Originally Posted by bocastephen

But it isn't just traffic - it's traffic that generates profit. Does that customer exist for Thailand? The only people willing to pay a premium to fly nonstop are the ones living in the departure city - everyone else has a connection, so if they are facing a connection anyway, they will likely take that connection with the best price, be it SFO, NRT, TPE, SIN or HKG.

I can't see United filling a plane with people willing to pay $2,000 round trip to fly NYC, WAS, CHI to BKK via SFO if they could fly NYC, WAS, CHI, to BKK via TPE for $1,500. I could see Air Canada poaching west coasters via YVR for a lower price.

The premium just isn't there, neither is the O+D market to fill in the revenue gap.