mrcool1122

I was trying to book LAX/SFO for June 2017 and the schedule seems clearly much less than the hourly service I'm used to. Also the prices seem much higher than what it has been in the past. And, for what it's worth, Wikipedia says the Shuttle service "ends December 16, 2016."
Is this for real? What gives?

3Cforme

What day of the week are you looking at? The downloadable schedule for Monday, 1/9/17, shows LAX-SFO hourly from 7A-8P except for noon, all operated by SkyWest.

mrcool1122

Oh interesting. When I checked a week ago, the schedule only showed 5 flights per day. Now it's hourly again. However, it never used to be a DL Connection; it was DL on a 717.

flyerCO

I believe it's part of DL's plan to move the 717's east. Skywest is getting E175's which work just as well for a shuttle LAX/SFO.

injera

Given that sea was just added to the shuttle network i can't see them cutting out SFO to lax

FSUnole03

That's interesting as that's exactly what DL previously used on LAX-SFO vv flights and then heavily marketed the fact that "mainline" 717's were being brought out west. Now they're reversing that and sending the 717's back out East?

Pharaoh

Is it a brand, a shuttle, or a route?

northwesterner

Moving the 717's east was supposed to happen when the C-series jets arrived.

Delta has been swapping regionals and the 717s on schedules across the west. SEA-PHX was all CR9 all summer, and had been 717s previously...

WheelsFirst

I had a LAX/SFO flight today that was DL Connection even though it was mainline when booked. It's not quite the same DL Connection caused a 1.5 hour delay for mx/crew issues all while doing rolling delays so had to sit by the gate for an hour. Not saying that's impossible with mainline but Connection is clearly inferior even if only by a small amount.

live5

I wouldn't call mainline vs. SkyWest "just as well."

I try stay loyal to Delta but if I'm flying between two major US cities (LGA-ORD, LGA-BOS, LAX-SFO, etc, etc) I would rather fly another airline's mainline service than take the "will this flight be canceled or significantly delayed" risk with a regional airline DBA Delta Connection.

flyerCO

If it's an actual "shuttle" and not just called a shuttle then generally it doesn't matter. If it's an actual shuttle then the airlines tend to make sure those operate regardless.

UVAhoo06

From what a DL GA told me, whenever SFO has a weather issue and limits the number of flights that can arrive/take off, mainline aircrafts get priority over DL-marketed regional jets. This raises some potential problems because whenever SFO has a weather/visibility-related delay--and this happens more often than not--this would seriously impact this particular shuttle route. I fly this route often, and when one or two flights are delayed, the cascade effect can be quite serious, especially when one considers the congestion and constricted space at LAX.

flyerCO

In general yes. However shuttle flights are normally given priority regardless of who flies it.

PowerFlyer

The Shuttle is, in theory, a brand. But its a dying brand and the Seattle routes defiantly are diluting it. I was on the SEA-LAX flight this past week and found it to be odd. The food was good but I doubt anyone on the plane understood why this was different than any other DL (or AS) flight from SEA to LAX.

I guess "Shuttle" now means frequent service with stepped up inflight catering all aimed at business travelers.


Back in the Day Eastern's "Air-Shuttle" was modeled on the 42nd street shuttle or other frequent quick-turn train services along the Penna railroad. It wasn't fancy (and nothing on Eastern was fancy to be honest) but it ran really frequently and you didn't need a reservation...heck until the 90s you didn't even need a ticket. You showed up, you got on the next flight. I guess it was NY Air (which is the current DL Shuttle by way of Pan Am) that introduced the bagels that only disappeared last year and started to make it a more upscale experience. Slowly, everything that made the shuttle the shuttle has gone away:

1. Security ended the buying tickets on the plane
2. Yield management programs end the no-advance reservations, switch to any flight (there was a Peak/off peak only designation, just like the train)
3. The value of the LGA/DCA slots for other routes ended the standby flights
4. Operational efficiency ended the dedicated fleet (and introduced the BS First Class) and
5. Amtrak ended mainline.

I get that the Shuttle of yesterday is gone and doesn't make a lot of sense anymore...but it should at least have a very standard schedule. Flights should run at regular top/bottom of the hour times (even if that's really just a marketing thing and they pad an extra 5-6 minutes) so that the service is known and predictable: if its hourly it should run at 7a, 8a, 9a, etc. If its 8 times, it should be every other hour at 7a, 9a, 11a, 1p, etc. It should have dedicated gates, special check-in and security lines, and probably should have its own branding signage in the terminal. Otherwise the marketing will mean nothing. This is particularly true in SeaTac where "Delta Shuttle" means very little to anyone who isn't from the Northeast corridor. At least in LA and SF, there are a lot of transplants.

SEA1K4EVR

The Delta website has details on what's different about the west coast and east coast shuttles. One reason they make the distinction is so you can't connect to Shuttle flights in fare rules...on the west coast connections. Makes that kind of strange.