Originally Posted by
jsloan
Yes. Their reasons are that they have a limited amount of resources and want to deploy them as efficiently as possible. Using a gate, a plane, and a crew for routes like LAX-PDX and (especially, since it’s 3x as long) LAX-PHL is inefficient. They won’t be able to compete on frequency with AA, so they’d be competing on price, and they’re paying the opportunity cost of not using that crew and equipment for something more profitable.
The counterpoint/hypothetical I’d offer is that if UA decides to keep bulking up its TPAC network at LAX and consciously build more of a secondary connecting hub for such traffic, we might have a stronger case for some of these longer and thinner domestic flights to/from competitor hubs. UA is presently constrained by widebody gate space at LAX, and I
think their TPAC flights are primarily targeted at OD pax rather than connections from elsewhere in the US, but if T9 gets built in the future I wouldn’t rule out a significantly larger network with more connecting flows.