Is US ready?

[N628AU]

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On 7/11/2003 3:30:59 PM funguy2 wrote:


1) U lost CA to Southwest

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This is not entirely true. WN did not start growing there until US pulled out. All those WN gates at LAX are ex PSA that U abandoned.

 

[Pacemaker]

"The talk is that AA will announce a reduction of service in STL....will US take advantage of this to ''push'' Westward?"

US Airways have already made their "push westward" - it''s called the United code share. Expansion? Expect more of the SNA strategy.

 

[motnot]

Some thoughts (and some of them agree with others''):

-- STL is NOT a peach just waiting to be plucked. There are too many hubs already in this country, and STL''s potential as one is burdened by a large LUV presence.

-- U cannot effectively compete with LUV in the long term. Someone else posted the CASM numbers. There is still a large gap in costs.

-- LUV naturally often does not have the lowest fare. That is how one makes money in this business -- by not having the lowest fare. LUV has some really low fares as loss leaders, but LUV limits their availability and they do their job and get people to fly the airline. But LUV almost always has the lowest BUSINESS FARES, and that is the key. Where the cartel airlines charge $2,000, LUV might charge $600. Also, LUV has the reputation of having the lowest fare. Many people will check LUV, and only LUV, when looking for a plane ticket because they trust that they will get a good price.

 

[PHL]

STL is a mere 500 nautical miles West of PIT. I see absolutely no reason for U move into STL when they have a far superior terminal at PIT, putting aside the bickering that they''ve been having with the state about the operations there.

Instead, STL will likely become nobody''s hub. But, to its advantage, as AA pulls out, the low cost carriers will offer more point to point services.

As an aside note, did AA ever make any promises to the TWA employees of STL about how long it would stick it out there, or how many flights it would maintain? I haven''t been to the AA boards, but I''m sure this rumor is going to cause a big stir if it turns out to be true.

 

[a320av8r]

U will hub in ORD,DEN, and SFO. UA will hub in CLT and PHL feeding U. U is as big as U will be, expect more "rightsizing" .