You are all forgetting one thing. The biggest thing of all. Customer service. To beat the rest, that's what you need to concentrate on. Provide the best customer service out there. Listen to your customers, find out what they want and need and then provide it.

I'm around; I think we frequent different forums for the most part.

I should have ribbed you about the Huskies beating the Ducks in basketball, since we are terrible and you guys are decent (tournament bound at the least).

"Ride with the Huskies" probably wouldn't "fly" anymore than a Duck related slogan.

Are you sure there isn't a lowfare carrier flying Airbii that has selected Huskies and not Ducks as a logo?

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=144905

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=202854

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=196985

What a beautiful tail! What a hideous engine!

And which plane does Frontier have on their homepage? http://www.frontierairlines.com/
You guessed it!

Unions like a WN would certainly work. But can it be replicated?

I agree that UA's A320/19s are MUCH more comfortable than their 737s. I guess Boeing didn't fix this with their 737NGs? Maybe try the 757-300, lowest CASM for a single aisle plane.

(crap, airliners.net just went down and my links don't work. Once it is up again they should all work.)

[This message has been edited by whlinder (edited 02-25-2002).]

What I would do buy a bunch of 737-200's and 727's (cheaper to buy now; worry about maintenance and fuel later if I'm still in business). DC-9's would be OK but the F seats aren't as wide, so I'm going with the classic Boeing.

Coach 3x3 and F 2x2, as usual. F is 40" pitch, and coach 32" pitch. All fares are one-way. All F fares are exactly double the coach fare for the same trip.

I decided on F=2*Y because each F seat is 1.875 coach seats (6/4*40/32). Charging 2 instead of 1.875 covers the extra catering.

F will have meals or snacks depending on distance (snack at the least). Coach will have a meal if F has a meal.

Since most of the big-city markets are either dominated by WN or a major's hub (e.g., AUS-ELP, CVG-LGA), I'll hit whatever is left. LGA-TUL, DAL-ICT, IAH-GGG (that's Tulsa, OK, Wichita, KS, and Longview, TX). It should be no surprise that those markets currently have high fares.

By piecing together all these routes, obviously I won't have one or two big hubs, but I will have connections available similar to what WN does. WN is commonly called "point-to-point", but it doesn't mean you can't change planes. There are plenty of routes on WN where you must change planes or take a one-stop direct flight.

WN doesn't serve places like ICT and GGG because: 1) they can't have 10 flights a day given the demand in and out of those places; 2) they depend on people willing to drive for hours just to fly WN.

JS Airlines will have to charge more than WN to cover the cost of hiring people to serve relatively fewer people boarding JS at GGG versus WN at DAL, HOU or LIT, but given the fares charged by Eagle, I'm sure I can make money.

I suppose no unions would be best, but I'm not hung up on that. If an airline with poor labor relations could magically make the union disappear, they would still have poor labor relations, but without the strikes. Strikes are pretty rare, but unhappy employees are there 24/7. Happy employees make for happy customers.

What sets JS Airlines apart from the other airlines is that the customer can choose between non-stop and saving money. On other airlines, even WN, the fare is solely a function of origin/destination. That means some people get to pay a low fare for a non-stop flight (e.g., LGA-DFW advance purchase), while other people pay a high fare to change planes (e.g., LGA-TUL).

For example: suppose I'm operating one flight RIC-OKC-COS-GEG, and another flight RIC-TRI-MEM-XNA-OKC. If you want to fly RIC to OKC, the non-stop will cost you more than the three-stopper. The cheap passengers will take up the other seats that I can't fill at TRI, MEM (NW hub) and XNA.


FF program: mileage based on origin/destination only. It's a cross between miles per flight and trip credit like WN. Miles for confirmed F upgrades or award tickets (F or coach). NO ELITE LEVELS. It's elitist, complicated, and produces a lot of stress for passengers and gate agents before boarding! Besides, you won't need elite status when my check-in lines are reasonable and the FA's help people stow their second carry-on under the seat in front of them.

