Actually, US is increasing transcon flying for the summer - on May 7, both Philadelphia and Charlotte to San Francisco will go from three to four A321 flights daily. Oddly, this means that PHL-SFO will have more lift than PHL-LAX!
First US Airways widebody jet coming to Phoenix?
- Thread starter Diamondbacks2004
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flyingcat
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- Oct 10, 2005
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Oh yeah. That's gonna make the elites happy. 8F aircraft flying between the largest hubs in the system. Awesome. There's some rocket-scientist route planning for ya. Simply spectacular.
:down:
:angry:Ohhhhhh, so we should dump the multi-million dollar cargo contracts in SJU and CUN so that we can offer "widebody" service and the additional F seats and let the cargo space go to waste?
Looks that way huh? lol.
Seriously, as someone who considers PHX to be the center of her own universe, there really just isn't a need for a widebody here in PHX as of now. Can't say it won't be that way in a few years, or even as soon as this winter, but in the summer months here? Nope. (Unless it's from all us desert rats fleeing the heat for heat and humidity!
)In today's AvDaily LCC's Kirby piled on Airbus about the 350 possibly not being competitive with the 787. Hmmm, is that a hint?
Perhaps, LCC wants Airbus to re-design, and delay, the 350, or switch to 787s. Either way, wouldn't then LCC have to find a 767 replacement before it could get either a re-do 350 or a shot at a 787?
Perhaps, LCC wants Airbus to re-design, and delay, the 350, or switch to 787s. Either way, wouldn't then LCC have to find a 767 replacement before it could get either a re-do 350 or a shot at a 787?
I didn't say that, did I? They have a couple options - either use the A321s or put 24F back in the 757s. But offering hub-to-hub service mainly on 8F aircraft is utterly unacceptable for reasons I trust I don't have to go into in detail. Not only that, but it's stupid, because if there's any routes that would see some actual F-fare paying traffic, it'd be hub-to-hub.
I didn't think the 767 went to SFO because of the gate space restrictions. And, those 'trashy' island people generate higher yields than the transcons when you calculate cargo and higher average fares paid.
If the idea is to get the greatest amount of seats (total) into the route, then the 757 is a better choice since it hold 193 customers. If the idea is to get the greatest number of PREMIUM seats in the market, then the A321 is your bird. My question would be the performance of the A321 in PHX when it is 110 degrees out.
I agree that the 757 with 8 F seats isn't the best configuration, but I would take that over TED and SONG with ZERO F seats.
All the Song aircraft are being reconfigured with 26 First Class seats. Delta took a hint.
The 757 slave ship might get a bunch of customers to and from places but if you leave Preferreds in Phoenix and Charlotte fuming that they never get upgraded because route planning was too stupid to put First Class seats in hub-to-hub routes, you won't have all those customers to fill up those 193 seats anymore.
United flies 777s and 767s on major hub-to-hub routes. There's a damn widebody shuttle, basically, between LAX/SFO and ORD. They've got F and C seats galore, and they fill 'em all up with upgrades and paying traffic. Now I know that US doesn't have enough widebodies to do those routes, but they're asking for an frequent-flyer bloodbath if they put a bunch of 8F aircraft on the biggest hub-to-hub routes in the system.
I know the A321 sucks from a performance standpoint - but ya gotta dance with what brung ya, and the A321's got the F-cabin to keep the Preferreds from diving overboard.
Agreed. With the current fleet we would be hard pressed to get the 767 to PHX. Personally, I would like to see the 757 reconfigured to a 20/165 congifuration and the A321 to a 16/161 configuration. Send the 757's coast to coast again and keep the A321's in the east. Equip them for overwater and have an all airbus Caribbean fleet.
US1YFARE
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LCC_#1
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