After two pages of contributions to this thread, I am wondering, why nobody here has come up with a reasonable explanation for the difference in operating cost between the legacy carriers and Southwest. In my opinion, it is the long-term debt and poor credit ratings, resulting in high interest payments, very unfavorable leasing rates, and the inability to hedge fuel. This difference cannot be compensated for by further cuts in labor cost and passsenger amenities - Jetblue's service - with inflight entertainment and a seat pictch of 32"-34" - is already better than that of any coach service of any traditional airline (31" pitch, no IFE).
Obviously, there is no easy fix for this. A Chapter 11 proceeding does not wipe out all the debt.
I think, mweiss has probably a good idea, that is, offering a premium service at a slightly higher price. The question is, how much would it cost US to upgrade their service, and how much more would customers be willing to pay for it? And would the additional revenue not only outweigh the direct higher cost for better service, but also compensate for the above-mentione intrinsic cost factors? With the new P.S. transcons, United has launched an experiment to answer that question. I am actually considering their P.S. service later this spring. However, the last time I checked, UA's fares started at above $400, while AWA's ran at around $250. If the fare difference remains that high, I would probably stick with AWA. If it shrank to around $50, I would certainly switch. It'll be interesting to see, how it pans out for United in the long run.
Back to US:
From a neutral observer's viewpoint, management has certainly put in a lot of effort to trim cost, wherever possible. However, I have yet to see a similar effort to increase revenue by focusing on the airline's strengths. These strenghts are - when compared to Jetblue and Southwest - long-haul expertise, access to two of the most restricted airports in the US, and a good presence and name recognition in the highest-yielding markets. It is beyond my comprehension, why US would open a focus city in Florida, where it competes direcly with two or three low-fare carriers, while missing out on a huge opportunity for expansion at a plave like Boston, which has now been snatched up by Jetblue. Also, I wonder if the slots at LGA are really used to their full potential. I know, that there are commuter slot and mainline slots, but I think the latter can be used for commuters too, and I wonder if that's the case with US Airways. There are nine roundtrips per day between BUF and LGA, only one of which is operated by mainline jets. Incidentally, checking fares for a RT BUF-LGA tomorrow, the lowest fare on the mainline flights is $280. Selecting a turboprop, which leaves BUF approx 1 hr later, reduces the fare to $190. I wonder, if this is an indication that a lot of travelers are willing to buy a premium to avoid commuter aircraft, whenever possible. If that's true, one should seriously consider cutting the commuter flights to places like Buffalo, and replace them with roughly half the number of mainline flights. I know that there are certain travelers, who prefer higher frequencies on any give route, however given that LGA remains slot-restricted, nobody is going to fill in the gap there. And the slots that are freed up this way, could be used for a further increase in mainline flights to place that I consider relatively underserved, like Houston for instance.
With regard to long-haul flying:
With regard to the long hauls: I noted that US has added some seasonal routes to Europe. But on the other hand, the nonstops to FRA and LGW out of PIT have been dropped. I think that a lot more could have been done in that area. It seems that widebody aircraft are hard to come by these days, because they are in such high demand. Then again, B767-200 are being scrapped way before the end of their "natural" life-span. Given that US cannot afford new widebodies in the foreseeable future, I wonder if anybody at US has considered acquiring a handful of 762s, bringing them throughr D-check once again, and use them for growth on intercontinental routes, or possibly to Hawaii. At least for now, there would be no competition from the likes of Southwest, and aside from bringing in additional revenue, long hauls also reduce CASM further - even more so than Jetblue's nightly transcons.
