Originally Posted by
ijgordon
Yes, but probably not at the yields that profitably support lie-flat seats. Even on longer-haul HI routes, they can probably only get $2.5-3k r/t for say NYC-HNL which is ~5k miles, vs. often $5-10k r/t OPM business fares on NYC-Europe at 3.5k miles. Which one do you think is more profitable? This is likely one reason premium cabin service standards are typically lower on HI routes vs. Europe. (Even if catering costs are only a small fraction of the fare.)
I think the point was about capacity, a 16J DL aircraft vs. a high-J UA 763 (subsequently pointed out that UA has down-gauged ex-JFK).
HI routes, unless they're on a widebody, have limited cargo capabilities, where the real $ is on the route. And from the west coast, the distance is similar to just about every transcon, and other than a few premium routes, we are all sitting in the domestic 2 cabin product.