While Joon branding/marketing still makes little sense to me, especially after flying them, pushing this route off to the low cost stepchild is logical: SXM is low yielding tourist route. On the good side, the refreshed 340s are an improvement over prior versions: C is a bit plasticky but certainly ...
Jump to postI agree that there are some macro gaps (India definitely, Brasil sort of, depending on one's core SkyTeam airline - DL people have Gol for example, though outside of Sky). There are also some micro-gaps or soft points in the system, particularly Scandinavia within Europe. It is possible to get nearl...
Jump to postSFO-MXP or FCO is a bit difficult (although I would quite like it!). AZ flew it for years, with little success, and as yet there are not star alliance connections that are too good.
Jump to postWould be interesting to see LF on this: was on AF 990 on tuesday (388), C seemed about 75%, W only 25% full, but the ground floor was packed to the sidewalls (not allowed to peak into F though). The cabin map appears similar for return in a week's time, also on 388.
Jump to postThis cannot happen soon enough - while there are more gates, it is always so crowded in T2/3, and the Sky Club is pretty abysmal. That said, I still believe the staff at LAX are well above average for Delta.
Jump to postWhile I agree with comments to the extent that AZ has a long history of poor management and economics performances, there may be something to investigate (if only to deflect blame from the persons at AZ...). The Etihad Partners group is quite reminiscent of the Qualifier Group of late 1990s to 2001 ...
Jump to postI agree that it's risky - and MVD is one of my favourite cities in the Americas. Echoing others: MAD seems to fill much of the need for European connections, after which Sao Paolo and perhaps Buenos Aires. If it's true, I do hope it works well and stimulates travel to Montevideo and Uruguay, which a...
Jump to postThere is a good deal of confusion about the law/regulation, so it helps to have some background. 1) It applies to all airlines who are registered in the EU, as well as to any portion of a ticket including an EU destination (so even AC YUL-CDG would come under the regulation). It does not apply outsi...
Jump to postNot sure if I see much more in way of SFO - Europe: certainly not Air Italy in the immediate future, though MXP 2-4x/week on Norwegian might work (assuming they last). Perhaps more reinforcement of the UA/LH (et al.) hold on the hub, though SN to BRU is a long shot to me: maybe EW to DUS in the summ...
Jump to postEchoing others here: Naples has a tremendous amount to offer and the new mayor has done a good job in improving touristic facilities, overall cleanliness and things. It's a wonderful city in so many ways, but North American and Northern European tourists tend to spend a few hours at most en route el...
Jump to postI don't really see the logic for anything other than an occasional FI or similar: as mentioned, ORD is down the road and well connected to the world in all directions, there is little by way of attraction to tourism, and the business case is weak, at best. A good comparison to give some allochthonou...
Jump to postIMHO this is one of the problems with flying via (rather than to/from) the states: in nearly all cases, you have to go through the same procedures as a person who will actually arrive in the country and stay there, something that is not common practice in the Schengen area at least. I have had SFO -...
Jump to postBeautiful livery - I do wish them all best luck, although it still appears to me a bit "optimistic" of a business case.
Jump to postThe SN code-share lasted until the emergence of SkyTeam, which preferred AF/KL over the Qualifier Group (SN, SR, OS at the time). SN flew a 743 into CVG 4-5x/week in the summer months, which was always an odd line, but you could get good deals through connections. Yep, CVG has had nonstop European f...
Jump to postI'm always happy to hear about PWM, mostly for personal reasons (I love the city and its quirky-in-a-good-way folks). I'm surprised that ORDPWM isn't more solid, as with MDWPDM. If anyone would make it work year round, it should be WN. Maybe the longstanding bias of travel from ME to FL simply trump...
Jump to postWhile there is a lot of interesting speculation about Meridiana/Air Italy, this is really just that at this point. They are entering a crowded marketplace, in which loyalties are shifting and major players (AF/KL, LH group, etc.) have a tremendous head start. While I do wish them the best, I don't s...
Jump to postElections are on 4 March, which will say a lot about the government and population's stomachs for reform. It has been a long, cumbersome process: I would say that the best bet is an EZY short haul buy out with some sort of consortium keeping the long haul under AZ and in Skyteam (my outsider's view ...
Jump to postJust a quick note to the moderators as a long-time-lurker, short-time poster: thank you for the work you've done on this. No set of rules will ever be perfect, but it is important to have them, particularly in online fora where different socio-cultural values tend to collide. It seems you get a good...
Jump to postTP did fly to Macau in the mid-1990s: I recall seeing that they had a code-share with SN in 1995 that was heavily advertised and was on TP equipment (A-340, I believe -200). This preceded the formal reversion of Macau sovereignty to China and was very much a legacy route. I don't recall how long the...
Jump to postt'en fais pas - that's the messiness of forums. at any rate, seems we might be losing Brussels Airlines to Eurowings, so perhaps?
PW100 wrote:Jump to postTATLTALE wrote:Yes - getting a sarcastic point across in english isn't always easy.
Right. I walked right into that one . . .
Thanks for clearing up though.
Though a disappointment for those of us rooting for Belgian aviation, this is hardly surprising.
Jump to postThanks for the report - I'll miss the Fokkers. It was odd last week to transit AMS and see the "fokker farm" zonder fokkertjes
Jump to postYes - getting a sarcastic point across in english isn't always easy. Interesting man who did much for Belgian aviation, even if not always with success. . . . There's even the hint of FvG's shadow in this (though it seems he's not part of the scheme ). ] The good man passed away December last year. ...
Jump to postThe whole Joon concept is odd to me, more so after having found myself on an AF = Joon flight two weeks ago. Why not simply expand Transavia (France &/o Netherlands) if they wish a true LCC and not dilute AFKL? Or expand the cooperation between Cittyhopper and Hop, which can be pretty abysmal at...
Jump to postAs much as I really would love to see this work - I rooted for VG/Delsey back in the day as well (took at least 4x flights) - I just don't see this working out, for the reasons that many have expressed. There's even the hint of FvG's shadow in this (though it seems he's not part of the scheme). That...
Jump to postAlthough inevitable, it is still sad to see Fokkers dwindling away from the skies in Europe, having been gone in N.Am. for quite a time. One of my favorite short hoppers were the F100/70, and I will have many happy memories of them: BD BRU-LHR; OS VIE-FCO; KL more than I can remember (MRS, BLQ, BRU,...
Jump to postAll politics aside, if they can make this work it would be terrific to have more options to Uruguay (Montevideo is one of my favorite cities, and certainly one of the best in S.America). I can't answer for the business/commercial end, since I only know it from tourism, but having more options for fo...
Jump to postAgreeing with BrusselsSouth on this one: there is too much saturation in the market nearby and not enough of an orientation for business traffic toward NAmerican destinations (the Luxembourgish financial sector is heavily drawn toward Europe, slightly less so toward its periphery). For the little J ...
Jump to postI fly through ATL fairly regularly and look forward to the updates - it can be pretty hairy during peak times, esp in the A and B piers. F is looking quite sharp though: DL Sky Club has made nice improvements and there is always plenty of space, even as things get rushed.
Jump to postFly through LAX often and can say that some things have improved: more gates and less waiting for them on landing, maybe a bit more waiting space. It's possible to connect from T2/T3 to TBInt'l but not the reverse; skyway is in the works. There are still quite a few more details to work on though: T...
Jump to postSlightly off-topic, but I wonder if they'd ever be deployed on ATL-JNB turns. I believe the 772LR is used now. It would be nice to try DL's new Premium Economy on this route, but perhaps they plan on updating those cabins in 2018-19?
[PS: my first post, hope I'm following all the protocols!]