US Airways wants flexibility on aircraft leases

Pacemaker:

The network will be restructured with PHL being the international gateway, CLT a omni-directional hub with Caribbean & Central American service, and PIT will be a transcontinental hub, with all three hubs having significantly increased RJ feed.

By the way, this was how the route network was going to be restructured by UAL if the merger had proceeded.

In fact, if you look at capital facility improvements, each of the three hubs have improved regional jet facilities.

Chip
 
ClueByFour:

ClueByFour said: Further, while there is talk of converting something like all but 20 gates in A & B at PIT to SJ gates, the situation for the last year has still been walk out. When, if ever, are these improvements going to take place?

Chip comments: Nothing can happen until voluntary or court-ordered labor agreements be in place, the DIP financing and the Plan of Reorganization is approved, and the company emerges from bankruptcy.

Once this occurs the company can begin to rebuild. During his first round of road shows Dave had a slide that showed new potential destination from the hubs. In addition to the new Caribbean service already announced, he also discussed Guatemala City and Mexico City, which in my opinion would likely originate from Charlotte.

For transcon expansion if my memory serves me correct, he mentioned he would like to expand from the hubs to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Austin, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Tuscon, Salt Lake City, Portland, Reno, Sacramento, Ontario, and Palm Springs.

All of these routes will require increased feed that will be required from RJs. The company would like to add 80 RJs next year with likely participants MidAtlantic, Midway, and the wholly-owned airlines.

Chip
 
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On 9/12/2002 11:03:38 AM chipmunn wrote:

Pacemaker:

The network will be restructured with PHL being the international gateway, CLT a omni-directional hub with Caribbean & Central American service, and PIT will be a transcontinental hub, with all three hubs having significantly increased RJ feed.

By the way, this was how the route network was going to be restructured by UAL if the merger had proceeded.

In fact, if you look at capital facility improvements, each of the three hubs have improved regional jet facilities.

Chip
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[/blockquote]

Chip:

Couple of notes. If PIT is going to act as a transcon hub, why did PIT (in it's own way, and the west coast cities collectively) take it in the teeth in terms of transcon flight reductions in the latest round of flight reductions?

Further, while there is talk of converting something like all but 20 gates in A & B at PIT to SJ gates, the situation for the last year has still been walk out. When, if ever, are these improvements going to take place?

(note that AA has several jetways that are servicing RJs in the D concourse, and has for some time).
 
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On 9/12/2002 9:14:20 AM Rudy wrote:


Nowhere have I heard that Dave wants to go below the 245 aircraft. He has stated that he will try to operate 270 or so if he can.




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[/blockquote]

Dave's style all along has been to give out bad news a little at a time. First he said he would try to maintain the current fleet. Then it was 275. Now there are signs it could go a lot lower. It's a fact the company is asking for relief on over a hundred more aircraft. Dave would like to keep them in the fleet but says it's subject to his ability to renegotiate terms. Like the ones we're now parking at Mojave. This is not just a rumor.
 
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For transcon expansion if my memory serves me correct, he mentioned he would like to expand from the hubs to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Austin, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Tuscon, Salt Lake City, Portland, Reno, Sacramento, Ontario, and Palm Springs.

All of these routes will require increased feed that will be required from RJs. The company would like to add 80 RJs next year with likely participants MidAtlantic, Midway, and the "wholly-owned" airlines.

Chip
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Are all of these reachable by RJ's from PIT/CLT....what about DFW & PHX or LAS?
 
[P]
[BLOCKQUOTE][BR]----------------[BR]On 9/12/2002 2:53:27 PM gilbertguy wrote:
[P].[BR]For transcon expansion if my memory serves me correct, he mentioned he would like to expand from the hubs to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Austin, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Tuscon, Salt Lake City, Portland, Reno, Sacramento, Ontario, and Palm Springs.[BR][BR]All of these routes will require increased feed that will be required from RJs. The company would like to add 80 RJs next year with likely participants MidAtlantic, Midway, and the "wholly-owned" airlines.[BR][BR]Chip    [BR]----------------[BR]Are all of these reachable by RJ's from PIT/CLT....what about DFW & PHX or LAS?  [/P]----------------[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[P]I can see only a few of these cities being added from the hubs - SAT, AUS, OKC, PDX, and SLC.[/P]
[P]I personally would also add SJC, COS, and, most importantly, YVR. Vancouver is a huige market and should bring in revenue.[/P]
[P]As to places like RNO, SMF, ONT, and PSP, they can easily be brought back by restarting west coast feed service or by codesharing with Skywest in California. My west coast route map - [A href=http://www.geocities.com/eye_trade/California1.gif]http://www.geocities.com/eye_trade/California1.gif[/A] - would cover this.[/P]
[P]Places like TUL, OKC, and ICT could be started using RJs out of MCI.[/P]
 
Expansion on the west coast? What airline are we talking about? Increased emphasis on transcon? As is so often the case don't listen to what Dave says but look at what he does. The recent reduction in west coast flights (which go deeper than mere seasonal adjustments)follow US Airways' historical path of gradually retreating eastward. The UAL domestic codeshare gives US Airways all the access to these markets they need without having to resort to actually flying there. What we should be asking is how much longer we are going to make a pretense of any presence at all west of Kansas City. The west coast stations are rightfully concerned about the future existence of the company in these markets in any way, shape, or form other than via UAL codesharing.
 
ITRADE, those maps are a nice thought, but a nice fantasy as well.

It would be nice if MCI were a legitimate hub, but it's not, and with LUV's presence there, it never will be, except perhaps by MEH or a startup like Vanguard.

For U, MCI needs to be dismantled, aside from a spoke to PHL/PIT/CLT. I doubt MCI is profitable, and probably adds very little traffic to U's system. All those little Midwest cities should be scrapped. Feeders, on B19s especially, only work for hubs. You've got to remove the cancer before you can be well.

Is there any evidence that suggests a U presence in MCI is worthwile? If so, I'd like to hear it. In fact, I've started a new thread on it:

[A HREF=http://www.usaviation.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=694&sessionID=%7B877E3896-12CE-46CE-BAEB-AA0BFB599018%7D]Click here[/A]
 
Itrade, SJC was mentioned by Siegel and maybe even COS. The point of his slide and comments were that he wanted to expand long-haul Caribbean, Central American, and flights to the west to the cities I listed from the hubs.

Chip
 
[P]
[BLOCKQUOTE][BR]----------------[BR]On 9/12/2002 10:20:55 PM chipmunn wrote:
[P]Itrade, SJC was mentioned by Siegel and maybe even COS. The point of his slide and comments were that he wanted to expand long-haul Caribbean, Central American, and flights to the west to the cities I listed from the hubs.[BR][BR]Chip[/P]----------------[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[P]Right, but as I said above, US has started or has announced service to most every city that can handle a jet - their only option would be increased frequency which is not likely to many of these islands inasmuch as they are vacation destinations.[/P]