That's the kind of operation they have at DEN (and the main reason they built DIA since Stapleton also had 2 parallel runways too close for simultaneous operation in bad weather).

I forget the actual distance needed between both runways but clearly this will never happen at EWR since it would require re-routing the NJ Turnpike...

You got it. Number 3 and 4 go hand in hand - this is also why I posted about Delta's new cabin and service, because it's something CO needs to not just match, but exceed, or there will be big trouble on the horizon.

Number 5 is a dual pronged threat. Not only does CO have competition from existing trunk carriers improving their product like Delta's new cabins and UAL considering PS service across the Atlantic, but now you have Maxjet targeting the paid business class end and the potential for jetBlue or another jetBlue-like carrier to redefine transAtlantic coach.

All service companies know you must evolve and improve, or die. Continental evolved once successfully, but nothing new has come out for the service end of the product in a long time.

I want to see Continental survive...and thrive. However, they need to take a hard look at their cousins at Delta and figure out what needs to be done to leapfrog ahead. Focusing on good service delivery is one thing, but there must be focus on the product too. Take care of service and product, and the bottom line will take care of itself.

I obviously agree with you and I agree with you based on the fact that I not only want to see CAL survive, but I want them to retain their reputation as an excellent product that consistently over-delivers, a reputation that was hard-earned under the stewardship of Gordon Bethune and is being slowly but surely eroded by the narrow view of value adopted under Larry Kellner.

Unless Larry Kellner is grooming CAL for an impending takeover (a definite possibility) then his basic principle of value seems to overlook the devastating effects of opportunity cost that can cripple a business' ability to generate revenue.

I'll have to disagree with the "good job" classification at IAH. While the airport certainly has the capacity to do what it needs to, CO has packed in the flights, and banked them so heavily around their departure banks, that delays and line-ups have gotten out of control.

It's not uncommon to be on the west coast bank that departs around 5:45 p.m., or the later one around 8:45 p.m., and be held at the gate waiting for late connecting bags, then have to wait at the gate to get someone to push you, then have to wait at the gate because of "congestion in the alley," all to finally get out of the gate area and line up for 30 minutes to take off.

Departing IAH on a Sunday night during either of these two banks is as bad as LGA, IMO. It's also consistent with some flights in this departure range having disappointing ontime performance. The IAH-SFO flights I often take have been recovering in recent months, from what was 20% ontime to now 40% ontime. But we still have a ways to go in terms of reliability.

I rarely fly through IAH, but,as been noted here frequently, the situation is hardly better at EWR.

In all fairness to CO, though, this is not so much a CO issue, it's simply a consequence of squeezing in too many people and running very quick turnarounds.

The kinds of major delays that have been described here are common among all airlines nowadays.

I believe the 'gold standard' is 800' of separation (runways are generally 150' wide) to allow for simultaneous parallel operations. EWR's two parallels are closer to 400', if I'm not mistaken, far too close. SFO's runways, which are utilized simultaneously, may be inside of 800', but the operations are permitted. I don't think lateral separation gets any closer than that for normal operations.

SFO's runways 10L/28R & 10R/28L are actually too close for simultaneous operation. The primary bad weather condition here is fog, of course.

The SFIA has attempted for decades to build a new runway with sufficient separation but has met up with San Francisco's famously fierce environmental resistance and the project is now officially off.

Last week at SFO, I thought for sure two planes were taking off simultanieously. One could have been landing and the other taking off, but it sure looked like both were leaving. A building obscured my view.

I thought it was strange as the runways seem too close together.

I'm sorry, my previous post wasn't clear: Simultaneous operation is common at SFO, just not in certain weather conditions (low visibility, high winds)

One of the main reasons for all the delays around the nation's air traffic systems is the bottlenecks created when one of the major airports goes down to single or 1-and-half runway operation because of weather.

This is certainly one of major reasons for the frequent delays at EWR. Since SFO is less of a hub the delays there have fewer reprecussions on the rest of the system.

quite frankly, I have to agree with a lot of the posts here.

The ontime performance is horrible (68% in July). CO used to have rolling hub philosophy, but now it seems that they are very heavily banked.

And here we run into a major problem with CO, vis-a-vis their operations. CO is a hub only airline. Excepting the CO MIKE flights that operate in a world of their own, the LAX-mexico/Hawaii, SEA-ANC, and the co connection carriers out of FLL/TPA/BOS/ALB, CO doesn't operate flights outside of their hub system.

This creates tremendous bottlenecks as they try to add capacity. AA, UA and DL all provide both hub based and point-to-point options. EWR cannot handle its current load. IAH has plenty of space but it is so peaked now it seems, that they have difficulty managing that traffic. CO seems unwilling to offload a lot of connecting traffic thru CLE, which would help alleviate some traffic in EWR. Nor are they willing to part with and replace ERJ's with larger mainline a/c on business routes.

