What Constitues A Hub?

[ISP]

Well folks, Attache lists IAD as a codeshare hub because of United's operations there...

I really thought just from reading that IAD was a big operation for UAL. However, why doesn't everyone take a close look at UAL's IAD operations. United operates about 70 mainline departures per day out of that monstrosity at IAD, which is about the same amount as US Airways operates at DCA. Sure, UAL express is currently huge there, but with Independence Air coming up, United's operation will be quite small in the future. IAD isn't a HUB airport! In fact, United mailine departures at IAD are about half of current US mailine departures at PIT.

Some folks keep talking about how UAL cannot buy US unless they resolve the IAD/ACA issue and how US could become a feeder carrier at IAD, but in reality, what the hell is IAD? IMO, it is a dying airport. Those people movers are the worst to boot!

It is my take that US Airways is correct when they always claim that they are "Washington's hometown airline," and even if a UAL/US merger does occur, IAD will not be of importance to either carrier. Anybody else have a take on this? I was just shocked when I read a press release saying that TED's 15 departures will be 22% of United departures from IAD... didn't MetroJet have 30+ departures from this airport several years ago?

Additionally, does anyone think that US Airways could capatilize on UA's weakness at this facility and offer more flights like the current IAD-SJU and really tap into markets which currently don't have service? Of course, it would be O+D because there are no connecting opportunities for US at IAD, but what about something like IAD-MBJ? Any airport that can't be served from DCA, I bet US would be just as successful at IAD... UAL isn't going to have any connection feed in a few months either!

 

[NVFlyer]

IAD is UAL's most profitable hub.

Also, IAD is in Virginia - nearly 30 miles west of Washington, DC.

No Independence Air yet...

 

[RowUnderDCA]

IAD is UAL's most profitable hub.

Also, IAD is in Virginia - nearly 30 miles west of Washington, DC.

No Independence Air yet...

I live in DC, and I wouldn't consider using IAD, even to go to Europe (unless I'm forced). It's like an entirely different market.

So, I don't have any intuition about IAD or UA's role there, other than to surmise that it is really a very developed international gateway. I wonder what percentage of seats on UA (exluding UAexpress, of course) are international?

From a purely selfish perspective, if UA and U were to decide to focus their east coast operations at IAD and either sell DCA or cut back international from PHL, I'd be looking for a new international airline. I'll be metro or cabbing to DCA and connecting through EWR or JFK. IAD is a PAIN to use!! BWI is easier from DC.

So, for my purposes, I'd say focus IAD as a Star Hub, with supplemental UAL service to European destinations not served by Star members. That would be significant (LHR, AMS, CDG, etc.). Continue to focus on PHL for international development (once you have labor committed to solve the WN problem!) and a local market-dominating rolling domestic hub with international feed.

However, plan "b" would be to (ugh!) sell DCA to Virgin US, code share with them, move some U assets to Dulles and see what happens at PHL.

An increasingly remote plan "c" would be to take newly found significant cost savings at PIT (not likely) and operate the major east coast connecting hub complex there, with international service at IAD and a much more efficient, more O and D opearation at PHL, focusing on the local market and international connections.

 

[wings396]

I would have to disagree with IAD being their most profitable Hub. I was told by more than one UA Person that it was marginal at best. Most of the operation there is Express. They don't even do any Mainline flying to several key NE cities. IAD is to UA what MEM is to NW....a Mini Hub, maybe.

 

[ClueByFour]

I would have to disagree with IAD being their most profitable Hub. I was told by more than one UA Person that it was marginal at best. Most of the operation there is Express. They don't even do any Mainline flying to several key NE cities. IAD is to UA what MEM is to NW....a Mini Hub, maybe.

MEM does not have insanely lucrative transatlantic O&D traffic.

