To shake things up a bit here, where would you like to see US to start service?

I am mainly speaking domestic US here, but if there is a Euorpean city that would do as well (if you're choice is in Europe, let's keep it to reasonable choices from PHL, PIT or CLT).

Mine would be PDX and SLC (especially with the Olympics in '02)

I vote for YVR because that is my home airport (must be the US elite on here who is farthest away from an US-served airport?) Don't like having to travel down to SEA!

US should go back in to Worcester, MA.
SBA
LGB
Key West

Calgary
Vancouver
Portland

1. Honolulu
2. Salt Lake City
3. San Jose

Originally posted by chexfan:
To shake things up a bit here, where would you like to see US to start service?

I am mainly speaking domestic US here, but if there is a Euorpean city that would do as well (if you're choice is in Europe, let's keep it to reasonable choices from PHL, PIT or CLT).

Mine would be PDX and SLC (especially with the Olympics in '02)

Ahh...Allowing me to open up my US Airways destination Christmas wish list:

1. PDX
2. SJC
3. YVR
4. SLC
5. HNL
6. SAT
7. AUS
8. COS
9. OKC
10. RNO

I think that the top three are most deserved as they are large population centers with good O/D base. SJC has the advantage of having lots of wealthy people who are willing to pay dollar (in addition to the down and trodden failed start-ups). US could certainly offer nerd-bird one-stop flights from SJC to RDU and IAD.

US could easily convert three or four A-330-300 orders to A-330-200s to get the long range craft to HNL. If nothing else, use the flight to get US FFs to burn up their miles.

US needs to rethink its California service by getting some turboprops back out there. Maybe PSA should send about 8 or 10 DO-328s or pick up some Brasilias from the desert and run the intra California like they used to.
I would fly: LAX-SAN, LAX-SBA, LAX-PSP, LAX-MRY, LAX-FAT, LAX-SMF, SAN-FAT, SFO-MRY, SFO-FAT, SFO-SMF, SFO-SBA. The US Express operation made getting from the east coast to the west coast much more simple. As an example, SAN flights are JAMMED these days. To solve this, I could simply fly to LAX and then connect to SAN. No can do anymore.

US might also want to consider re-entering DAB with RJs. DAB is desperate for service and seems willing to subsidize a carrier into the place. So, why not?

COS. That would be my mini-hub idea. There are about a dozen open gates at COS after WestPac committed suicide. US could use those gates to reach out to some west coast cities that really couldn't hold transcon service (i.e. TUS, ABQ, RNO, BOI)

Originally posted by zrs70:
US should go back in to Worcester, MA.
SBA
LGB
Key West

They fly EYW. I think they also fly ORH.

domestic: PDX

intl: With service to AMS and BRU already on the books, I'd like to see either Milan and/or Barcelona.

nice thread, chexfan http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

They're already going into Key West with commuter service, aren't they?

Can the 767-200 reach from the east coast hubs to Honolulu or would it have to be a west coast connection?

Well I am definitely biased on this one, but I would love to see them offer service to PAH or MWA, but they are probably too far away from a USAir hub. I guess I will have to hope for DL to come save us from NW and TWA.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Domestic / Canada / MExico-

SJC, AUS, YVR, MEX

Intl.

DUB, BCN, DUS

US used to fly PIT - MEX but stopped a while back - it would be nice to see it restarted. And DUB has a good O/D market from PIT, BOS, PHL - all cities with strong US presence.

Originally posted by geo1004:
domestic: PDX

intl: With service to AMS and BRU already on the books, I'd like to see either Milan and/or Barcelona.

nice thread, chexfan http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Yeah, as far as int'l goes MXP would have to be #1 on the list. US makes a KILLING on the FCO route - the flight is always full. NW and TW have both dropped Italy frequencies, so US should request that they take them over based on dormancy.

I would offer the following int'l options after MXP: BCN, ZRH, VIE, LIS, DUB/SNN.

Re: Hawaii, I think the 767 can make it (US did fly FCO-PHL using a 767), but the big difference is that the last half of the FCO-PHL trip had fuel alternates if problems arose. Once you pass LAX, you've got to commit to 2000 miles of journey with fuel reserves. That is why I posited the A-330-200.

Key west and Worcester: with JETS

I think the issue with Hawaii is that there would need to be east and west coast feed to make the routes profitable. US could probably throw a 757 or 767 through LAX and then on to Hawaii and make money on the route. However, they can probably make more money with the same plane on other routes. Business travelers between LAX and the east coast tend to pay bigger $$$ for tickets than honeymooners! IMHO. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Originally posted by geo1004:
I think the issue with Hawaii is that there would need to be east and west coast feed to make the routes profitable. US could probably throw a 757 or 767 through LAX and then on to Hawaii and make money on the route. However, they can probably make more money with the same plane on other routes. Business travelers between LAX and the east coast tend to pay bigger $$$ for tickets than honeymooners! IMHO. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

True, but as I said before, one use of a HNL flight is to burn up FF miles. In fact, many airlines operate to Hawaii for the express purpose of working down FFs accounts....