I also must say that I'm disappointed with CO's coach product. And yes, those cheese nastinesses need to go. CO should make it more paletable for elites to be stuck in Y especially if upgrade percentages keep going down. a little something, like giving you a drink coupon.

I see it as a CO issue. CO squeezes in too many departures from the same terminal at the same time. They could spread them out a bit.

They take an otherwise reasonably modern airport with ample runways and room for growth, and make it perform like a land-locked, overcrowded airport with insufficient room for growth (hence the LGA reference). There's no excuse for that.

Sure, others have similar issues, but there are often reasons for it -- LAX has decent runways, but tight real estate, hence alley delays. SFO has runway capacity issues in sub-optimal weather. I understand that. I just don't see why IAH's ops feel so poor with late bags, late pushbacks, alley delays, and lineups.

Well, a couple things. Alot of the cutbacks and changes were rolled out under Gordon Bethune before he retired. It was Gordon who led the cutbacks of Onepass after claiming the opposite would happen.

In Larry's defense, he did say he would spend $1 to earn $1.10. The problem I see is convincing him, coming from a finance background, that spending $1 (figuratively of course) more on revolutionary seats and better inflight service will yield a return of equal value plus a dime. It's a hard sell, especially given the current industry 'wisdom' that everyone just buys on price alone, then schedule. The increment he is seeking is attainable, in my opinion, even with many people continuing to price shop. Continental already has some of the highest fares in the industry on many routes - it's hardly ever the 'first column' on any orbitz search, so if they are already pricing away from the 'shopper market', why not try to sell a better product?

If anyone thinks it can't be done, just look at jetBlue. They sold seats based on product and service, not price. They rarely had the lowest fare, except during seat sales or on lightly booked flights, but customers associated them initially with low fares (the LCC myth), but eventually bought based on their better product quality and service. So it can be done - it just takes some creative thinking and marketing to drive the right message to customers.

I've been on Flyertalk since 2001, and always rallied against suggestions that air travel would become something between a la carte pricing or the lowest common service denominator. Finally the industry is beginning to turn back from that brink and recognize longevity and profits might depend on quality and product differentiation after all.

I hope Continental sees this before it's too late. At least they don't have alot to change - just think of what needs to be changed at NW or US to bring their product quality to parity with CO, B6 or UA. It's not reinventing the wheel for CO, just polishing it abit.

I agree with most of your argument, but have to point out that jetBlue continually commands the LOWEST average fare and RASM among major airlines, to a point where one can credibly claim that their operation is parasitic versus an honest effort at providing a lower-cost/lower-fare alternative to legacy carriers.

Your assertion basically hold true for WN though.

What "planned" cuts are you talking about?

Versus AA? DL? UA? or your favorite B6? We continue to invest in the "infrastructure" of CO; just not at the speed we were in more profitable periods

Really, so you think CO is not watching the "paradigm" shift? Do you see us adding AVOD on our 757 fleet? Is more coach cabin comfort in the form or seat pitch or material used? Which cabin produces a higher yield J or Y?

Remember, while we declared BK twice before, the market has changed and we minimally changed our services versus the other network carriers: If IFE is so important, why hasn't WN made the change?

Hmmm....I guess the fact that B6 is reconsidering it EWR operations would make your thoughts obsolete.

I guess you didn't read where AA has decided to stop flying entirely on the ORD-GLA route (after this summer). They must be flying a 757 there...oh wait, it is a 767-300!

Ummm...yeah, proof of this "deteriorating" reputation as "a reliable full-service airline" is located online? in the news? where?

How can one claim that jetBlue is a 'parasitic' operation? They are in this business to make a profit, and outside of their recent hyperactive bungling, they would continue to make money until either their costs went way up (those lease amounts will get a big boost sooner or later), or their product was surpassed by something else and their market mystique was lost.

I can often buy transcon tickets on Delta, NWA, US and often even CO for less than jetBlue. Unless I book waaaaay in advance, their fares on most routes to/from FLL/NYC/IAD/BOS are often equivalent to, or higher than DL and US - who are the price leaders in this market. jetBlue may have more seats for sale at the lower fares, but they are not a PeopleExpress with every seat for $59.

I read one of Jeff Smisek's interviews where he essentially claimed that jetBlue was giving away too much to their customers. However, isn't that their model? To provide complimentary product features which enhance the customer's experience even if those features do not product side revenue, but rather only serve to build and maintain sales flow. Perhaps in Jeff's view, he thought jetBlue should be charging to use the personal TVs and scaling down the snack service, but that is not their business model. They are willing to accept less revenue in exchange for establishing a better product reputation...which in turn has allowed them to develop somewhat of a mystique as a 'discount' carrier. They have been making operational changes to reduce capacity, hedge fuel costs and get average fares up, so I am not sure if their RASM is still at the bottom of the barrel and so far off from carriers like WN or US. I won't disagree that they need to get their margins up, but I would never call them parasitic - especially when they were cleaning the competitions' clock before management got too full of itself.

I tried to find some recent airline metric rankings, but couldn't get a current list on the web.