entropy

Its no big surprise, when competition moves in, UA moves out. They can't compete with the quality of VX, B6 and DL, and the allure of 3 class low-density 321's that AA is now running. So they run away.

The major *A partners at JFK to Europe were mostly LH group airlines, and of those, LX, and LH both have nonstops out of SFO and LAX so its not like it was a seamless connection out of JFK.

gengar

Several FT'ers called the JFK>EWR switch for p.s. in the thread on JFK-IAD cancellation.

I think it's very likely p.s. will be entirely eliminated at some point. Typical UA - death by a thousand cuts.

Also agree with many other FT'ers in this thread - this is a devaluation of *A, as it eliminates the possibility of west coast fliers connecting in JFK to *A carriers who serve JFK.

Colin

nice for LAX passengers flying long-haul to Europe to get flat beds the whole way - I never even considered UA to Europe because half the travel time would be in domestic F.

EWR764

The sCO 752 wifi program will be complete this summer, so yes. As it stands now the product is significantly cheaper than p.s. gogo wifi, but you lose a lot in reliability (though improving, IME).

For UA, it's more about undermining its biggest competitor at EWR, and for DL, about reducing competition on a key business route. The JFK slots are clearly worth more to DL than UA, and the inverse is true relative to EWR.

LH completed an upgrade to its lounge facilities at EWR and at the time, some observed that the A++ might be revising the LH group capacity balance to tip more in favor of EWR. There's certainly less competition there and a lot more in-JV feed.

mduell

I think this is a huge win for jetBlue... all the *A carriers will partner with them for transcons (as some already have) rather than AA/DL.

Axey

Proof that United can't compete on product. At all.

Kacee

Yes this is the likely outcome. Essentially an admission they have been unable to compete with AA/B6/DL into JFK.

Agreed. The Van Wyck is no picnic but the Lincoln Tunnel is worse. And NJ Transit via Penn is not always a viable option, especially not the midtown business executives who take a service to the airport. A meaningful percentage of Manhattan business travelers simply will not fly EWR.

tarheelnj

LH big time. Better connections with earlier arrivals to some EU airports, like EWR-DUS-BUD, which I've done several times.

RockinPete

Air Canada, Air India, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss, TAP Portugal

SEA1K4EVR

Hmmmm... well getting to JFK is no picnic either... I missed my PS flight last time I was there even though I left plenty of time because of heavy traffic..fortunately I made the next flight as it wasn't full. There are decent public and private transportation options to EWR same as there are to JFK and both airports are a long ways from midtown Manhattan. Overall this is a smart move for UA. There really was no reason to keep those 2 very lucrative routes isolated at JFK from the rest of all those feeder flights at EWR...it made no sense.

What UA is saying...and they are right...is that they can't possibly please everyone everywhere. If JFK is your airport then you need to choose AA or DL. But at EWR.. UA is going to be by far your best option for a mainline carrier.

sinoflyer

This is exactly my initial thought. The p.s. brand has already been badly mismanaged, and moving it to EWR will kill it.

Kacee

I really disagree.

EWR is not going to support the premium fares UA wants from these flights. ps has always been about the high dollar banking/entertainment/fashion industry traffic, and that traffic prefers JFK.

When UA and CO merged, CO was selling lie flats SFO-EWR on the int'l 752 for 1/3 the price of ps SFO-JFK.

Weez_1000

While an inconvenience for people out on the island and possibly some in the outer boroughs. EWR is definitely more convenient for people in Manhattan, 3 stops from NY Penn Station is pretty nice.

entropy

If you're the world's leading carrier you ought to be able to support service into the largest aviation market in the US.

pmUnited had said it was profitable in their low-density 3 class 757s...

pduck01

I have really, really enjoyed using SDC between JFK & LGA. Perhaps now we could beg for EWR & LGA to be a co-terminal? Rrrrrrright.