Can Us Fight Back?

[ringmaruf]

If US decides it wants to fight back and compete with WN, it will have to compete in markets like PHL-STL and PHL-CLE. The 2 mainline flights per day allowed for a Mainline Express station will not be enough for a competitive response. How easy is it for a Mainline Express station (or an Express station) to convert to a Mainline station?

 

[A320 Driver]

Taking a lesson from the past, I think we will all find the CRJ/EMB170 aircraft effective tools for fighting the competitve threat. PI did a number on UA and others with the F-28 aircraft competing in markets like RIC against the B-737 and DC-9. Put an EMB 170 against a Southwest B-737-300 with both aircraft carrying 40 fares each. Sounds like a reasonable responce to me. I flew the F-28 on legs like RIC-ORD right over the top of a UA B-737. We both carried 35 pax, but guess who lost their shirt? NOT US.
We need to take a wait and see approach here IMHO.

A320 Driver

 

[Fatherknowsbest]

Southwest just lowered PHL fares by more than 50%. It will be a great advertising tool. The grateful public is going to fly U? God man are you living in the real world?

We have pleaded with Dave for more than a year to fix the fare structure, it just got done by .......not super Dave!

 

[Furloughedagain]

Image deleted.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

There should be no doubt that the added EMB's are going to have a favorable impact as they join the ranks...especially if they are utilized properly?

One issue stands out as a clear detractor regarding our fleet at present. We have Airbi parked in the desert..we have 2 sitting in Mobile Al , with only one being worked..and Acft 702UW just joined the hobbled ranks as of the 29th for it's S-Check being required.

Maybe the desert dwellers can be brought back in as a stop gap measure? but from my years of dealing with stored Acft...they always without fail come back needing work before re-entering the active fleet. Acft hate to sit...and they they tend to let you know it quickly.

During my stay in PIT , we had a number of B737-300's and 400's return from MHV...all required work and lots of cleaning. The Airbus will not be any different.

Keys issues need quick resolve...Dave keeps hoping against hope that some judge along the appeals path is going to honor his wishes on allowing the airbus work to be outsourced...frankly it's not going to happen. Just get over it !!!

Dave needs to just resign himself to the fact that we need added lift to compete...and that added lift is present , yet in need of work immediately. The time to come to terms on where this work is to be done is long over-due. The attempts at contract busting has positioned us further behind the eight-ball

We are being invaded on our home turf...and by a company with 385 Acft at present..with more coming as we speak. Get back our planes...and fix what we have. Acft sitting are not assets..they are in fact liabilities that net nothing at all but continue to take away from the bottom line

If Dave doesn't wake up soon....we will not have to fret over WN beating us..we will in fact have died from within.

 

[a320av8r]

I too flew the F-28 against AA in RDU as well as Florida Shuttle. WN can be beaten with a well timed RJ. One 5 minutes before WN to tie up the slot to PHL and one 25 minutes after to capture the market that missed their WN flight and offer "more choices". $1 less per fare should keep the public on US. Of course that was another life and airline ago, can our management think outside of the box :unsure:

 

[robbedagain]

Rather than use a 50 or 70 seat rj, why not bring back the 100 seat F-100 and use that the right way and then use the other jets and open up new markets such as slc or abq?

 

[AOG-N-IT]

Rather than use a 50 or 70 seat rj, why not bring back the 100 seat F-100 and use that the right way and then use the other jets and open up new markets such as slc or abq?

Robbed,

We parked the F-100's for a solid reason...as AA is doing in dribs and drabs. You cannot support an airliner when the prime part manufacturer (Fokker) is bankrupt ..and does not produce spare parts at a sustainable level.

Fokker in AMS is a deadender sorta speak. Just like PSA is parking the relatively new DO-328's...is this plane junk? Well Yes and No....was the F-100 economical? ..it was in it's hay-day. When you can't get the un-seen pieces to keep them in the air...the seating capacity and the fuel burn friendly stuff means absolutely nothing....it's time to move on.

Part of the reason that Bronner and the RSA are in our face now..is due in part to them holding the leases on our former F-100's...so in the long term useage catagory.I would conclude this to be a loser for all of us.

 

[ClueByFour]

WN can be beaten with a well timed RJ. One 5 minutes before WN to tie up the slot to PHL and one 25 minutes after to capture the market that missed their WN flight and offer "more choices". $1 less per fare should keep the public on US. Of course that was another life and airline ago, can our management think outside of the box :unsure:

You guys get into a pissing contest like that with WN, and you will lose.

They can fly a 737 for the cost of your RJ. They have 'em on order. They can bleed at PHL for years without taking the company into the red. US is currently in the red.

What happens when they bracket your RJs with wingtip departures, and a one-stop thru PHL? Then what?

 

[mrman]

Its revenue you need to worry about as much as costs. As a 150,000/year business flyer, I will take the WN737 over USRJ any day. I can bring my rollerboard on and WN will give me a free beer, and actually come back and ask if I would like another. You can't compete on revenue with an RJ vs a 737. In addition, WN won't sell me tickets that can't me applied to future purchases when I cancel my flight and won't ding me for $100 revenue enhansement charge everytime I sneeze. In fact, they even pay the taxes on the FF ticket

 

[A320 Driver]

What happens when they bracket your RJs with wingtip departures, and a one-stop thru PHL? Then what?

What happens when we fly an EMB170 right over the top of them whether we lose money or not. It's not always about making money to begin with...it's about defending our turf. Very soon we could be the ones saying "hey Southwest, wanna play?".

Don't think it couldn't happen. Been there, done that.


A320 Driver

 

[firstamendment]

Let's see...We gave SWA the West coast...We gave SWA the Florida Shuttle....We gave SWA BWI.........

Can we fight back?

Hell NO!! It's all talk and once again....competitive cost structure....Blah blah, blah!!! Excuses, excuses, excuses!! And of course, ALL the employees fault!! Well, Dave, [deleted by moderator].

Sorry, the employee bank is closed. If you must, go ahead and close the freakin' doors because I just don't give a damn any more. It's time to move on. Seventeen years with such negativity and the unending beating up on the employees and asking for more, more, more, and more has ended. There is no more money left to give and God knows no more spirit to this dying company. I have NO confidence in this management and no confidence in US Airways. So all of those kool aid drinkers ready to tell me how bad my attitude is, have at it. I could care less.

And PineyBob, you are a kind man and I am thankful for your support, but do yourself a favor and stop defending this company. Your remarks mean nothing to this management team and after awhile you will learn to give up like many of us because you will get so digusted that you become numb to it all and then realize they just don't care. Go support a winner because US Airways is a looser company with absolutely no idea how to run itself.

 

[robbedagain]

Thanks AGO-n-it: Alsocould USAir invent another Metro-Jet type of airline like DAL's Song and compete head to head or no?

 

[flyin2low]

"I flew the F-28 on legs like RIC-ORD right over the top of a UA B-737"

Yeah, maybe if the 737 has its spoilers deployed you could've.......

 

[A320 Driver]

A figure of speech that I suppose you didn't grasp based on your childish remark.

A320 Driver <_<