If you start out with 5 or 6 hubs and dozens of aircraft, you are accused of not being realistic. If you start off with one hub and a handful of aircraft and a modest set of features, you are accused of not being innovative or exciting. In the interest of attracting and keeping pilots, I would rather be accused of not being realistic, if it means offering more opportunities and variety for current and potential pilots.
With this in mind, we are not planning on going nuts. However, you can expect the announcement of expanded commuter operations within Europe very soon, and an accompanying European focus city. We will also be announcing a fully-fledged hub city on the North American continent, as well as one in the Far East. The full sized hubs will operate all three service types: Commuter, Envoy (2-class narrowboad) and Ambassador (2 and 3-class widebody).
Pilots will be given the option of which hub to join, although those wishing to be based at the European focus city will stil officially be listed at Dublin. Home hub status will not affect a pilot’s ability to fly routes from any of our hubs. The acquisition of new aircraft types, along with revenue generated by an upcoming sister airline, are expected to support this expansion until these new hubs become self sufficient.
Details to follow…
March 30 2008 | News and Uncategorized | No Comments »
Our A330 flight tests are continuing. Flights are being conducted in various conditions with various passenger configurations and the performance data is being analyzed. The 777, in 3 different variants, will also be tested later in the spring. At the conclusion of these tests, an order will be placed. A split order is possible, with an A330-200/B777-300ER combination the initial leader. The B777-200ER and -LR are another possibility, while the A330-300 is less likely.
March 30 2008 | News and Uncategorized | No Comments »
Our A320 and 767-200ER have been released for download on the fleet page. They will be followed by the A321 and the 767-300ER, which will be a new addition. For the time being, they will remain in ZIP format and with the FS2004 file structure. A quick modification to the panel folder is all it takes to bring these aircraft into FSX.
March 30 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Celtic Airways is currently running proving routes using the A330-200. The aircraft is being flown on current 767 routes to compare economics and to determine the optimum configuration. The A330-200 allows us to increase capacity and payload on mature routes, while moving the smaller 767s to open up newer routes. While no firm orders have yet been placed, we definitely see a place for the A330 family in our fleet. The Boeing 777 family is also under consideration, and will undergo similar trial runs at a later time.
March 22 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »