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Originally Posted by LeftCoaster
Id' say it's pretty clear that given the ME3 are not interested in YVR at this point.
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I wouldn't go that far.
I too am surprised EK hasn't announced YVR by now, but if you think about it, they haven't announced an increase at YYZ either. That tells me they haven't yet decided how they will play their Canadian card. If they announce an increase on YYZ-DXB to 14x weekly, then we can definately say that EK isn't interested in serving YVR. Until then, anything is possible.
I would put DXB-YVR top of the list (albeit with more YYZ-DXB a close second). But clearly, there are issues preventing EK from increasing service to Canada at this very moment.
Hopefully, that will change in the coming year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeftCoaster
I thought it was the Iran war that kept any announcements at bay, but they have since announced new routes and YVR ain't it, so it seems for now they are not looking our way.
Not sure why given the reduction in YVR-DEL flying overall with the growth in South Asian population, but I'm sure they've got the figures that tell them it's not worth it. Definitely the lack of travel to IKA isn't helping the ME3 interest in YVR, since that'd be a big driver pre-war.
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I think there are a lot of factors as to why EK hasn't announced anything yet.
1. They are going through a fleet wide retrofit, affecting the A380s and 77Ws. (EK has announced reductions to key markets in the US in the next few months, partly or most likely because of this).
https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/260811-eksep26us
2. DXB-YVR is one long flight, requiring more than 1 frame to operate daily. Jet fuel prices have gone up significantly in the last 5 months, so this doesn't help the situation.
3. The Iran war has decimated O&D demand to the UAE, especially by foreigners. Even connecting passengers are thinking twice before choosing a ME3 carrier at the moment. So EK might not be keen on starting 15+hr routes just yet. Not to mention the great circle route from DXB to YVR passes right over Iran, and that area is a no go at the moment.
The GC route also passes right over Russia. Maybe Canada's extention of the landing rights for U.A.E carriers forbids them from flying over Russia. This one, if true, is a biggy, and directly affects the chances of EK starting YVR.
(I believe Canada is doing something similar with their bilateral with China, as nname said.)
4. In a sense, YVR's success (especially to Asia-Pac) hurts the chances of EK coming to YVR. The immense Asia-Pac coverage you guys have kind of hurts EK. After all, there are a million 1 stop options to go from YVR to DEL. Be it via East Asia, YYZ/YUL, the US or Europe. EK knows this and probably feels there are better uses for their 77Ws and A350s.
Yes, IKA being off limits also doesn't help. So EK is probably prioritizing routes with healthy demand to not just South Asia, but the rest of Asia, the middle-East and Africa as well.
5. The AC-EK partnership. The success of this partnership might be playing against YVR getting EK.
Firstly, the partnership means EK already has access to YVR, via AC codeshares on YYZ/YUL-YVR. Aslo, AC flew YVR-DXB, so EK knows very well the demand out of YVR and the connecting flows they will potentially get at DXB if they started service to YVR. So again, knowing this info, they might feel those frames are better used elsewhere, at least for now. It also doesn't help that AC canceled YVR-DXB. That probably raised a few eyebrows over at EK.
So I think it's a combination of all these factors that are playing against EK at YVR. But I wouldn't go as far as saying that EK isn't coming to YVR at all. Things can change pretty quickly.
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At present, Seattle is beating out YVR in the Mideast and the Mediterranean. // Conversely, YVR has greater Pacific coverage. /// It'd be great to get YVR into Southern Europe,too. /// ME3? Yes,No 
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