Any one know if Song will serve PVD? It was not mentioned in the initial press release. The Delta Express schedule had already shown service ending at ISP, so PVD is the only remaining city served by Delta Express that is not included in the Song press release. I am betting that Song will serve PVD. Any one know for sure?
I kind of like the name"Song". I believe that if it is successful it could eventually be a blueprint for mainline. Either way, I give DAL credit for taking a proactive step in at least maintaining marketshare. Should be interesting...
I think DL will get Song started and see how it goes before launching service to PVD.
Right now, DLX only serves PVD 2x daily to MCO which isn't much. Bringing in the 757's of Song would be a big capacity increase and might be too much. DL might just add a little more capacity on the PVD-ATL leg and let the traffic connect or bleed over to WN. DL has to pick its battles and smaller markets like PVD/ISP may not be worth fighting WN for.
Will these be Delta employees? A DAL F/A told me that the flight attendants would be separate with different work rules/pay scales and that furloughed flight attendants from main line would get first dibs after voluntary proffers? But I read in the paper that the carrier will use Delta main line pilots?
200 people on a 757 make my skin crawl, but I sure hope they can make it work.
Yes, the seat pitch will be a very generous 33 inches, according to the press release on the website. That's more than any other low cost airline, and more than most major airlines (with the possible exception of MRTC on AA). So it should actually be pretty comfortable...even for longer flights, should they decide to serve LAS, PHX, and/or the West Coast (as was mentioned in a USA Today article).
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On 1/29/2003 9:31:11 PM s80dude wrote:
200 people on a 757 make my skin crawl, but I sure hope they can make it work.
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200 (199, actually, in order to keep it FAA-legal with 4 FAs) pax in an one-class 757-200 isn't bad! Seat pitch should be better than coach in a mainline DL 757 (F24/Y159), in fact.
ATA has either 216 or 218 seats in their 757-200s, with the fifth FA. Not to mention the various European charter outfits that manage to shoehorn up to 235 seats (yuck!) into one of them.
199 seats sounds almost like FC compared to that!
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On 1/29/2003 929 PM AAG2000 wrote:
Yes, the seat pitch will be a very generous 33 inches, according to the press release on the website. That's more than any other low cost airline,
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IIRC 33" is the stated pitch on Southwest's 737-700s (and on -300s that have had the new interiors installed). One inch more than on their other sub-types.
That's interesting...and good to know. I was mistaken--the press release actually says Song's 33" is "as much as" (not "more than") any other low-cost airline. My apologies to Southwest.
Still, it seems like 32" is as much as one can hope for on most airlines--even on long international flights--and I've recently had the misfortune of experiencing Continental's 31" pitch on their 737-800 transcons out of EWR. Once Song starts flying coast-to-coast, with IFE, more room, and good food (albeit for a small fee), it's not JetBlue I'm worried about--it's the major airlines!
Which raises the question of how much Delta is willing to cannibalize itself. I don't think the folks in Atlanta are stupid--they know what's bound to happen if the LCC product surpasses mainline. This is why I believe that Song is actually a way of testing out ideas that might ultimately appear throughout the Delta network, in some form or another. Will DL be the first major to do away with first class on domestic flights, in favor of a "premium" low-cost economy product? It won't happen overnight, but I won't be surprised if it does eventually...it might be their best hope for long-term survival.
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On 1/29/2003 9:31:11 PM s80dude wrote:
Will these be Delta employees? A DAL F/A told me that the flight attendants would be separate with different work rules/pay scales and that furloughed flight attendants from main line would get first dibs after voluntary proffers? But I read in the paper that the carrier will use Delta main line pilots?
200 people on a 757 make my skin crawl, but I sure hope they can make it work.
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Technically, Song will employ "Delta" employees. The flight attendants are in fact seperate from mainline, however, most if not all positions will be filled by flight attendants that wish to come over by choice or those that are on furlough. The pay is less, in most cases by a few dollars an hour. Work rules are different. It appears that they will be able to make up the difference in pay by working more hours.
The pilots are mainline pilots with the same work rules as mainline, at least for the time being.
ACS angents will receive the same pay as their mainline counterparts.
Some have asked here if Delta will consider transferring successful ideas to mainline and the answer is yes. There have been numerous memos stating such, and the general feeling is if the operation is successful, there will be more aircraft transferred from mainline to Song.
Patti Goldstein, a spokeswoman at T.F. Green Airport, said she is not aware of any plan to start Delta Song flights from Green. "It doesn't seem to be on the radar screen right now," she said.
When Delta Express flights end, travelers can still get to Florida on a discount carrier by using Southwest, the biggest passenger carrier at the Warwick airport, Goldstein said.
Delta is the third-biggest carrier at Green, with 752,908 passengers in 2002.
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On 1/30/2003 7:40:32 AM luv2fly wrote:
Some have asked here if Delta will consider transferring successful ideas to mainline and the answer is yes. There have been numerous memos stating such, and the general feeling is if the operation is successful, there will be more aircraft transferred from mainline to Song.
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It would be nice to see DL transfer some of Song's amenities to mainline though I question if it will be cost effective to do so.
I agree that DL is probably moving toward dumping domestic first. If you look at the changes being made to the SkyMiles program (they make upgrading to F very difficult), the continued RJ growth, and the continued pressure of low-fare carriers, an all-coach product makes more and more sense....especially if the all-coach product has extra leg-room and good IFE. This spring DL will be using ex-Shuttle planes in all-coach config on the domestic network. DL has said they don't plan to reconfigure these planes with F and will use them to test out how the all-coach product fits in the traditional hub-spoke system.
Of course, if Song is successful and DL continues to transfer planes to Song, what happens to the DL name in the long-run? It will be kind of sad to see the DL name completely replaced by Song which will never have the history that the DL name has.
Duh, let's try it again. Pretty soon you all will be in the Chapter 11 unemployment line like the rest of us. Too bad seniority doesn't count for much when you're collecting the government checks.