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).
People would likely pay much higher prices than are currently being offered to HI. HNL and OGG could likely support an int'l F product on the long haul routes instead of the J product DL/UA/AA currently offers. The Asian carriers mostly have an F cabin to HNL. It is a very high end leisure market, and OGG even more so. A good hotel at OGG can run more than 5K for a week. If people are willing to pay those outrageous hotel prices, they may wiling to pay a more on air fare for a better product