Shuttle Changes

[chipmunn]

Shuttle Changes
ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - As part of US Airways’ April schedule change, dual-class A319 aircraft from the mainline fleet will replace single-class Airbus A319s on US Airways Shuttle flights between Boston and Washington. The change will increase flexibility and promote efficient use of aircraft throughout the system. The current Shuttle-configured A319s will be moved to the traditional Shuttle routes from New York LaGuardia serving Reagan National and Boston, and will remain in the expanded pitch single-class configuration. The aircraft to be used on the Boston-Washington-Boston routes, while not a dedicated fleet for Shuttle, will be fenced for that day''s line of flying and will not flow through to any other city, but rather will exclusively serve the two Shuttle markets for that day.
Meanwhile, the single-class A320 aircraft currently used on the Shuttle routes in and out of LaGuardia will be reconfigured over time into standard two-class cabins and used on the mainline. The A320 is better suited for higher demand flights to Florida and the Caribbean than the A319. All flights in the traditional Shuttle markets will be operated with A319s. With the new dual cabin configuration on the Boston-Washington-Boston routes, customers for both the Shuttle service and connecting flights at those two destinations can book or upgrade to First Class for all of their segments. More information about this is included in the latest edition of Update.

 

[Hope777]

Chip, not bad. This infromation was only posted on February 6th.

 

[chipmunn]

Hope777, true, but this is the company's formal announcement to the employee group.

Chip

 

[crusher]

The changes to the shuttle are poorly thought out as usual. The pin heads in ccy never asked the people who work the shuttle what they think.First class although a nice thought was used before the DCA/BOS flights was incorporated into the shuttle. It was a nightmare. 25 standing by for 2 seats. This is although good for aircraft useage is riduculous from the customer service standpoint. It did not work before and it will not work now. The best thing about the shuttle is its simplicity and consistency of which the compnay is once again messing up

 

[N628AU]

Maybe, yoy now have no mainline jet competition. DL and AA on an RJ or US on a mainline A319, even sitting in coach. Easy choice for Shuttle passengers. I think the underlying reasoning to this is the overall weakness in the Shuttle markets, a combination of Acela competition and the airport hassle factor, real or perceived. The A320 fleet is definitely much better used on some runs that need higher density aircraft.

 

[wings396]

I think that it is a good idea to revamp the Shuttle to match A/C type to demand. We have been flying 320's in the middle of the day with a lot of empty seats....when this happens with mainline flights they get the ax in a hurry. If we are short on A/C and can use them in other markets, so be it.....put the RJ's on when demand is low...finally something that makes sense and cuts losses.

 

[nycbusdriver]

[blockquote]
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On 2/15/2003 402 PM N628AU wrote:

Maybe, yoy now have no mainline jet competition. DL and AA on an RJ or US on a mainline A319, even sitting in coach. Easy choice for Shuttle passengers. I think the underlying reasoning to this is the overall weakness in the Shuttle markets, a combination of Acela competition and the airport hassle factor, real or perceived. The A320 fleet is definitely much better used on some runs that need higher density aircraft.
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[/blockquote]


I agree with what you say, except the part about the Acela competition. The Acela certainly puts a dent in the air shuttle markets in and out of New York, but airplanes beat trains hands down between Washington and Boston, at least when time is money.

 

[PHL]

[blockquote]
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On 2/15/2003 5:29:02 PM wings396 wrote:

We have been flying 320's in the middle of the day with a lot of empty seats....when this happens with mainline flights they get the ax in a hurry.
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[/blockquote]

Isn't it a violation of DOT or FAA regs to cancel a flight solely based on low yield? I thought all scheduled flights had to operate, barring weather or mechanical problems...

 

[Non Rever]

[blockquote]
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On 2/15/2003 1:52:30 PM crusher wrote:

25 standing by for 2 seats.
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Well it sounds like a good case of supply and demand to me.

Seems like the perfect market to SELL first class seats, hopefully they want all be given away to US2 and 3's w/free upgrades.

 

[wings396]

[blockquote]
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On 2/16/2003 4:09:52 PM PHL wrote:

[blockquote]
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On 2/15/2003 5:29:02 PM wings396 wrote:

We have been flying 320's in the middle of the day with a lot of empty seats....when this happens with mainline flights they get the ax in a hurry.
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[/blockquote]

Isn't it a violation of DOT or FAA regs to cancel a flight solely based on low yield? I thought all scheduled flights had to operate, barring weather or mechanical problems...
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[/blockquote]
I meant the permanent ax, not if the flight was booked light. On other Mainline city pairs if the flights were not pulling their weight, they were gone for good.

 

[wings396]

[blockquote]
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On 2/16/2003 4:09:52 PM PHL wrote:

[blockquote]
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On 2/15/2003 5:29:02 PM wings396 wrote:

We have been flying 320's in the middle of the day with a lot of empty seats....when this happens with mainline flights they get the ax in a hurry.
----------------
[/blockquote]

Isn't it a violation of DOT or FAA regs to cancel a flight solely based on low yield? I thought all scheduled flights had to operate, barring weather or mechanical problems...
----------------
[/blockquote]
I was not saying that we should cancel anything, just that we should have matched capacity to demand..that is all...if an RJ will do the trick for the off peak, use them. Wasting a 319 or a 320 to fly around between BOS/LGA/DCA hourly is bad business. We were just doing it because DL was too. It has just been a matter of who can stand to lose money for a longer period without backing down first.