JET BLUE LANDS IN PIT-JFK-BOS-JAX

[SoftLanding]

Hey LandingSoft (you're dyslexic, right?): 😀

Sure, Neeleman said this and Neeleman said that. IIRC, he said something last year about his airline being profitable even with sky-high oil prices, and we see now how well that worked out for him. B)

Neeleman's said a lotta things. I take nearly all of it with a grain of salt. He's as much salesman (or more so) as he is a smart CEO. He talks a good game, and still loses something like $42 million in the 4th quarter last year.

Climbing out of the profit-losing club is a lot harder than it looks. Sorta like climbing out of a tar pit. Maybe B6 can do a miraculous turnaround this year. My money says it's doubtful. Increasing maintenance expenses, high fuel costs, too many new airplanes coming on line - the deck looks stacked against Dave. But I've been wrong before.

Well,

the Needleman's comments are also in their SEC filings, (not that means a heck of a lot).😉

Likewise, they can/may continue to loose $$$.

Just one thing stands in the way of making money: OIL prices...If not lower, JBLU will continue to loose money flying passengers, like all the other airlines. If oil surprises to the downside...

The run-up in most airline stock is for a reason. (Excepting JBLU) Does Big Money have a feeling on the direction of oil prices? Just askin'...

🙂

 

[flyingcat]

If any of you think that the new US is going to take all this lying down. 😀
They won't back down. Crystal city is gone. Tempe doesn't back down from a fight.


You will find out soon enough. 😉

 

[Flying Titan]

Looks like FL thinks $1.90/gal may be shooting a bit too low...

News Release Issued: March 21, 2006 2:00 PM EST

AirTran Airways Reiterates First Quarter 2006 Fuel Guidance

ORLANDO, Fla., March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirTran Holdings, Inc.,
(NYSE: AAI), the parent company of AirTran Airways, Inc., reiterates its fuel guidance previously filed as Form 8K on March 9, 2006. AirTran advised that the first quarter 2006 all-in price per gallon of fuel would be in a range of from $2.10 to $2.15. Included in the all-in price per gallon are the raw product cost, transportation fees, applicable federal and state taxes, in-to- plane fees, and the net benefit of existing fuel purchase contracts.

 

[zethya]

A connecting hub is supposed to take people from all points and transfer them conviently and efficiently, PHL does neither. No one is saying to pull the hub from PHL, just give the customer better choices to connect from the northeast without using PHL, if the market is there, why keep giving it away?

PHL is NOT a principal USAirways connecting Hub, except for International traffic, but CLT is and PIT WAS. That's the basic difference between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh cannot support it's airport on domestic O&D alone and could never generate anywhere near the current international traffic levels, but Philadelphia absolutely can/does. If US had kept Pittsburgh as a major hub and instead downsized PHL, it would never have emerged from Bankruptcy for one of many reasons including the fact that HP would never have agreed to the merger and the Canadian funding would never have materialized. A lot OF US employees at PIT still have their jobs and a future because of the airline's decision and the revenue/profit success at PHL.

 

[JAMAKE1]

It's time for US management to put whatever hard-on they have with Allegheny County and the State behind them and re-look at PIT for the strong markets that can be served to make the company even stronger, instead of just letting all of these other carriers take more of our market share.

Beaten Again!
US already serves PIT-BOS and PIT-LGA/EWR with multiple frequencies with both large aircraft and RJs. What more do you suggest they do????

USAir's pulldown at PIT is reflective of a practice that has been happening industry-wide. It is (and was) simply a business decision. Every legacy carrier in the post 9/11 environment of skyrocketing fuel costs, has made, or is continuing to evaluate similar moves. Delta in DFW and United at MIA are two recent examples. It is not that USAirways is "beaten again" as your posting implies. It is about airline economics and re-deploying assets that will yield the greatest return to the company's stakeholders. As wonderful as the PIT facilities are, the current revenue environment no longer make it an economically feasible hub. Airlines are simply playing their hands to their strengths and one cannot take such decisions personally. The numbers prove that more people are willing to endure the dismal facilities of PHL to travel to where they need to go. USAirways has bigger fish to fry by preserving its marketshare at PHL and CLT than whether or not Jet Blue decides to add a few frequencies into PIT.

 

[trvlr64]

The numbers prove that more people are willing to endure the dismal facilities of PHL to travel to where they need to go.

That is the funniest sentence I've ever read on this board. Your customers are not willing we are FORCED to endure PHL. If we were willing, we'd rather be drugged and raped than have to step foot in PHL. And that's on a good day too.

😉

I personally make flight selections that help me to avoid connecting through PHL, even if it means adding hours to my flight times. You really shouldn't make statements that say your customers are willing to endure PHL. It simply isn't so.