Originally posted by zrs70:
Key west and Worcester: with JETS


Gotchya. Can EYW handle jets? They used to, but I don't know if a jet is justified there....

I would like so see a flight PHL-ARN/CPH because Philly has Swedish history.

Actually I'd be fairly content if they came back to BLI and RNO among other places. The whole PSA takeover and dismemberment (one of their finance staff put it as "(they) bought PSA and parked it in the desert.") was a financial fiasco.

When I was in Key West this past May, I think I remember reading that Key West (international?) airport originally did handle jets, but that people complained and/or voted to ban them. Key West is pretty small, and an approach from the west would basically have a jet flying over the main part of the island. Granted, prop planes have to do the same thing, but I remember laying out by the pool, looking up through a palm tree, seeing a turboprop go by, and thinking that wasn't so bad. The 'old technology' of a prop plane an Key West seem to go together.

Jeff

Originally posted by ITRADE:
Gotchya. Can EYW handle jets? They used to, but I don't know if a jet is justified there....

Originally posted by jwhite4:
When I was in Key West this past May, I think I remember reading that Key West (international?) airport originally did handle jets, but that people complained and/or voted to ban them. Key West is pretty small, and an approach from the west would basically have a jet flying over the main part of the island. Granted, prop planes have to do the same thing, but I remember laying out by the pool, looking up through a palm tree, seeing a turboprop go by, and thinking that wasn't so bad. The 'old technology' of a prop plane an Key West seem to go together.

Jeff



EYW's runway is 4800' long which is kinda tight for most jet aircraft. A 737 could do it, but I'm sure most airlines would like more room. As a comparison, the shortest runway is 4900' at DCA - I've never seen a jet land or take off on that runway. The famously short runway at SNA is 5700' feet - about 20% longer than EYW's.

Plus, toss in the fact that EYW has VERY strict noise abatement procedures for 27 departures and 9 arrivals, I wouldn't expect to see jets there.

ORH, on the other hand, has a 7000' runway which is fine for most all narrowbody jets.

Piedmont used to fly the f-28's into Key West. I think Eastern had dc-9's as well.

I agree with most of what has been said here.

New destinations in the North America:
-Vancouver YVR
-Austin AUS
-Portland PDX
-Mexico City MEX

In Europe
-Milan MXP
-Barcelona BCN
-Madrid MAD
-Lisbon LIS
(note that these four are cities that TWA axed recently from JFK. Could US pick up a route authority/slot...?)

Interestingly, many of the cities being mentioned here were once served by USAir / US Airways. Mexico City had one or more daily flights to each of the hubs, as I recall. Austin and San Antonio also used to have flights to all the hubs. And of course, the California operation post PSA.

New Routes:
Florida (TPA/MCO/FLL) to West Coast (LAS/LAX)

All routes once served by USAir then dropped. I know of LAS-TPA and LAX-TPA. BRING THEM BACK! US Airways has lots of loyal FFs here in Florida. TPA-LAX, TPA-LAS, MCO-LAX, MCO-LAS, FLL-LAX, FLL-LAS. Note that Delta has only two flights per day between TPA and LAX and that's it. One two flights per day between LAS and TPA too. MCO has some service to both. FLL has no west coast service! Maybe SFO too!

Originally posted by BizJet:
I agree with most of what has been said here.

New destinations in the North America:
-Vancouver YVR
-Austin AUS
-Portland PDX
-Mexico City MEX

In Europe
-Milan MXP
-Barcelona BCN
-Madrid MAD
-Lisbon LIS
(note that these four are cities that TWA axed recently from JFK. Could US pick up a route authority/slot...?)



AUS, SAT, and DAB got the axe in the '97 cuts (or was it '98). Things didn't look so hot for US back then.

BTW, MAD is already served by US out of PHL - although the consensus sounds big on BCN!

Originally posted by zrs70:
Piedmont used to fly the f-28's into Key West. I think Eastern had dc-9's as well.

I found a web page for the F-28 which listed the landing field length at 3,495' and the takeoff length at MTOW at 6,264'. So, do I guess they light loaded the F-28 to TPA or CLT?

I flew a US jet MIA-EYW-MIA in 1990. It was a F-28 and fairly packed too IIRC.

From the Casa Marina in EYW:

Someone used to fly Fokker 100's here, but no more. I think loads are the main reason for no jet service here.

Note that jet noise is a daily thing here. The USN flys F-14's and heavier cargo planes in and out of KW NAS on Boca Chica Key (about 3 miles from KW) on a daily basis.