Low miles for capacity controlled upgrades/awards; high miles for a "rule buster".


edited to add: no video (no int'l or long-haul domestic flights); passenger phones in each F seat and one phone in the rear for $1.00 a minute; audio with free headsets and pilot/ATC communications a.k.a. "channel 9" on a certain other airline.

[This message has been edited by JS (edited 02-25-2002).]

If I started an airline, I would copy Southwest's model to the letter (737s, etc), but focus on cities that are known to be potential additions to the Southwest route structure.

A few years later, Southwest buys me out!

I like your thought process there... LOL

Southwest doesn't acquire other airlines. They grow internally.

The profitable airlines are the regionals. Look at Delta's purchase of Comair -- the founders probably made a bunch of money on that one.

Richard:

Southwest Airlines, didn't they buy Morris Air from David Neeleman?

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Southwest bought a lowfare competitor, I believe its name was TransStar, in it's early days. In the early 90's they bought an airline out of Salt Lake City by the name of Morris Air. A good chunk of Southwest's flying in the Mountain West, and Pacific Northwest came from that acquisition.

I'll follow up to my own post. Yes, Southwest has made acquisitions in the past. That's why I would model my new airline (TinoAir has a nice ring) just like LUV.

Plus, because all of the employees would have stock options, they would offset any potential loss of seniority through a one-time payment from their option profits.

Unlike LUV, though, there would be a return of the hotpants and free drinks.

HotPants and free drinks? Maybe you should call it "Crazy Tino's Jetways"!

However, it is obvious that you are a master of free publicity. I can just see your inaugural flight now, Feminists at the ticket counter, protesting the "degradation" of women who have freely chosen to wear the hotpants. Sen. Dianne Feinstein standing in front of the TV cameras outside the terminal, decrying the "inevitable air rage" that will come from the free flowing booze on board!

Sign me up!

I think the hotpants would do a lot to curb the air rage from all the free drinks! Or is that the other way around?

I won't get into setting up Utopian Airlines�. That could take days. And I'd want you to pay me for that.

But I will state a major change to my FF program. I would base free award travel more closely on distances flown rather than more broader regional critera.

For example, it's never made much sense to me why it's the same mileage requirement to fly LAX-Hawaii as JFK-Hawaii, when the latter is twice the distance.

And you wouldn't earn "miles." That's never made sense to me either, because you don't get 25,000 miles of travel for 25,000 miles in your account. The use of the word is all wrong. Credits. Or points. That's the ticket.

fly ta to see the hotpants!

yeah, but that doesn't matter to the PC crowd... c'mon, they FEEL safer and that's the most important thing, right?

If I were in charge of a new airline and FF program I would begin by making all the rules perfectly clear from carry-on baggage to award benefits. No need to be a super ****he to find out how it works.

I would have 2 class airplanes with 'upper' class in the rear of the airplane (on smaller planes) with no access for economy pax. Yes it would take longer for 'upper class' pax to get off the airplane, but they would have more privacy, security and bonuses the economy pax wouldn't have to interfere with. (Yes, I've had it with economy class 'visitors' to FC and Business!!!

I would not serve meals on flights less than 4 hours in 'upper class-none in economy, would sell drinks in economy as in Ryan Air. If you know that no meals are going to be served you can make your own arrangments and do a better job of it.

I would have areas of the airplane that are 'no kid' zones so that adults can work, sleep, talk in peace.

I would make the toilets 50% bigger in floor space!

I would increase circulation of fresh air!

I would hire and train flight attendants who have experience in law enforcement and working with people rather than pretty people who are hired for their low weight and looks. Skill in mascara application would not add points at the interview!

I would sell one-way tickets at fair prices and cut down on all this garbage about 'non-refundable' etc.

I would have an FF plan that issues a debit card that pax can use to 'buy' tickets, upgrades, drinks, gifts, prizes and travel packages.

I would require safety seats for all infants and small children!!!!