Originally Posted by
Chugach
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I think AS will continue to seek out markets such as KC or STL that aren't necessarily "marquee" but allow them to scoop up all the O&D to/from the Northwest.
I also think we will see very gradual PDX buildup. I still don't know why they don't use PDX as a reliever/connection point to SEA in order to fill up SEA flights with the Seattle-originating traffic that they crave, but then again I'm not an airline executive.
Oh, and more Hawaii.
Could not agree more on Hawaii- I think there is a limit to how much more they can add though without devoting a disproportionate amount of traffic to Hawaii.
PDX is tough. Since I'm based in SEA I would love more NS from PDX so I can add a quick and usually free 700 miles to my itins. However, I do not see how anything beyond O&D routes can be added, since all the connecting traffic can flow over SEA. Keeping that in mind, I don't have the complete DOT data in front of me anymore, but I can tell you for sure that PDX O&D is way lower on almost every route.
I can see PDX-EWR or PDX-DCA (slot award dependent), relying on O&D only and some OR connecting.
Anyway, now that I take another look I think we will probably see some amount of frequency increases when AS gets the 900ER's next year. ATL, please! I know it'll never happen with DL though.
Thanks everyone for your posts... pretty exciting to see new AS routes.