Buh bye SAN, buh bye.
 

The Indy schedule published effective Oct. 31 shows no SAN flights and only night flights to the west except for LAS.

ORD-IAD appears to be going all 319 4X daily in addition to previously announced 319 service to BOS and JAX.

What routes are a success for them right now, if any? I have heard that the larger cities like Chicago are doing well, but I thought that the west was supposed to be an improvement for the airline. They need to open some more Florida routes to get some money in the company.

More Florida may be a good idea once November and beyond rolls around for the FL travel season, but definitely not right now.

I posted in the other thread on the Q2 loss about the profitability of routes. Sorry, but I'm rushed right now and can't look for the link.


Cheers.

Define success. If it is load factor than they are all great. If it is making money then they are all bad.

BBB

And in that same regard, I think adding more FL service would just be adding more low yield service. Competing with B6, WN (from BWI), FL (also from BWI) and UA to Florida cities keeps the yields nice and low. Offering connections from some higher yielding cities to FL helps but they need to expand to some more high yield, business type of cities with their A319's instead of just sending them to more low yielding markets.

I define success as making money. I am willing to bet that Boston will start to make money as they are going all Airbus, and maybe ORD. I have a hard time believing they are all unsuccessful. I have heard that Newark and Kennedy are also doing well, but they are the exception.

It is great to see Chicago going Airbus. FlyI got a lot of bad press for launching the frequent RJ service to O'Hare (as O'Hare was struggling with capacity problems and delays.) The Airbuses should increase capacity and comfort, while reducing delays. The big city markets seem to have the best odds of making money. However, there is the little issue of all the small towns that are still served with RJs. Is there a good way to keep all the service to the small communities and actually be profitable?

I agree - but please - FL and WN from BWI is NOT comparable for those of us living in Northern Virginia.... Driven the beltway on a Friday afternoon. Might just as well drive straight down 95 to Fla....

fwf

People who live outside of the NoVa area just don't understand how far away BWI and even IAD are for people who live IN DC.

As some one who lives in DC and has to drive to both BWI and IAD for work, it really isn't all that far mileage wise. 24 miles from door to door to IAD.

Yes traffic issues with the Beltway/I-66/I-95 can make it a pain, but I would rather deal with DC/NoVA/MD traffic versus that in the NYC area trying to get across the bridges. Grew up doing that and vowed I never would be based in NYC. So far I have been based there twice in my career. Oh well. This in no part reflects those that have to deal with the mixing bowl/Wilson Bridge fiasco of car travel..... ;)

And compared to most other major airports in the world. Our airports in the USA are close in.


DC

Close in can be realtive. In Delhi, the airport is about 10 miles from the city center, while Heathrow is 16 miles. However, the Heathrow Express can get you downtown in 15 minutes, while in Delhi, a cab could take forever to battle the traffic to the city center.

The big problem with BWI and IAD is the unpredictability of traffic on beltway. While the distance may not be that great, there is really no one-seat alternatives to the airport (even the BWI airport amtrak station requires a separate shuttle ride - and there could be a long wait for a train depending on time of day.)

To get from BWI to IAD on a weekday, you ROUTINELY are looking at 2 hours. Furthermore, per Mapquest, the distance between BWI and IAD is 59 miles, driving. From downtown DC, you're looking at 30 or so to both.

But not too many drive between those two.....airports at least. I am not disputing that traffic can be a pain....but it isnt all that far from DC to either airport.

From my travels...EZE, GRU, GIG, MXP and MUC for example are pretty far out from the city centers in both distance and time wise.

Agreed on the issue of unpredictability from DC to BWI and IAD. From my home in the center of DC, getting to BWI for an early morning flight is pretty easy. But, try anytime after 3pm and you could be in for a two-hour trip.

I worked at (and lived near) IAD for a few years, so of course it was convenient for me to use. These days, when I go to DC, it is to visit my old college friends, who live near the city center. I also went to college down town. Translation: If your business in DC takes you to the city center or close in suburbs, it is very very easy to use the subway to get around and skip the taxi/rental car thing entirely. If you are going to skip them and use BWI/IAD (especially BWI) you really have to time your schedule just right, or you will add significant time to your trip.

ACA used to fly IAD-BWI, with the J32, which they axed one week before 9/11.