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

That is the funniest sentence I've ever read on this board. Your customers are not willing we are FORCED to endure PHL. If we were willing, we'd rather be drugged and raped than have to step foot in PHL. And that's on a good day too.

😉

I personally make flight selections that help me to avoid connecting through PHL, even if it means adding hours to my flight times. You really shouldn't make statements that say your customers are willing to endure PHL. It simply isn't so.

That's exactly my point, there are significant numbers of ex-customers that just won't fly our airline anymore because of PHL.

So what I'm talking about here is a balance. Say instead of trying to just run all connecting traffic through PHL, that just adds to the congestion.

The sad truth is we lost tons of customers and revenue due to the congestion in PHL. So if we were smart we could say run some high density flights back through PIT and send all connecting traffic on these flights until they fill up, this would allieviate congestion in PHL as well as make customers happy while at the same time smooth out the operation with less delays.

This would also bring back new revenue by bringing back customers that would have made the choice to fly on one of our competitors.

 

[PhillyAir5]

"The numbers prove that more people are willing to endure the dismal facilities of PHL to travel to where they need to go."

So who's in charge of financing PHL and bringing it up to par with other major airline hubs. I know the city of Philadelphia loves its US hub. There has always been talk about enlarging the airport, renovating the B&C terminal etc. But who's job is it to ultimately get the ball rolling? The international terminal, which is brand new, is absolutely gorgeous - hence the increased int. traffic. Which is GREAT NEWS. But domestically, US seems to be stagnant at PHL. Will the same traffic surges occur with renovations?

 

[JAMAKE1]

That is the funniest sentence I've ever read on this board. Your customers are not willing we are FORCED to endure PHL. If we were willing, we'd rather be drugged and raped than have to step foot in PHL. And that's on a good day too.

Airline travellers in America aren't FORCED to choose USAirways. You are WILLING to choose USAirways for your travel needs. MY POINT was that airline hubs at secondary cities are no longer economically justifiable and that all legacies are re-adjusting their operations to core strengths that yield the highest revenue potential: AA at DFW, DL at ATL, UA at ORD and SFO, and US at PHL. In today's revenue and fuel cost environment, that equates to hub cities that produce significant O & D numbers...

You really shouldn't make statements that say your customers are willing to endure PHL. It simply isn't so.

You really shouldn't make statements that say you are FORCED to fly through PHL. It simply isn't so...

 

[a320av8r]

So who's in charge of financing PHL and bringing it up to par with other major airline hubs.

The PHL airport authority. The airlines are only tenants.

 

[PhillyAir5]

The PHL airport authority. The airlines are only tenants.

Thanks for answering my question.

Well then, it seems they need to step up to the plate and accomodate US in its efforts. I know alot of residents, especially in the downtown market who are anxiously awaiting renovations at the airport. The facilities in major HUB airports should be top notch IMO.

 

[trvlr64]

FORCED to fly through PHL. It simply isn't so...

you obviously don't know how your airline is run them. more flights have been pushed thru PHL when PIT was downsized and I can't get thru CLT at decent times lately.

your customers ARE forced thru PHL unless we come up with some creative routing. I would know....I do it weekly.

 

[JAMAKE1]

you obviously don't know how your airline is run them. more flights have been pushed thru PHL when PIT was downsized and I can't get thru CLT at decent times lately.

your customers ARE forced thru PHL unless we come up with some creative routing. I would know....I do it weekly.

Dude: YOU are WILLING to fly through PHL. Nobody is forcing you to fly through PHL. That is a consumer choice that YOU choose to make. When you reply to my postings in a disrespectful and rather condescending manner, which you did, you can expect to get called on the carpet for it. For the record, I don't even work for USAir. But, the company, by funneling connecting traffic through a hub that also yields significant O & D (local) traffic, generates significantly better revenue-producing opportunites than a place such as PIT. I stand by my original statement. The numbers reflect that USAirways customers are WILLING to endure PHL's dismal facilities, as you, yourself have admitted. You are WILLING to endure it because you evidently continue to CHOOSE USAirways for your travel needs. You have plenty of options. Yet, YOU CHOOSE (hence, nobody is FORCING you) to spend your dollars on a carrier that continues to re-route connecting traffic through a hub (PHL) that yields greater profit maximization and/or optimal revenue-generating results. Enough said...

 

[trvlr64]

Enough said...

no I CHOOSE NOT TO......fly thru PHL. You can't read properly.

now that's enough said.....

 

[JAMAKE1]

we are FORCED to endure PHL. If we were willing, we'd rather be drugged and raped than have to step foot in PHL.

YOU are a MORON. You can't THINK properly. Good Night, and Good Luck...