A330-200 to MUC in October?

[PHL]

Looks like the A330-200 is on the schedule for PHL-MUC starting in October. If 5 aircraft are slated for delivery by end of 2009, what other routes might we see besides TLV? Will ATH get upgraded to a 332?

Does anyone have more details about the Envoy seating (is it real lie-flat or angled), and IFE throughout the aircraft?

 

[BoeingBoy]

Will ATH get upgraded to a 332?

Range-wise, it'd make sense to put a 332 on that route and eliminate the weight restrictions that the 76 has. I have no idea if it'd make sense traffic wise - could they fill enough of the extra seats to justify putting the bigger plane on that route.

Jim

 

[nycbusdriver]

Looks like the A330-200 is on the schedule for PHL-MUC starting in October.

Yeah! Just AFTER the nick of time!

Oktoberfest celebration in Munich starts September 19 and ends on October 4.

 

[Hey.. Chill Out]

Sehr gut! Ich mag den Airbus 330

Es ist RIESIG!

 

[zethya]

MUC is possibly where 1 of the 2 767s is coming from if they get a "new entry" October award for CLT-GIG (Rio). The other may be coming from ATH, which ends seasonally in September and could be replaced with a 332 for 2010. They probably don't want to further tarnish their reputaion of not having a capable aircraft for a proposed long haul route start date (i.e., PHL-PEK), so they are actually doing some advanced planning.

 

[Whatnow?]

Yeah! Just AFTER the nick of time!

Oktoberfest celebration in Munich starts September 19 and ends on October 4.

For the month of September the A330-300 has always been placed on Munich.

 

[snnus]

I see in the crew news that International is the weakest performer recently and talk of
closing one or 2 routes.. Anyone know what might be under threat?

 

[nycbusdriver]

I see in the crew news that International is the weakest performer recently and talk of
closing one or 2 routes.. Anyone know what might be under threat?

China? Close it before it opens? It wouldn't surprise me one bit.

 

[zethya]

Well if they closed LHR, they could possibly sell the slots for several M$. However the mad rush by CO, DL and US into LHR after Open Skies was activated caused slot prices to be inflated. Now that reality has set in and IMO none of the 3 is doing nearly as well as expected, the slot prices have likely fallen. They could of course, move PHL-LHR to CLT-LHR, where there is no competition on the route and rely more on connections to support yields. PHL-LHR is (again IMO) mostly a status symbol route for US, which in these economic times may be too costly to maintain. International Seasonal routes tend to be problematic in slow economic times because of the requirement that they need to perform in a very short 4-6 month time frame. I'm not certain how well ATH is now doing, but my bet is that it relies on significant cargo to achieve acceptable yields at that distance, even with the frequently weight restricted 767 - and Seasonal only cargo/business travel contracts can't be that easy to acquire. I do remember some discussion awhile ago however, that ATH was planned to go year round with a 332. Summary - I would speculate that any Europe route deletions would be either from the seasonal group (ARN, etc.), or possibly BRU or AMS. Of course, one has to ask why, if US is so concerned about reducing international capacity, they would ever tackle CLT-GIG - particularly when they are commited to start PHL-PEK 6 months later. CLT-GIG (if awarded) may prove to be a very costly investment at this time for the sole purpose of creating a US identity into deep South America.

 

[Travelpro72]

Does anyone know the actual delivery schedule for the a330-200's for 2009? From what I hear the first a/c US receives will have drama. The cabin is being screwed with and it's not even in service yet. Shocked?

 

[NoMoreKoolAid]

How can you screw something up still on the factory floor? Dare we ask?

 

[USstew23]

How can you screw something up still on the factory floor? Dare we ask?

Oh god please don't ask!! Put absolutely nothing beyond these people!!

 

[beachboy]

You are better off not asking. All I know is the "envoy" cabin is tore up from the floor up" Something to do with the seats and bulkheads and walls won't be ready in time so they are trying improvise, then fix it 2 months later. And then when AFA wins the crew rest greivance (which CO has been down this road) so duuuh.....they will go from 20 business class seats to 15. Boy that crew rest pod down below looks cheap now huh?

 

[Travelpro72]

Once the first and second 332 are delivered won't it be too late for the company to add the cargo crew rest pod? You have to have access from the cabin above by the lavs. The a/c needs to have it and hopefully AFA will win this fight. It's the right thing to do. The plane has been in the process of being built for a while now not to mention everything agreed upon beforehand with airbus. Why am I not surprised.

 

[AlleghenyVista]

I really dont think you will see LHR gone. The 767 is the perfect plane for that route. However, I do think you will see ARN,BRU and maybe, and this is a big maybe, the PHL-LGW route axed.