AgtMulder

PHOENIX, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- America West Airlines (NYSE: AWA) is pleased to announce continued expansion at its Las Vegas hub with new jet service to Boise, Idaho starting on March 1, 2005. With the addition of the new Boise service, the airline will serve 56 nonstop destinations from Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, more than any other carrier. America West Express, operated by Mesa Airlines, will provide the new service utilizing the 86-passenger Candadair Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900). Flight schedules are listed below.

"Customers will enjoy the increased travel benefits and opportunities as our Las Vegas hub expansion continues in 2005," said Dion Flannery, vice president, route planning, scheduling and Internet distribution. "In 2004, America West added 15 new nonstop destinations from Las Vegas."

The sample fare listed below is available only on http://www.americawest.com?c=12270816Boise, is one way based on round trip travel, and is valid for the days and times specified below.

Las Vegas to Boise Sample
Flight Departs Arrives Fare*
6572 11:59 p.m. 2:54 a.m. $60

Boise to Las Vegas Sample
Flight Departs Arrives Fare*
6571 9:00 p.m. 9:45 p.m. $60



Now if only they'd add service to some of the smaller eastern Idaho cities like they do to Kalispell & etc. I know I'm tired of paying $250-300 for flights from PIH and IDH to SLC just to connect elsewhere.

enviroian

Arrive into BOI at 3 in the morning? Way to go (again) HP. What a half ... airline.

AZ Travels the World

What a stupid schedule.

And I was actually excited for a minute when I read the headline. The current service to BOI is very thin. From a doing-business-in-Boise perspective, this doesn't help.

snokums925

What else is new...another red-eye out of LAS. A lot of the expanded service is being added on YV flts from LAS. Family that lives in BOI is quite happy with the additional option so not everyone thinks its a "stupid" schedule.

enviroian

My sendiments exactly. I was initially excited to see expanded service here and thought about how HP will finally have some decent time slots. What a joke--what in gods name is HP thinking?

enviroian

No, it is truly a stupid schedule

snokums925

OK, so you think it's a stupid schedule...DONT FLY IT! That makes it easy, doesn't it? I'm sure HP will consult you prior to making any other "stupid" schedule decisions.
I will fly it often as it allows me to work a full day and head to PHX for the connection thru LAS.
Just remember, what is "stupid" to you could be very advantageous for someone else.

enviroian

No biggie seriously--good for you and I'm glad it fits your schedule. I call it "stupid" as I'd like to take of poll of other folks on business who like yourself and I, would like to make a day trip to Boise. I'd like to see what 95% of them have to say about making a day trip starting out at 3 am

AZ Travels the World

snokums, I respect the fact you are a loyal HP supporter, but take off those rose colored glasses for a minunte and take an honest look at this schedule.

Depart LAS -- 11:59 PM
Arrive BOI -- 2:45 AM

While there may be a few people either so desperate for an additional flight to/from BOI, or so desperate to spend every last possible minute gambling in Vegas that they don't care that they're arriving home at 3 o'clock in the morning, the vast majority of travelers wouldn't even consider taking this flight. I speak for them (us) in saying it is stupid when HP offers such a thin schedule to begin with. Better than nothing? Perhaps. But not by much.

If this were another city, where HP offers a nice balanced schedule of flights, then a late, late night flight as an option isn't so stupd. But when it's the one flight a day from LAS and only the third flight serving the city, it's a stupid schedule, for the majority of us anyway (which, on the rare occasions that I'm in the majority, I'm more than happy to speak for ).

This isn't personal. It's just frustration being expressed by people who need to travel regularly to BOI for business and currently struggle mightily with HP's schedule. We've been anxiously awaiting a rumored expansion -- and this is what we get.

formeraa

It's not a stupid schedule; it is a specific HP strategy. The whole idea of an HP PHX/LAS superhub is that, during the day, HP hubs at PHX and, at night, HP hubs at LAS. For a decade, they stuck pretty strictly to that concept. Almost every flight to LAS was at night. The point was to maximize usage of its aircraft.

Here is an example: A flight arrives in BOI at 8pm from PHX. Rather than have the aircraft sit all night, the flight leaves BOI at 9pm to LAS. Then, sometime around midnight, the aircraft returns from LAS and arrives BOI in the wee hours of the morning. Finally, the same aircraft is used on the early am flight from BOI to PHX.

Originally, HP offered very low fares for these flights and attracted significant number of college students, budget travelers, and the like. I flew on them several times and saved probably a thousand dollars in airfare. In the current environment, we expect low fares all day long. So, these flights aren't nearly as attractive as they were in the 80's and early 90's.

You can either take the flights or not. At least, it is an additional option that doesn't waste a whole day traveling.

sxf24

One other 'consequence' of the new LAS-BOI service is the elimination of HP mainline service at BOI. All flights will now be operated by Mesa with CR9 equipment.

WebTraveler

This is HPs strategy...but there are situations where the planes have very few passengers on them. On the flight LAS-PDX several years ago had 7 people on it. Really wierd for a 737. They claim it works for them. Whether it will work for Boise remains to be seen.

formeraa

WebTraveler --

You make a good point. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. In the past 5 years, HP has dropped the night flights in some markets because "it simply doesn't work". It seems to work in larger markets with lots of demand or in smaller markets where there are few alternatives. One of the things that HP has done in some markets is to run the night flights only on peak days of the week (San Antonio is one of those markets).