Bill
(at the end of the bar...listening to the sounds of the Islands)

As someone who will probably continue to use USAir (assuming the UA merger does not go through) exclusively to fly between the West Coast and Europe, I´d love to see them serve SJC (home town airport) and PDX (other major USA destination for me, and no US option).
It would be much easier to put up with often-undesirable connecting times between Europe and the Bay Area (my December FRA-SFO-FRA flights have 2.5 and 3.5 hour layovers in PIT) if flying USAir didn´t also involve a trip to SFO 3-4 times as long as to SJC. There´s been a noticable increase in service from SJC in the past few years and with all the money and business activity concentrated in the Valley, it seems to me to be a "safe" choice.
Yonatan

I, too, would like to see Portland added to the list of destinations. I'd also like to see some Transatlantic flights from BOS or New York, along with new European desinations like Zurich. I'd also accept adding the destinations of other airlines to US so long as I could earn Preferred Miles for flights on partners. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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In terms of transatlantic service, what I would love to see even more than a new route would be a daytime eastbound flight (I imagine PHL-LGW might be the only viable option). I really like the daytime transatlantic flights as a way to avoid the jet-lag that I get when, after a sleepless 6-8 hours in coach, I arrive in Europe "first thing in the morning", but I don´t have that option if I want to earn US miles.
I think that members of every other stateside FF program (other than TW whose partner list is pathetic) have at least one airline that does a US-London daytime run on which they can earn miles (since they have CO, VS, DL, UA, AA, and/or BA as partners) - I´d love to be able to do so AND earn US miles. Maybe even if there weren´t that much originating traffic in PHL, with redeyes from the West Coast arriving at the hub early in the morning as well as flights from nearby cities, might the connecting traffic be enough to support such a flight?

I'm not so sure about daytime flights from Philly. Daytime flights can't generally pull connecting traffic from that many cities, since they usually depart admist the first bank of connecting arrivals. That's why thus far all daytimes are from NYC and Boston.

But it is possible. CO has a daytime from EWR, and, besides O/D traffic, it can pull from very early connections from northeast cities.

Originally posted by BizJet:
I'm not so sure about daytime flights from Philly. Daytime flights can't generally pull connecting traffic from that many cities, since they usually depart admist the first bank of connecting arrivals. That's why thus far all daytimes are from NYC and Boston.

But it is possible. CO has a daytime from EWR, and, besides O/D traffic, it can pull from very early connections from northeast cities.

You might be able to pull in some connecting traffic from a day flight. It'd have to leave no later than about 9:00 a.m. for it to be of use - it would arrive at LGW around 9:00 p.m. That time would allow for the first bank of passengers to arrive from east coast cities as well as connecting passengers from the red-eye flights from the east coast.

I don't think you could get passengers from Florida or the deep South as they wouldn't arrive in PHL until at least 9:00 a.m. Same thing with midwest passengers.

I would be happy to have the BOS-FRA back. After US dropped this flight, LH added a second flight, and LH appears to be filling those seats. Also BOS-MCI, which YX picked up after US dropped it. It will be interesting to see what happens with Logan after the US/ UA merger. AA and DL have been building up significant competition there.

A dayflight from the US to Europe would be fantastic. I would prefer PHL to FRA also I see LGW or CDG would be viable options because they are the three mayor gateways to europe and have a visible US presence at least three flights a day each.
The advantage of a dayflight would be fantastic but because of the time zones there are problems with not only the connecting flights to PHL but at the european gateways as well. Most of there traffic to other european cities is done when such a flight would come in at 9 or 10 pm in the evening.Of course some traffic further on like to asia is happening right then they often leave late in the evening.
AA once had a daytime from ORD to LHR. I do not know if they still have it but of course they have a very big presence at LHR.

AA still has the daytimes flight from ORD to LHR (I think it leaves at 9 am and arrives at 10pm). I understand from a discussion on the AA board (computer too touchy right now to risk a crash trying to find the thread) that if it is delayed too much they have to cancel the flight because LHR has a 10 pm curfew.
As far as I know the only daytime flights are to LON (AF used to do it to Paris with Concorde but let´s not get into THAT) - I would of course prefer FRA over any other destination but I don´t know if it´s realistic.
I´m not sure how many of the passengers on a daytime flight normally connect once in Europe, but I´d think London would be better for that anyway (shorter flight time) so that if they fly to FRA that is likely their final destination.
Probably the biggest issue is whether FRA has a curfew.

Yonatan

I don't fly US much anymore since I moved back home from BOS to ORD. But thinking about my colleagues that still live and work there, I'd like to see:

1. BCN - it's an amazingly underserved destination from all the carriers. Unless you want to fly Iberia... 1a would be ARN.

2. BED - I know the neighbors in Bedford don't want the noise... But I think US could fill two flights a weekday to PHL and PIT with minimal inventory in the lower fare classes. I don't know if the planes that are allowed to fly into BED can make it to PIT though.

3. BOS-MSP. Northwest has a monopoly on that market for no good reason. If UA/AA can coexist as a duopoly on ORD-BOS and ORD-LGA, then there's no reason that US/NW can't coexist on this route.

1) San Jose
2) Portland OR
3) Spokane

A more interesting US presence on the west coast would be a good thing. From an "improved routes" perspective they should be combining with America West or Alaska not United.

Originally posted by chexfan:
BRU would be nice,esp.as Sabena is hemmoraging cash and may be on its way out.


To shake things up a bit here, where would you like to see US to start service?

I am mainly speaking domestic US here, but if there is a Euorpean city that would do as well (if you're choice is in Europe, let's keep it to reasonable choices from PHL, PIT or CLT).

Mine would be PDX and SLC (especially with the Olympics in '02)