Good luck to CO – they’ve found a niche in the UK-US market (just like EK have done to the Gulf and beyond) and are really beginning to exploit it. Connection opportunities will be increased and there will be less need to wait around at EWR once the two services get up and running. The different timings will each work better for some pax.

Having just experienced a CO 757 BHX-EWR and return (outbound was 100% loaded, return about 90%), I don’t find the 757 to be a problem as a trans-Atlantic airplane, although I have just a couple of minor reservations:

1. Boarding and deboarding takes ages due the single aisle
2. I prefer the 2 seats by the window on 767s and most 777s – climbing over two others to get to the aisle in flight is a pain (the three by the window is why I avoid 747s if I can too though!)

A

Worst thing IMHO about a 757 trans-Atlantic is the time it takes to do the boarding / deboarding – with many passengers having large carry-ons, limited bin sizes, and only one aisle (this being the biggest issue), it seems to take an age.

IMHO, the problem is not so much putting a 757 into the market (I’ve just litterally got back today from EWR on a CO 757 and it wasn’t too bad an experience), but managing passenger expectations if it doesn’t have seat back PTVs and for some reason they can’t offer the full BMI service. Having flown Icelandair too, they don’t have seat-back entertainment so to keep their standard of service BMI would have to have the interior pretty significantly reworked. Furthermore, Icelandair’s business class seats are no where near as good as BMI’s “The Business” seats, there’s no enhanced economy, and Icelandair’s economy pitch is pretty ropey, so again an interior refit should really be needed. If they don’t do that and put a 757 onto the route in Icelandair configuration, I think that they will seriously damage their reputation – I know, having flown BMI to Washington quite a number of times in all their classes, that there’s no way I’d fly them again in any class if they put a normally configured Icelandair 757 onto the route.

Andy

Nice report… I hope that the airline adjusted the pax weight allowance for all the rugby players on board – this sort of thing has caused more than one or two problems with weight and balance in the past!

Andy

Yet another airport scene – this time somewhere in Europe in the mid-80s:

Models are:
1:400 Dragon Wings Air Canada 747-100 (Singapore ’85)
1:400 Soveriegn Ghana Airways DC-10-30
1:400 Aeroclassics Iberia 727-200
1:400 Seattle Model Aircraft Company British Midland DC-9-30
1:400 Gemini Jets Trans World 747SP
1:400 Jet-X Pan Am TriStar 500
1:400 Gemini Jets British Airways DC-10-30

Andy