I literally haven’t gotten anything done in the past two hours, because I’m having way too much fun thinking about this. So please immediately stop everything you’re doing and join me!
Continue reading: Mystery: Can You Guess Aeroplan’s Newest Airline Partner?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Something out of Bangkok does make sense given their new route there - but Pari has jet service from both Bhutan Airways and Druk Air.
Isn't it just Air Greenland and they are talking about Greenland being the aspirational destination with no other jets?
@ Sco -- That's not how I read it. The clue says that the airline can only serve this "amazing aspirational destination" with a jet. Air Greenland also flies turboprops to and within Greenland.
I think it’s Greenland and you’re just slightly more of an avgeek than they are 😉
@ Isaac --- What's the airport? Both Drukair and Bhutan Airlines fly jets to Paro.
But the clue doesn't say they fly nothing but jets there. It only says they are the only one flying jets there, without excluding that the same airline might also fly props there.
LATAM?
They're the only airline that serves Easter Island; I don't remember if LATAM/LAN's reasoning for their 787-9 order was to serve Easter island, though. I know their 787-8 order wasn't.
@Ben Con Dao island (VCS). They got Embraer aircraft to fly to the island from HAN while VN Airlines only flies turboprop planes from SGN. The airport will undergo renovations so A320 aircraft can serve it in the future, but for now they can’t.
Same for Dien Bien Phu (VN flies turboprops from HAN but Bamboo can fly from SGN as well thanks to the Embraer planes). But I don’t think DIN is the destination they’re talking about.
VCS makes more sense in my opinion.
I was thinking this too, but I believe (i.e., Wikipedia says) they flew to Easter Island prior to the 787. Also, I'm guessing that other airlines don't fly turboprops to Easter Island. It definitely fits the aspirational destination part though!
It doesn't say they can only serve it with a jet, it says they are the only ones serving it with a jet. And then the market they are serving with it is the Greenland-mainland Denmark market.
Although if you wanted to be a stickler, I'm not sure that I'd consider Kangerlussuaq itself to be an "amazing aspirational destination" as its mostly just a layover to get to Ilulisat or Nuuk or somewhere else.
Airlink to St. Helena from JNB? I would definitely consider St. Helena an aspirational destination, if only for the bragging rights of saying you've been to one of the most remote places on Earth.
Airlink uses an E-190 and are the only ones to fly the route. South African Airways, post-bankruptcy, is a shell of itself and only has a dozen or so routes. Airlink, by contrast, is a much more useful partner for travel across southern Africa.
Bit outside the box but Air Saint Pierre?
https://onemileatatime.com/news/air-saint-pierre/
Depending on the validity of certain claims (like scheduled service - is that year round or just sometimes/charters) then Aerovias DAP could be a candidate. Looks like they purchased BAe-146s for flights to TNM - King George Island in Antarctica.
I agree that it's likely to be Air Greenland, mainly for the reason that they're not "serving" the market – at least to non-Greenlandics, which would make up probably a vast majority of guessers – when they operate flights within Greenland (I wouldn't put all my weight on the technical accuracy of the hints). I stand to be corrected, though.
This seems plausible to me. The Embraer 190 press release (February 2017) had a quote from the Airlink CEO saying “the E190’s ETOPS (Extended Twin Engine Operations) capability and range presents Airlink with new market opportunities to address isolated destinations that were previously beyond our reach and in some instances." Then later in 2017, Airlink won the bid to serve St. Helena.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena_Airport
Simple: Fiji Airways. Link : https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/fiji-airways-vancouver-nadi-direct-flight
Ben you're misreading the clue. It doesn't say they can ONLY serve it with a jet. It says they are the only ones who CHOOSE to serve it with a jet but it can still be served with a prop. The answer is 100% Air Greenland, with Greenland being the aspirational destination.
IPC is about 5-6hrs from Santiago. Turboprops can't do that trek. The 767 did the journey too. LATAM Chile uses the both 787-8 & 787-9 on the route. I flew them in August. It's not LATAM.
Biman?
Recently they added 787-9 and started flying to Toronto via Istanbul (Fuel stop) from Dhaka. They do have other jet aircrafts mixed with Turbos for regional and domestic flights.
Good article! A few days ago you mentioned how Starlux and Bamboo Airways might be looking to join a global airline alliance; my guess would be Bamboo or maybe Oman Air (?)
Air Greenland if you consider Nuuk as the aspirational location - not the other direction to CPH.
St Helena and Đien Bien Phu certainly fit the 'aspirational' label, and on a global level (even if somewhat niche in both cases). I can't comment on the prop criterion.
I was thinking the same thing. HLE seems pretty aspirational to me, and AirLink seems like a more useful partner than Air Greenland, in terms of destinations covered.
Maybe Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui? Right now they have a monopoly here. But there used to be some flights from Singapore Airlines among others.
Etihad Airways has recently discontinued the possibility to redeem miles on Bangkok Airways.
I'm guessing and hoping that the partner is Canadian North Airlines and that it opens up flights to Inuvik, NWT. It's definitely a bucket list aspirational destination.
Leaning toward Greenland as the aspirational destination. However Easter Island is interesting but Lantam is rather associated with others like AS so probably not going with AC as a partner.