Originally Posted by
entropy
Again, CO prefers frequency over capacity, it is evident in almost every operation they run.
This just simply isn't true. CO historically never had a large widebody fleet and so has slowly built up the 764 and 777 fleet. The 757s on LHR et al. are there because they don't have the planes necessary to do otherwise. It's not a preference but a result of the post 9/11 world where there was a huge shift by domestic airlines to cut back domestic and expand internationally. CO could only do this by deploying 757s and 767s internationally.
Domestically, PMCO had the largest-capacity narrowbody fleet (in average seat count terms) of any legacy. That doesn't jibe at all with frequency>capacity argument.
But yes, NYC-TLV is a *huge* market (typically one of CO's strongest). TLV cargo is big, so they want both the seat-space and the cargo space. I'd put more money on a 744 upgauge than 380s. They have markets that support the 744 effectively, but the 380 is a big step up that won't work on many other routes. TLV is a bit unique in its revenue properties in that there are strong yields in coach, and strong yields in both business-business (High-tech and now energy) and leisure-business (wealthy Jews) , AND strong cargo.
I could definitely see a 747 put on that route as well.