mweiss said:
SVQLBA, thanks for the link. They seem to be topping out at about 1.2 flights per minute (not clear, but I'm pretty sure they mean departures).
One surprise to me is that they are only increasing systemwide departures by 3%. Now, perhaps this is because of increased stage length (DL has always had a particularly low average for a legacy), but I would have otherwise expected these shorter turns to result in a larger increase in departures.
[post="244463"][/post]
Michael:
Your posts are very informative and insightful. Having
said that, it would be very interesting to have some solid
figures to back up CCY's decision to drop PIT as a hub.
Before you pick me apart, let's look at some serious
issues that may change the dynamics of PHL as
the savior O&D market the company relies on.
1. Delays and baggage problems at PHL are a liability
that negates the O&D premium over PIT.
2. Any domestic revenue premium US believed
they had by using PHL as a hub has been erased by
Southwest entering the market.
3. The design of the PHL terminal is not conducive
to efficiently connecting passengers, and the added cost
of reaccommodating customers on other flights is
a drain on resources (employees) and goodwill.
4. The labor pool cannot be supported by the
wage reductions that were recently negotiated
without a premium, and the overall quality of
the work force is poor.
The facts in favor of PIT as a hub are:
1. Rare operational or connecting baggage
problems.
2. Local market that has adopted US as their
hometown airline (goodwill benefits)
3. PIT employees are loyal and the labor
pool provides much better service than PHL
I can't believe that the higher O&D traffic and
marginally lower airport costs in PHL can justify
keeping the hub in PHL versus PIT. There has
to be some kind of political graft going on in
PHL and until someone can show the facts
and figures to show that PHL is a better hub,
it will always be an albatross that contributes
to a loss in company profits.
