AZ Travels the World
Apr 1, 05, 11:46 am
From today's Arizona Republic.
America West to eliminate first class on all but longest flights
PHOENIX (PR Newswire) – America West Airlines (NYSE: AWA) announced yesterday that it will be removing first class cabins from all but its longest flights, accounting for more than 95% of the Phoenix-based carrier’s routes.
The airline said the move, which is already receiving rave reviews by key analysts, is a return to its “low-cost carrier roots,” and is being made in response to continuing financial losses in what it termed “the current low-fare, high-fuel-price environment.” The transition will begin in mid-May and will be completed by the end of the third quarter (Sept. 30).
“We have determined that while first class seats are popular as upgrades with our frequent travelers, we do not sell enough of them to justify the service going forward,” said America West President and CEO Doug Parker. He said that the number of coach class seats the airline can cram into the space currently occupied by the first class cabin will create roughly 85% greater return to the airline.
“It was really a no-brainer,” he said. “Frankly, I’m surprised we didn’t think of this a long time ago, back in the Franke era.”
Parker added that the airline will retain first class cabins on “a handful” of its longest flights, including trans-continental segments from Los Angeles to New York/JFK and Boston. “Those flights aren’t very full anyway,” Parker said. “So spending money to retrofit the aircraft would be a waste of valuable resources.”
None of America West’s flights from its Phoenix or Las Vegas hubs will offer first class service.
“We know that our most frequent, elite-level travelers will find this move to be a moderate inconvenience,” Parker said, “but we have learned through experimentation over the past two years that severe changes and degradations to our frequent flyer benefits have marginal material impact to the company from a financial perspective. Plus, where are they going to go? Southwest? While there will no doubt be a lot of screaming and saber-rattling on Internet bulletin boards such as flyertalk.com, we are confident these passengers aren’t going anywhere.”
Parker predicted that in spite of these changes America West will enjoy the coveted Freddie Award for “Best Elite Level Airline Program” for many years to come. “We have created a value proposition that is second-to-none amongst the low-cost carriers,” Parker said. “There’s almost nothing we could do that would undermine it.”
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America West to eliminate first class on all but longest flights
PHOENIX (PR Newswire) – America West Airlines (NYSE: AWA) announced yesterday that it will be removing first class cabins from all but its longest flights, accounting for more than 95% of the Phoenix-based carrier’s routes.
The airline said the move, which is already receiving rave reviews by key analysts, is a return to its “low-cost carrier roots,” and is being made in response to continuing financial losses in what it termed “the current low-fare, high-fuel-price environment.” The transition will begin in mid-May and will be completed by the end of the third quarter (Sept. 30).
“We have determined that while first class seats are popular as upgrades with our frequent travelers, we do not sell enough of them to justify the service going forward,” said America West President and CEO Doug Parker. He said that the number of coach class seats the airline can cram into the space currently occupied by the first class cabin will create roughly 85% greater return to the airline.
“It was really a no-brainer,” he said. “Frankly, I’m surprised we didn’t think of this a long time ago, back in the Franke era.”
Parker added that the airline will retain first class cabins on “a handful” of its longest flights, including trans-continental segments from Los Angeles to New York/JFK and Boston. “Those flights aren’t very full anyway,” Parker said. “So spending money to retrofit the aircraft would be a waste of valuable resources.”
None of America West’s flights from its Phoenix or Las Vegas hubs will offer first class service.
“We know that our most frequent, elite-level travelers will find this move to be a moderate inconvenience,” Parker said, “but we have learned through experimentation over the past two years that severe changes and degradations to our frequent flyer benefits have marginal material impact to the company from a financial perspective. Plus, where are they going to go? Southwest? While there will no doubt be a lot of screaming and saber-rattling on Internet bulletin boards such as flyertalk.com, we are confident these passengers aren’t going anywhere.”
Parker predicted that in spite of these changes America West will enjoy the coveted Freddie Award for “Best Elite Level Airline Program” for many years to come. “We have created a value proposition that is second-to-none amongst the low-cost carriers,” Parker said. “There’s almost nothing we could do that would undermine it.”
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