Birmingham: Emirates News & Flight Discussions

[User001]

But my point about Qatar was, they start off with the excuse, but then run with it.

Manchester knows this too well. Qatar cut back from 14 to 10 weekly on a 'temporary basis' that was supposed to be one season. Took them 4 years to go back up to 14 weekly.

They cut back many destinations this summer due to aircraft shortages, but, the vast majority have their frequencies back to normal come October. BHX remains 7 weekly until March 26th.

With Emirates cutting back slightly, Qatar doing the same, it does wonder if there was just too much too quick and now both carriers have had to cut back to stabilise themselves.

Getting people on the plane is easy. Getting people on the plane and making a profit is much harder. Maybe this has been the issue at BHX.

As said, all this may just be a horrible mistake and the A380 gets re loaded in its own time, but as of now, it is not possible to book an A380 flight from BHX after 26th March.

 

[thunderchild]

Emirates.com now showing all 777.

I wonder if Paul Kehoe kept the receipt for that air bridge.

Nice while it lasted and I supposed it could have been worse, at least BHX has retained it's x3 daily frequencies.

Never an easy job is it being a BHX supporter?

 

[nwoody2001]

Indeed, loads don't indicate yields, we will never know how much money they have made, but what it does prove is a market, and a market out of BHX...

As I said before, the only reason the A380 was at BHX was because of QR. If QR hadn't arrived, BHX wouldn't have seen the A380 so soon.

We just have to hope now that the withdrawal that appears to be apparent is a temporary one through the quiet season. As this summer has proved, bhx will very easily be able to fill(and more) those 77Ws over summer!

 

[Brum X]

If the A380 withdrawal is confirmed, i think a question will also be asked about the facilities at BHX. I have heard "mutterings" over the last few weeks that airport has not coped, especially the baggage system which made 1 A380 flight over an hour late and had to leave without 100 bags due to the baggage system not being able to cope with the amount of luggage.

If this is the case then the owners of BHX will need to take action soon, becouse if they are serious about playing with the "big boys" the airport in its current form simply may not be good enough.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Filling an A380 throughout the peak summer period isn't good enough though, loads need to be consistent throughout the year. Obviously May and June are a poor indication but Emirates will know where forward bookings are at and they obviously aren't good enough.

Nice while it lasted and I supposed it could have been worse, at least BHX has retained it's x3 daily frequencies.

I know that many will be devastated and from a PR perspective it will be a huge embarrassment but for me maintaining the frequency is more important than one aircraft type. I can see Mr Kehoe facing a sh#t storm though as the fanfare around this has been huge. It also doesn't paint BHX in a great light on the world stage.

I agree with David that it's a case of too much too soon. Lets look at the timeline:

Dec 2014 - Air India go daily
Aug 2015 - EK41/42 starts on a three class 777
Jan 2016 - EK41/42 moves to a high density two class 777
March 2016 - Qatar start an 8x weekly 787 service
March 2016 - EK39/40 moves to a 615 seat A380
March 2016 - Turkmenistan start 777 ops
April 2016 - PIA add a 4th weekly 777
May 2016 - Turkish Airlines go double daily

For an airport like BHX that is a huge amount of capacity added in a relatively short space of time, especially when you factor in extra capacity at MAN and LHR which both overlap our catchment area.

I'm sure that this will be a temporary measure and in 12-18 months time it will be back. If nothing else it will give some breathing space for the morning service to bed in and relieve some pressure from Qatar.

 

[Brum X]

We probably will never know the exact reason why the A380 has been pulled (If it has of course) it could be any of these.

1: BHX simply cannot fill 2 x 777s and 1 A380 daily (Year round)

2: BHX facilities are not good enough

3: EK need to keep cargo capacity roughly where it is now and due to the size of the BHX market, makes sense to keep BHX all 777 and MAN all A380, something needs to give in my opinion.

All it could be all three of them.

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Well if pax plus freight is more profitable on the 777, it's a no brainer IMO.

 

[hay677]

If the A380 is going in March maybe thats the reason for the switch to the after dark service in January - to hide what would be a huge downgrade in publicity terms?

 

[hay677]

Another possibility is that the A380 will stay but Emirates don't know yet which flight it will operate, waiting to see how it does in the evening before deciding, and just leaving the default 777 aircraft on the timetable for now.

 

[Aviador]

From a spotter or enthusiasts perspective we want to see more of the biggies using the airport. Not to mention the status symbol it creates for the airport and the city.

We have to remember that a successful airline operation is more important that a status symbol. The route is still showing the same number of rotations. The airport is still capable of accepting the A380. If there have been any teething problems, the airport will have some time to iron them out in the meantime.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Just keep the faith

 

[Ashley]

Indeed. Computers do have glitches.

 

[richard winterbourn]

Some people need to go and sit in a darkened room to chill out. Some of the posts on here regarding EK leave me perplexed, even more so when they suggest that PK may be 'embarrassed' re the A380.

Surely the salient points are that BHX has moved from having no ME routes a few years ago to having four daily and that is discounting developments with AI and TK.

What is the embarrassment of having a two-tier pier for the A380 and perhaps EK not using it? It is a facility there for any airline at any time. Irrespective of EK i think it shows commendable foresight on behalf of BHX management to have facilities in place; ready, tried and tested when they will be needed - ahead of the curve. I have no doubt that this facility will be well used in the future.

I think sites like this are peopled by enthusiasts who think they know any and everything about airlines and airports. I would rather put my faith in the managements behind these airports, they are certainly not armchair critics, they are the ones that have to ensure their judgements meet the strict the requirements of their shareholders.

From 9million to 11million in such a short space of time looks like great success to me

 

[Aviador]

I think sites like this are peopled by enthusiasts who think they know any and everything about airlines and airports.

I think you would be surprised if you knew the sites true audience. Not necessarily on the BHX forum but on the wider Forums4airports community I am aware that we have Airport Director's, Air Traffic Controllers and Pilot's among other professional staff you would expect to find at airports. In any case, I think you would also be surprised at the knowledge base of many enthusiasts.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Switching to a 777 from a 380 would be a plus in my book as I much prefer the former. Nothing to do with Boeing v Airbus either.

 

[Ray Finkle]

If 'sites like this are peopled by enthusiasts who think they know any and everything about airlines and airports' then why bother visiting 'sites like this'?

Personally, I think we have what is probably the best aviation forum out there at the moment. As Aviador says, you'd be surprised who actually posts on here

 

[Brum X]

Forums4Airports is the best Aviation forum

 

[richard winterbourn]

I am well aware who is out there and many are professionals in their own right, including myself. But none of us carry the day-to-day responsibility of running an airport and with dealing with the curve balls that from time to time make converting a 12-month or long-term plan into a workable strategy. As i said i think there should less less criticism and more understanding..

And yes, Ray, i do think this is probably the best aviation forum out there. That is why i feel free to make the points that i do make.

 

[davecleaver777]

A great forum as always. Maybe we should remember that the a380 was announced when Qatar did to scare them off. I own a courier company in Warwick and more space on a 777 is great for me and my customers

 

[jfy1999]

I think CL44 may also have reason to be pleased if it is dropped....