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More awesomeness out of ATL thanks to Southwest

More awesomeness out of ATL thanks to Southwest

 
Old Aug 29, 2014, 10:28 pm
  #31  
 
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I'm curious when JetBlue will return to ATL. I think with Southwest decreasing the former AirTran route of BOS-ATL to just 3x daily, JetBlue can wedge it's way on to the route. Even though Southwest's planes have more seats, it loses on frequency which is important to business traffic.

Plus, I think JetBlue would offer ATL-FLL, and it could sell some connections (albeit backwards) but filling seats on itineries like DCA-FLL-ATL or ORH-FLL-ATL. It'd probably perform better in ATL than HOU or DFW with more connections via FLL if FLL is offered.

As for Frontier, some might not like it, but Frontier and Spirit will offer low fares which will be popular ultimately. I have a feeling that Frontier might use a slot pair dedicated currently on CLE-LGA or DEN-LGA, on ATL-LGA instead eventually and undercut the Southwest faring on the route, but Southwest will be more focused on courting business travelers.

I've kind of wondered why Spirit can offer ACY-ATL seasonally, Frontier can offer TTN-ATL and ILG-ATL, but Southwest has little interest in ISP-ATL even seasonally during the summer. I can't imagine that a single seasonal ISP-ATL diluting their LGA-ATL service.

Last edited by rtalk25; Aug 29, 2014 at 10:37 pm
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Old Sep 13, 2014, 7:14 am
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by rtalk25
I'm curious when JetBlue will return to ATL. I think with Southwest decreasing the former AirTran route of BOS-ATL to just 3x daily, JetBlue can wedge it's way on to the route. Even though Southwest's planes have more seats, it loses on frequency which is important to business traffic.

Plus, I think JetBlue would offer ATL-FLL, and it could sell some connections (albeit backwards) but filling seats on itineries like DCA-FLL-ATL or ORH-FLL-ATL. It'd probably perform better in ATL than HOU or DFW with more connections via FLL if FLL is offered.

As for Frontier, some might not like it, but Frontier and Spirit will offer low fares which will be popular ultimately. I have a feeling that Frontier might use a slot pair dedicated currently on CLE-LGA or DEN-LGA, on ATL-LGA instead eventually and undercut the Southwest faring on the route, but Southwest will be more focused on courting business travelers.

I've kind of wondered why Spirit can offer ACY-ATL seasonally, Frontier can offer TTN-ATL and ILG-ATL, but Southwest has little interest in ISP-ATL even seasonally during the summer. I can't imagine that a single seasonal ISP-ATL diluting their LGA-ATL service.
I sure hope so. I would have already switched over to Jetblue from southwest/airtran if they flew more of the routes I need.
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Old Sep 13, 2014, 11:12 am
  #33  
 
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Frontier has added more ATL routes recently. I suspect they will continue to add them as they get more planes.

Last edited by rsteinmetz70112; Sep 15, 2014 at 9:15 am
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Old Sep 14, 2014, 10:27 am
  #34  
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IMHO, I don't think Frontier is the solution. It tends to be a pain-in-the-a$$ to even book a flight with all of the seat restrictions and such. I think they are not even on same level as Spirit, since they don't offer the larger seats. We need another choice!!!
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Old Sep 14, 2014, 5:41 pm
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by BillyBaloney
IMHO, I don't think Frontier is the solution. It tends to be a pain-in-the-a$$ to even book a flight with all of the seat restrictions and such. I think they are not even on same level as Spirit, since they don't offer the larger seats. We need another choice!!!
So, if you could kick Southwest out of Atlanta and bring another airline in, which airline would it be?
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Old Sep 14, 2014, 8:42 pm
  #36  
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Jet Blue, 100 percent.
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Old Sep 14, 2014, 9:08 pm
  #37  
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+1. And I too would use them, but find that the routing doesn't fit my needs. I think they could only get better. Maybe improve their loyalty program somehow, as well.
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 12:31 pm
  #38  
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Give it up. With DL entrenched and WN still there, it is unlikely that another carrier is going to make a push into ATL in a big way.
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 1:26 pm
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by formeraa
Give it up. With DL entrenched and WN still there, it is unlikely that another carrier is going to make a push into ATL in a big way.
It's a pretty big market with relatively low costs so I wouldn't be surprised to see Frontier or Spirit make a play. PeoplExpress has a flight to Atlanta and if they can keep to their plan they might develop an operation in Atlanta.
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Old Sep 23, 2014, 6:43 am
  #40  
 
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Originally Posted by formeraa
Give it up. With DL entrenched and WN still there, it is unlikely that another carrier is going to make a push into ATL in a big way.
This. ^ Y'all are dreaming in Atlanta if you think you are even on Jet Blue' s radar. Remember what happened the last time Jet Blue tested the market in ATL.

http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-N...on-in-Atlanta/

Never is a long time so I won't say never - basically, its close to an unregulated monopoly in ATL.

Last edited by hazelrah; Sep 23, 2014 at 6:49 am
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Old Sep 23, 2014, 9:36 am
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by hazelrah
This. ^ Y'all are dreaming in Atlanta if you think you are even on Jet Blue' s radar. Remember what happened the last time Jet Blue tested the market in ATL.

http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-N...on-in-Atlanta/

Never is a long time so I won't say never - basically, its close to an unregulated monopoly in ATL.
I'm not so sure. JetBlue may decide try again.

One of the biggest factors in JetBlue's previous Atlanta foray was not Delta but Airtran which was also aggressively expanding and was effectively Atlanta based and offered a similar product to JetBlue. Essentially they were fighting two local airlines one of them low cost.

Southwest has cut their presence in Atlanta and service to many location I think there is opportunity for a product like JetBlue which offers premium seating and low cost.
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Old Sep 25, 2014, 1:39 pm
  #42  
 
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From the FT Front Page

Looking at flight traffic from January to August of this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported 585,517 flights in and out of ORD, versus 582,138 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), or 0.6 fewer, according to the Tribune. ATL was 3 percent higher in 2013.
Southwest has cut about 120 flights a day to ATL or about 28,000 since the beginning of the year. The represents around half of the Southwest flight reductions this year.
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Old Sep 25, 2014, 2:07 pm
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by rsteinmetz70112
Southwest has cut about 120 flights a day to ATL or about 28,000 since the beginning of the year. The represents around half of the Southwest flight reductions this year.
ATL isn't even one of WNs top 10.



Southwest Airlines global top 10 hubs/bases/stations by seats: 15-Sep-2014 to 21-Sep-2014
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Old Sep 25, 2014, 8:02 pm
  #44  
 
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I'm not sure that matters.

The point was the Southwest cuts at ATL are enough to unseat ATL as the busiest airport in the US.

The next step for Southwest in ATL will likely be to release some of their gates, something that hasn't happened to any great extent, if at all yet. With half the flights they don't need as many, unless they are planning to ramp up service in ATL in the near future.
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Old Sep 25, 2014, 9:40 pm
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by rsteinmetz70112
Southwest has cut about 120 flights a day to ATL or about 28,000 since the beginning of the year.
Somehow doubt they're down 120 flights a day "since the beginning of the year."

Maybe the last three years.

Southwest is expected to abandon Concourse D next year.
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