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#960201 by ColOrd
24 Mar 2021, 14:42
https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-inform ... anchester/

EI UK LTD's flights from Manchester have gone on sale.

BOS has been rescheduled to start in S22, with launch routes being JFK, MCO and recently added BGI.

I've had a quick look at a couple of dates to MCO and JFK and basically the EI Saver fares seem to undercut VS by quite a bit on average at least £100 in total down the back, including some much bigger savings over the summer. I am sure some of this is as VS has already had big sales on MCO over the summer and had generated some very strong bookings.

Looking as JFK towards the end of the current booking horizon, and historical low season of late Jan/early Feb and again VS down the back are being undercut in the region of £100, however are much cheaper in J, but then VS is opping 330s with 33 J seats as opposed to 16 on the EI 321LR.

Will be interesting to see what VS do from here, VS and TCX competed on all three routes quite nicely pre-covid, but will VS try and up the game both pricing and product wise. We know they are repositioning a 35K to Man to op the ISB, and it will be interesting to see what if anything they decide to do with this foray into some of their core routes at Manchester.

IAG clearly BGI as a winner going forward with them putting Club Suite on it, and now this expansion at Manchester, not what I expected and I think they have missed a trick personally by not capitalising on the JV partners in AA and putting an ORD in that mix too.
#960202 by mitchja
24 Mar 2021, 15:32
Competition is always a good thing. It should keep VS on their toes at MAN.

It still amazes me how BA have pretty much written MAN off over the last few years. I believe BA have also ditched LBA completely as well now?

VS will have the advantage of a proper lounge at MAN, well once the new Clubhouse opens anyway.

EI don't have their own lounge at MAN. I believe they used the Aspire lounge in T1 previously. I would guess they will be looking to op from T2 though for these new routes?

VS going back to using an A333 on the JFK & ATL routes should help as well. The leisure config 744 was never the right A/C for either JFK or ATL.

VS just need to move the MAN flight departure from the B gates to the A gates at JFK T4 though. Never understood why the LHR flights used the A gates (close to where the Clubhouse is) yet the MAN flight always used the B gates at the other side of the terminal which is a fair trek from the JFK Clubhouse?

Rumours are that JFK T2 will not re-open again making connections to and from DL much easier now as well at JFK with both VS and DL only op'ing out of T4.
#960210 by tontybear
24 Mar 2021, 21:26
T2 at JFK is being closed and will be demolished as part of the creation of the new super T1 that will extend to the vacant T3 site as much as T7 will be closed once BA move to T8 next year to allow a new terminal on the site of T6 and T7 (with a connection to T5) to be built.

And yes it is a fair trek from the CH to the DL B gates. I clocked it at a 1/3rd of a mile. Which was long enough to work off the alcohol in a couple of cosmos and a vesper!

As to what happens at MAN it may come down to the schedules that EI and VS/DL have for their flights to and from the US as much as price as to which one does best.

EI could have the advantage if there are irrops of being able to get passengers to DUB for a connection from there which VS won't easily be able to move people to LHR.
#960217 by FLYERZ
24 Mar 2021, 22:48
Interesting that the Barbados flights are being marketed as 'with great connections from Dublin, Cork and Belfast'. Makes sense given no Aer Lingus/Ireland originating flights to the Caribbean (and possible insufficient demand for direct Ireland - Caribbean routes) but rare that an airline markets connections involving backtracking.
Virgin Atlantic

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