Originally Posted by
kjnangre
SEA is a substantially larger operation than it was, and it's only going to keep growing. Building a new hub takes time. It's got a flagship Skyclub now, and once the IAF opens, I expect we'll see several new Asia routes. As the 330neos arrive, I think we'll see some upgauging from 767s too.
None of these factors will drive premium TCON traffic. We had this discussion last time... TPAC routing via SEA from JFK is simply not competitive for anyone who values time (ie: the primary market for premium seats, ie: not a small number of mileage runners or airline loyalists). From JFK, you can currently fly n/s to PEK, NRT, HND, ICN, HKG, TPE, PVG, CAN, FOC, and sort of SIN (via FRA, but n/s resuming next year). Once there, if your destination is a smaller city, you only have 1 connection instead of 2 via SEA.
As a hub from the East Coast, SEA is only attractive to regional cities that one can't otherwise reach non stop. Places like EUG, PSC, and MFR. Maybe BZN, BOI, etc (which could probably be reached more directly via another hub). I don't think any of these will drive sufficient premium traffic.
Who knows, maybe JFK-SEA will work this time with more competition and more capacity...