 

[SVQLBA]

As a hub for transatlantic flying, IAD is far preferable to, say, PHL if you have to make an east coast connection. As someone mentioned, you have to look at the opportunities for UA (and US) cutomers to connect to LH, Austrian, SAS and others. Compared to PHL, the range of destinations served is better I believe.

Also, there has been enoromous growth in the Fairfax county region over the last few decades. The presence of DCA has held IAD back for a long while as domestic traffic was largely lost to DCA, but if your business isn't downtown (and with the growth in the area, a lot of the business is now outside the beltway) IAD is becoming more attractive.

svqlba

 

[funguy2]

IAD is a hub. UA (mainline + Express) operates hundreds of flights there in order to allow passengers to access the city hosting the hub (i.e. DC/NoVA) or to connect and move on to another city with a single stop. I don't know what else you would call it.

By making this distinction between mainline/Express, you could also say that CLE is not a hub for CO, CVG is not a hub for DL, and STL is not a hub for AA, simply because of the ratio of mainline vs Express flights. In this day, the ratio of who operates the flights is irrelavent, what counts is whether or not they are operated as one distinct system, which UALs hub at IAD clearly does.

Lastly, UAL does not intend to shrink IAD due to the ACAI situation. They have publicly commited to maintaining their hub, and then backed it up by announcing the construction of a new Express area (pretty quick and easy thing to do by the very nature of the way IAD has evolved).

 

[Cosmo]

I don't understand why some of you have such a dislike of IAD. Of course it's not perfect -- no airport is. But IAD is located in the part of the Washington area where most of the population and economic growth are occuring, and thus MWAA (the airport authority that runs IAD and DCA) is spending a fair amount of money -- in the billions -- to update IAD, with the most recently awarded contract involving the construction of an underground train system to connect the main terminal to the concourses (similar to ATL). So in a few years, the "Mobile Lounges" will be history!

As for access, IAD has pretty good road connections, including a dedicated, airport-only highway covering half the distance to downtown Washington. And while the area's Metro subway system does not yet serve IAD, it is expected that approval to begin construction on a link from Metro's Orange Line to IAD will be received within a few months, although it will still be 10-12 years before the service is a reality.

Is IAD a hub? Lets see, United and its Express carriers -- ACA, Air Wisconsin and Trans States -- carried just under 10 million passengers to and from IAD in 2003 (about 60% of the airport's total traffic), and United operated daily long-haul international nonstop service to Europe, Mexico and South America in addition to its domestic network at IAD. Plus, United code-shared with its Star Alliance partners Lufthansa, SAS, Austrian, BMI, ANA and Air Canada on their international flights at IAD, which carried an additional 860,000 annual passengers. United even code-shared with US Airways on that carrier's flights to CLT and on connections beyond. United continues to expand its IAD operation, adding mainline nonstops to SJO and CUN next week, RJ nonstops to AUS and MSP in April, and mainline nonstops to ZRH in June. Based on these actions and characteristics, it sure seems to me that IAD is a United hub. Perhaps more importantly, United considers IAD a hub and has publicly commited to keeping it as a hub, even after ACA stops its United Express flights later this year. That's good enough for me!

Lastly, while ACA operated far more flights at IAD as a United Express carrier than did United mainline, United carried more than twice as many passengers as ACA. Check out IAD's traffic statistics for 2003 on the MWAA website (here) where you can see that United carried 6.5 million passengers compared to ACA's total of 3.1 million.

 

[NVFlyer]

Row, Such as you live close to DCA, I live near IAD. I've greatly taken advantage of the new code share agreement and utilize IAD much more. BWI is by far the least convenient airport in the metro area. Traffic on BW Parkway & 95, the horrible parking situation and the never ending construction makes this airport my last resort departure point.

 

[Rob]

BWI is by far the least convenient airport in the metro area.

Depends where you live. I live in Chevy Chase and for me all three airports are about the same in driving time: 45 minutes. So I go whereever the schedules and fares are the best. I prefer DCA, but often use BWI because of the cheap fares.