Not necessarily a downside. Integration into *A also has a great potential upside.
Agreed, then again JBLU already operating virtually at capacity out of JFK (new terminal will not add many more gates, 26 gates vs 21 currently operating out of T-6)

I don't think that the gate access is defining capacity at JFK right now - takeoff/landing slots is the big issue. I think that in addition to putting some money into the US market where the exchange rate is favorable right now, LH is also hedging their bets on issues with slot restrictions at JFK. Once open skies comes into play all bets are off, and access to the airports is going to be a big piece of the puzzle.

I wholeheartedly agree with that, but my point about the gates is that, even, when JFK's operations are upgraded in 2009 to allow a greater frequency of landing and take-offs, JBLU will only have 5 more gates in the new T-5 than it does now.

BTW, I'm sure you read the story about the FAA declining, for now at least, to impose slot controls at JFK. The funny thing is that apparently one of the main motivations was to keep the excess capacity from migrating to EWR and further clogging its operations.

Source?

Washington Post seems to disagree.

Take it for what it is. The New York Times came out with the article

For Now, U.S. Won’t Cap Flights Per Hour at J.F.K.

I'm not sure it matters whether the slots are FAA controlled or not. Doesn't it come to the same thing in the end? JFK flat out can't handle a lot more traffic any way you cut it.

Isn't the obvious conclusion therefore that JetBlue has to:

a) leverage its brand to get more revenue from every restricted flight at JFK

b) expand services elsewhere. How about somewhere like DFW? There's a lot of capacity there - 7 runways, 6 I believe can be used at the same time, and a lot of spare gates after DL left, and scope for more flights to Latin America. Alternatively STL? Or DEN?


Or better still a combination of a) & b).

Yup...looks slot-control free, for now.

Great line in the article:
As if EWR isn't similarly broken already :eek:

I'm not sure what this means to the B6/LH deal (which is where this whole thread started), but LH is still securing access to slots, should that ever be an issue in the future.

Sort of. I looks like everyone has agreed to spread out the traffic to cut movements during the peak hours. The FAA then seems to be expecting to make more capacity (ie slots), presumably with the existing carriers keeping the 'slots' they have to present, but the new 'slots' being auctioned. At the end of that process won't JFK be slot controlled like LHR? And isn't it somewhat ironic that various carriers have been complaining for years about the lack of LHR slots, only to see a similar system being put in place in JFK?

From our website, crewmember, a question was posed about an alliance with Aer Lingus and whether or not that was going forward. The reply stated that negotiations are ongoing and they hoped to have a firm public deal by the end of the year. I wonder if LH has a bigger intrest in a codeshare/alliance and wants to keep Aer Lingus out of the picture.

For right now I don't see much more happening with this deal. Maybe late 2008 or even later may we see more happening with this new intrest. But for now I don't think anything major will change except for some product enhancements beginning in 2008 (these where scheduled).

Regarding the maxed-out capacity at JFK, actually the best thing that could happen to JBLU is some sort of slot control (it turns out there will be at least of form of slot controls), because it already operates near to its operational capacity out of JFK and has a commanding position in the JFK domestic market.

First, the controls limit the capacity of competitors to elbow in ay JFK (and also at EWR) which means B6's position is now partially protected.

Second, with the restrictions in place this creates a scarcity in airline seat supply out of JFK, allowing jetBlue to raise its fares and thus increase its RASM's...

My source was the NY Times, but their latest article seems to backtrack and iindicates that there will indeed be slot controls.

There's going to be a cap of about 80 departures/arrivals an hour beginning in March '08 and lasting for 2 years.

Anyone still think that LH will actually pay $7.27/sh (price when this deal was announced) upon closing sometime this quarter now that the market price has sunk to $5.60/sh or so?

I doubt LH will, and my crystal ball shows a Ch 11 petition filing by B6 prior to April 1.

If a chapter 11 filing was that close on the horizon, LH wouldn't be so willing to buy the stock. Even the day the deal was anounced, the stock was trading less that $7.27 per share.

I highly doubt that LH investa in a "few month before Ch 11 airline", especially not at that point! They have for sure checked the books, I think LH investing that much money was a clear sign that B6 was doing OK and that there is no need to worry!