LAX-DCA,BOS-SFO become Delta One flights
#76
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: NYC
Posts: 937
Think this is a test? I'd think for business purposes it would make sense to do BOS/DCA-SFO OR BOS-LAX/SFO not two completely different city pairs.
I'd think Boston has more D1 demand than DC so i guess i'm surprised they didnt add BOS-LAX instead of DCA-LAX. I've got to assume this is just a test. Give it a year and see how it does with future expansion, if any, based on sales. Maybe they expand to more cities, or maybe it goes the way of JFK-SEA
I'd think Boston has more D1 demand than DC so i guess i'm surprised they didnt add BOS-LAX instead of DCA-LAX. I've got to assume this is just a test. Give it a year and see how it does with future expansion, if any, based on sales. Maybe they expand to more cities, or maybe it goes the way of JFK-SEA
#77
Join Date: Dec 2014
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Think this is a test? I'd think for business purposes it would make sense to do BOS/DCA-SFO OR BOS-LAX/SFO not two completely different city pairs.
I'd think Boston has more D1 demand than DC so i guess i'm surprised they didnt add BOS-LAX instead of DCA-LAX. I've got to assume this is just a test. Give it a year and see how it does with future expansion, if any, based on sales. Maybe they expand to more cities, or maybe it goes the way of JFK-SEA
I'd think Boston has more D1 demand than DC so i guess i'm surprised they didnt add BOS-LAX instead of DCA-LAX. I've got to assume this is just a test. Give it a year and see how it does with future expansion, if any, based on sales. Maybe they expand to more cities, or maybe it goes the way of JFK-SEA
#78
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Think this is a test? I'd think for business purposes it would make sense to do BOS/DCA-SFO OR BOS-LAX/SFO not two completely different city pairs.
I'd think Boston has more D1 demand than DC so i guess i'm surprised they didnt add BOS-LAX instead of DCA-LAX. I've got to assume this is just a test. Give it a year and see how it does with future expansion, if any, based on sales. Maybe they expand to more cities, or maybe it goes the way of JFK-SEA
I'd think Boston has more D1 demand than DC so i guess i'm surprised they didnt add BOS-LAX instead of DCA-LAX. I've got to assume this is just a test. Give it a year and see how it does with future expansion, if any, based on sales. Maybe they expand to more cities, or maybe it goes the way of JFK-SEA
Can argue about BOS/SFO vs BOS/LAX but something led DL to believe that BOS/SFO was the better bet then BOS/LAX.
If one of them is going to fail at D1 premiums, I'd say that'll be BOS/SFO. However I don't think that is as big an issue as it ended up being for JFK/SEA.
#79
Join Date: May 2015
Location: DCA
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Posts: 6,712
DCA/LAX is one of the most in demand routes. This is far from a test. AS/AA have had DCA/LAX to their self and had no issues getting people to pay for it. DCA/SFO makes no sense from a DL perspective. 1)DCA/LAX is where demand is at, 2)DL has no hub at SFO, and 3)DCA/LAX is where the money is.
Can argue about BOS/SFO vs BOS/LAX but something led DL to believe that BOS/SFO was the better bet then BOS/LAX.
If one of them is going to fail at D1 premiums, I'd say that'll be BOS/SFO. However I don't think that is as big an issue as it ended up being for JFK/SEA.
Can argue about BOS/SFO vs BOS/LAX but something led DL to believe that BOS/SFO was the better bet then BOS/LAX.
If one of them is going to fail at D1 premiums, I'd say that'll be BOS/SFO. However I don't think that is as big an issue as it ended up being for JFK/SEA.
#80
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: MIA
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Definitely. People buy FC seats ex-DCA. The ATL and SLC flights regularly sell out up front, or only have one or two seats left for gate upgrades. Based on what I've seen, the market is certainly there. It appears that DL is matching AA's pricing on this route, and if that remains the case, DL is going to clean AA's clock. I therefore wouldn't be surprised if AA pulls the 737, and puts a transcon A321 on instead.
#81
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I agree that DL would best AA going head to head on the route in terms of service standards and reliability. OTH, I would be surprised to see AA add A32T on this route. AA can rely on its pseudo-hub at DCA to pull local demand/contracts and relegate it to an inferior inflight experience. That's what #goingforgreat means these days.
#82
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From a business traffic perspective, I suspect that BOS-SFO was a no-brainer over BOS-LAX. There is much more synergy between the BOS and SFO economies than BOS and LAX. That isn't to say that there will be enough paid premium demand to support the route, but there is a much better chance than BOS-LAX, IMO.
#83
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I'm not sure that AA has the slack in the 32T fleet to be able to offer both DCA-LAX flights while maintaining frequencies on JFK-LAX/SFO and spares to support all. That's a weakness of the 32T subfleet in contrast to Delta's general D1 75S/767/764/332/333 use on premium transcons.
#84
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I'm not sure that AA has the slack in the 32T fleet to be able to offer both DCA-LAX flights while maintaining frequencies on JFK-LAX/SFO and spares to support all. That's a weakness of the 32T subfleet in contrast to Delta's general D1 75S/767/764/332/333 use on premium transcons.
MIA-LAX is an AA premium route, but only commands one flight a day that is actually premium. Think they'd put one there before DCA/LAX.
#85
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#86
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So what's the deal with widebodies at DCA? Are the gate areas just too tight to accomodate them? I know there have been widebody operations at DCA in the past, but not sure what routes - perhaps the runways are too short for widebodies on transcons carrying a sizable load of fuel but are sufficient for a lightly-loaded widebody doing a relatively short hop to ORD or ATL?
#87
Join Date: May 2015
Location: DCA
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So what's the deal with widebodies at DCA? Are the gate areas just too tight to accomodate them? I know there have been widebody operations at DCA in the past, but not sure what routes - perhaps the runways are too short for widebodies on transcons carrying a sizable load of fuel but are sufficient for a lightly-loaded widebody doing a relatively short hop to ORD or ATL?
Right now the largest regularly scheduled planes ex-DCA are UA's 757-300s, usually to DEN and SFO.
#88
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So what's the deal with widebodies at DCA? Are the gate areas just too tight to accomodate them? I know there have been widebody operations at DCA in the past, but not sure what routes - perhaps the runways are too short for widebodies on transcons carrying a sizable load of fuel but are sufficient for a lightly-loaded widebody doing a relatively short hop to ORD or ATL?
And I think historically only a handful have operated at DCA in the past all of which were either emergencies or empty proving runs (e.g., the 787 a few years back on its world tour)
#89
#90
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my office in Crystal City had a view of the airport; I had been a DL regular for about five years at that point (mostly WAS-XXX-DAY/LAX/SEA/VPS/BOS/ABQ), so I would have been all over a DCA<-->ATL trip on a 763