Emirates to start route to BRU in 2014?

[FlightMate]

According to "la libre", Ryanair won't be the only starting flights from BRU next year. EK has requested slots for flights from/to Dubai as from August.
But will they use these slots? No official annoucement yet. Although it does not surprise me, as EK is already flying to many "small" european airports.

[cnc]

i hope EK will not enter BRU in the next few years as this could be very bad for possible future asian routes

[b720]

Asian airlines will not enter the market at BRU, it is too late for them anyway.. with TK, EY, AY, QR, LH, LX etc.. offering excellent connections to almost every single point in Asia, with excellent service too, and competitive prices.. I don't think that many PAX are willing to pay a premium to fly direct. I think that EK's starting BRU will expose BRU and Belgium to many more international travelers than any Asian airline will.

[KriVa]

From a reliable source: Chances are VERY, VERY high EK will indeed use the slots.

[papysn]

Verrrryyyy bad for SN.....

[RoMax]

Verrrryyyy bad for SN.....

Indeed, their Asian routes will really suffer!! Oh wait...

Except for a limited influence on the North America - ... - East Africa market and Europe - East Africa (mainly Eastern Europe), SN has other things to worry about (Turkish which is more conveniently located with a more 'dangerous' AFI offer, Vueling and Ryanair on some EU routes, staff that has no thrust in the management anymore, ... ).

[lumumba]

This is a very important link for the Diamond industry so they are VERY welcome .
We lose a lot of time to go to Dubaï from Antwerp the fastest route is via Amsterdam.
Anyway this will give us a direct link with one of the other big Diamond city.

[RoMax]

This is a very important link for the Diamond industry so they are VERY welcome .
We lose a lot of time to go to Dubaï from Antwerp the fastest route is via Amsterdam.
Anyway this will give us a direct link with one of the other big Diamond city.

Indeed a major missing link in the diamond industry as well.

[Flanker2]

EK are very welcome.
As we said in previous discussion, there is no surprise here. It's not a matter of if, but when...

I use SU for travel to Asia. I doubt EK can beat them on fares out of BRU, as they can't beat them out of AMS or other hubs.

For SN it's not too bad. The problem is for the European majors who will lose market share at yet another of their intercontinental feeding gateways. Asian airlines didn't come to BRU when EK wasn't here, maybe this will make them change their mind. I don't think that this will affect them.

What kind of planes are they coming with? A332 or B77W? It would be nice if Tim Clark could send us a A388.

For BRU it's good if EK comes with an afternoon slot.

[woutertheboy]

EK are very welcome.
As we said in previous discussion, there is no surprise here. It's not a matter of if, but when...

I use SU for travel to Asia. I doubt EK can beat them on fares out of BRU, as they can't beat them out of AMS or other hubs.

For SN it's not too bad. The problem is for the European majors who will lose market share at yet another of their intercontinental feeding gateways. Asian airlines didn't come to BRU when EK wasn't here, maybe this will make them change their mind. I don't think that this will affect them.

What kind of planes are they coming with? A332 or B77W? It would be nice if Tim Clark could send us a A388.

For BRU it's good if EK comes with an afternoon slot.

The mighty 77W, I guess they think that they can get some nice loadfactors in BRU if EK already starts using their 2nd biggest aircraft

[RoMax]

The mighty 77W, I guess they think that they can get some nice loadfactors in BRU if EK already starts using their 2nd biggest aircraft

With a fleet of almost 200 aircraft of which 102 777-300(ER)'s (90 77W's) and 41 A380's at this moment, it's not that unusual to start with the 77W right away if they see the market is there. It's not that they have that much smaller aircraft, which they don't need for other routes (and they are not getting any new A330's, A340's or smaller 777's).

On a side note, since Wednesday AMS gets two daily flights from Emirates, a second daily 777-200LR rotation in addition to the daily A380 flight. AMS was launched in May 2010 operated by 777 aircraft (-200LR and -300ER combination, though I don't remember the exact amount of flights of each version and I believe it eventually became -300ER only, though not sure about that), upgraded to A380 in summer 2012 and now slightly over a year later up to two daily.

[Flanker2]

Yep, their A332's are very busy and have not always been used to start new European routes.
The B77L isn't ideal for such short routes, but EK does use them in a mix of short and ultra-longhaul routes to maximise utilisation. They also have A340's, but I doubt that they would be used for BRU.
My gut feeling would be for a daily B77W.

When even AMS gets a daily A388 only a few years after starting the route, it gives hope that someday, maybe BRU might see one of those.

[RoMax]

My gut feeling would be for a daily B77W.

In the summer 2014 BRU topic, this was mentionned at the end of November (so before it was said in the media that they received the slots)

Emirates has requested slots for DXB - BRU starting 01/08/2014
Daily 77W
STA: 1205 STD: 1450
EK183/184

[Flanker2]

That makes sense. They've got plenty of B77W's heading their way and Belgium is quite a big market for what EK's got to offer. The slot in the early afternoon makes sense too.

The only thing that makes me wonder is... what took them so long?

[lumumba]

My too why after all those years?????

[RoMax]

With their CDG, LHR, AMS and DUS offer, they can already serve the market. But they keep growing and growing in Western Europe, so BRU is a valuable addition to penetrate this market even better and serve it even better.

Yes they are growing fast, but you can't expect them to do everything at once, given the close proximity of other big destinations, I assume they favoured other new markets first.

[quixoticguide]

My too why after all those years?????

Because they had no aircraft available for BRU.

[1V1]

My too why after all those years?????

Maybe because CDG,AMS,FRA,ZUR,LHR,MAN,..are not allowing EK to continue on to the US?

[SN1203]

My too why after all those years?????

Maybe because CDG,AMS,FRA,ZUR,LHR,MAN,..are not allowing EK to continue on to the US?

Is that what they're planning out of BRU?

[globetrotter]

What a vague title makes it seem like EK just visited BRU as a one off, cant it be changed to EK may start BRU?

Oslo was rumored for February launch according to another board where they were leaking out new routes, it included Kabul and Stockholm both of which are now online.