need to hurry up and get rid of any sort of labour protection whatsoever, so they can begin to compete again. I'm sure they could improve their product if they could just recruit the same desperate workforce that the Arab gulf exploits.

Slave mentality? Maybe and certainly true amongst certain professions, including one or two close to home here in EK.

However, for pilots that statement holds no water. T&C 's are well above industry average and my monthly pay packet substantiates that. How much longer am I prepared to do 90 hours a month with poor roster design is a moot point.

However, as for the French making crap cars, that's not racist or insulting....that's just stating facts! :E

Harry

I'm flying there in a few days. And as a former NWA/Delta pilot, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not in fear of a furlough, the airplanes are fixed, the cabin crew are much better than the cabin crew at NWA whose attitude was "we aren't happy til you aren't happy". Screw ALPA. They have screwed more of the regional carriers and jobs in the US than Emirates. It would be very interesting to see how many jobs Emirates has created in the U.S. with all the Boeing orders, all the stations that are now opening, versus those lost because we are flying Milan New York. Yet Delta has no issue doing the same to Japanese airlines. Flying all over Asia from their base in Japan. What about Delta flying to India from Amsterdam? He didn't mention that. How about FedEx in HongKong or Germany (Frankfurt I think).

How about you stop spreading lies about protectionism, when you are out doing the same thing in other countries. How about you get your **** together enough to offer a quality product, quite having your cabin crew bitching all the time, quite having your pilots being pissed off assholes (which is a union problem right?) and start offering quality products. It's embarrassing to ride on Delta at the moment. And I'm a former NWA guy.