Tunisair

[User001]

cant seem to find the old thread, but, Tunisair are back for a temporary basis this summer.

They will operate 2 weekly Tunis flights on Wed/Sun with A320. Flight numbers are TU8950/8951 from 3rd July-28th August. Evening flights.

Not sure on the reason for the flights.

 

[rutamkrd]

With Foreign office travel warnings unchanged these are almost certainly hajj flights

 

[EGCC_MAN]

Unlikely ... peak week for 2016 Hajj season is 9th-14th September. These flights instead tally exactly with school holidays in England and Wales. A more likely explanation is that when all the independent tour operators shun a tourism-dependent country simultaneously, the government of that country will sponsor flights by the state airline as a last resort. Even if the flights are loss-making and not filled, the politicians are still seen to be 'doing something' to support those dependent on their tourist industry. We saw a previous example of this many years ago when the Cypriot government supported frequent Cyprus Airways flights to the UK during a period when war in nearby Lebanon was scaring away the established operators.

 

[User001]

Where did this little beauty pop up from!

 

[David_itl]

Good grief!

 

[User001]

With Tunisia apparently back on the cards and the fact they seemed to do well on the route before Egyptair came to MAN, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tunis back either.

 

[David_itl]

Literally astonished. Practically no lead time.

 

[User001]

And the flights don't seem to be bookable on any platform I'm viewing, so, cuts the actual lead in time further.

 

[Comet]

The tweet was from @Tunisairlondon. I can't find anything about it on their website. Could it be a charter for a holiday company? That said I thought travel to Tunis was still not advise.

 

[User001]

It says flights available to book after midnight.

Also it's likely to be aimed at the local North African populations rather than purely tourists. There is quite a large dispora around the north west.

 

[EGCC_MAN]

Strange to choose Monastir rather than Tunis if aimed at the ethnic market though. Tunis is the place for connections. Monastir predominantly serves resort areas.

 

[Jerry]

Strange to choose Monastir rather than Tunis if aimed at the ethnic market though. Tunis is the place for connections. Monastir predominantly serves resort areas.

Sounds like they want to restart their tourism industry. Would be interesting to see if their were other flights around europe.

 

[ethanegcc]

Wow! A330 also! I know User001 likes niche routes and airlines so... Superb. Hope it is scheduled rather than just a one off.

 

[rutamkrd]

Sounds like they want to restart their tourism industry. Would be interesting to see if their were other flights around europe.

The restrictions on travel and tourism to Tunis is purely a UK FCO recommendation.

Other countries haven't followed suit and plenty of Italians French and Russians have continued to travel and vacation in Tunisia.

 

[ethanegcc]

We should get an idea on the timings and frequencies later tonight.

Could they mean midnight Tunisia local time (2300 GMT) or midnight London local time?

Out of interest, would anyone be able to tell me where the largest African diaspora communities in the Manchester area originate? Obviously Tunisia is one.

 

[rutamkrd]

We should get an idea on the timings and frequencies later tonight.

Could they mean midnight Tunisia local time (2300 GMT) or midnight London local time?

Out of interest, would anyone be able to tell me where the largest African diaspora communities in the Manchester area originate? Obviously Tunisia is one.

Libya !

 

[User001]

And Monastir is probably the closest bet for Tunisair passengers to drive down to Libya, apparently this is what they were doing last time around!

 

[ethanegcc]

Any others such as Ghana maybe? Perhaps I am totally off with my thinking here.

 

[rutamkrd]

And Monastir is probably the closest bet for Tunisair passengers to drive down to Libya, apparently this is what they were doing last time around!

Correct there are some major Libyan activist organisations based in and around Manchester for some reason . Many from Bani Waled and Misrata in particular.

Ethanegcc I took the comment about diaspora to mean North African (Magreb) in this particular context.


Probably the largest African communities are actually South African/Zimbabwian with Nigerian and Ghanans following

 

[ethanegcc]

Oh yes, sorry. I understand that may have confused within the context of the discussion. Has anyone ever tried a MAN-ACC, LOS flight to cater to the Nigerian/Ghanaian sizeable diaspora then?

Obviously I am not suggesting that ArikAir should launch MAN-LOS flights but has anyone ever 'tested' the market so to speak?