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Emirates to fly DXB-AKL direct in world's longest journey

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  • Emirates to fly DXB-AKL direct in world's longest journey

    The non-stop flight to Dubai will take 17 hours, 15 minutes.
    • Passengers already booked on services to Dubai through Australia can swap to non-stop free of charge.
    • The Boeing 777-200LR will have eight First Class suites, 42 lie-flat Business Class seats and 216 Economy Class seats.
    AirDisaster.com Forum Member 2004-2008

    Originally posted by orangehuggy
    the most dangerous part of a flight is not the take off or landing anymore, its when a flight crew member goes to the toilet

  • #2
    216 Economy Class seats

    Good luck with that in +17hrs flight...

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by TomEPKK View Post
      216 Economy Class seats

      Good luck with that in +17hrs flight...
      I'm with you on that one.

      My first thought was, 'WHY?'. EK is clearly a vastly competent airline, and I am certain that their economics on the route must be there - but, from the perspective of a consumer; is it really worth it?

      Consider for a moment; the majority of passenger on the AKL-DXB will be connecting onto other locations, thus (to the majority of passengers on the flight), a competitor will be available to their final destination, (and/or even to DXB).

      Take the case of someone willing to travel AKL-Great Britain (the vast majority of connecting passengers that will be on this flight); their options (via competitors) to this routing will also, likely all include one stops via respectable hubs;

      - Air China (via PEK)
      - Air New Zealand (via LAX)
      - American Airlines (via LAX)
      - Cathay Pacific (via HKG)
      - China Eastern (PVG)
      - China Southern (CAN)
      - Korean (via ICN)
      - Malaysia Airlines (via KUL)
      - Phillipine Airlines (via MNL)
      - Singapore Airlines (via SIN)
      - Thai (via BKK)
      - United (via SFO)

      In sum, 12 options if you wish to book the passenger on solely one carrier for their entire trip. The combinations are endless if allowed to mix the itinerary.

      The point being, there is a healthy amount of competition on the route, thus EK must be leveraging the idea on being able to command a premium for the speed/ease of the journey. However, that competitive advantage is healthily eaten away by certain advantages that others can offer, if simply taking the listed parties above. Case in point;

      If you are business, premium and/or frequent traveler (i.e. a higher yielding passenger - a crucial component to route success) - NZ's local impact and capabilities are deafening. Local integration of FF programs to banking ensures that many local businesses have preferred access to NZ's FF program, and thus also Star Alliance's network and offerings. Easily, Star Alliance presents the most impressive portfolio, as AKL is a hub - and as FF programs effectively control consumer behaviors (i.e. you can only use your FF points with NZ, and/or *A);

      - CA (with impressive offering at PEK, no visa transit, and a decent soft product).
      - SQ (via SIN!, no visa transit, and an industry-leading soft/hard product).
      - TG (via BKK, no visa transit, and a competitive soft/hard product).
      - NZ (via LAX, lesser desirability as it requires a US visa for transit, but a new and great soft/hard product).
      - UA (via SFO, lest desirable as it requires a US visa for transit).

      In this matter, the price becomes even more important of an issue, in that a price premium (that the carrier like EK needs to make this route work) is doubly damning in that the lower costs of the ticket, with a Star Alliance member, also offers the bonus of FF points and affiliated benefits.

      There are markets that the ME3 simply do not hold a geographic advantage over, and that particularly applies to the South Pacific. ULH's essential weakness is competition from one-stop carriers that will undercut on the pricing, and in a highly developed and competitive market, it is almost impossible.

      Consider also the competitors that are noticeably absent from AKL; British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, Asiana (which has a partner in NZ, and Korean which does not is operating the route), Qatar, Ethiad, or even NZ with an Asian connection point (such as *A hubs; BKK, SIN, ICN - all of which would have the benefit of not needing a visa to transit to LHR, and offer greater connectivity to LHR on a *A partner in the case of irregular ops). Despite it being a lucrative market (in theory), and with even with BKK advantageously allowing 5th freedom flights, no carrier jumped on the route either. The prevailing logic from industry leaders counters EK's summation of the market.

      Now, all this supposes that the route must stand as a profitable enterprise. As many have suspected, profitability may well be a secondary concern here.
      Whatever is necessary, is never unwise.

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