Originally Posted by JS
I see no indication that the hub and spoke system is going extinct. A point-to-point model has very limited applications. Even Southwest is becoming more of a hub-and-spoke airline as time passe...
For the majors, the spokes seem to be serviced more and more by RJs, especially the new 70-100 seat ones.
I still say Boeing is being foolish, but I don't work there, so what do I know.
Nobody wants to buy them, so no real reason for Boeing to keep the line open if it will be idle. There also seem to be enough in lease fleets and the boneyard to meet any slight up-ticks in demand.
They had 10 752 and 27 753 orders in 2001, no orders in 2002, seven 752s in 2003, and no orders in 2004. The 767 had 50% more orders (68 vs 44) during the same period (though 10 of those were 762ERs which probably became tankers).
Even the 747 eeked out three more planes (47) and she's supposed to be superfluous in the "Age of the A380".
The 737NGs sold 554 in the same time frame, though the 737-900, the closest model in capacity to a 752, only sold eight in 2003 and 2004, but that plane has it's own issues that make it not very popular.