progapanda

PATH + bus from Newark Penn will only run you $4.25.

Indelaware

Even better. I'll remember that for the next trip.

REPUBLIC757

Because it's a depressing one?

Another way of looking at the history:

1980s: PE operated from a bus station called the North Terminal & over-expanded itself to be purchase by Lorenzo & Texas Air. At that point, financing had be secured for CO to operate out of C-1 and C-2 out of the Terminal C.

Around the same time, Lorenzo moved the A300s and System One from Eastern to CO at a very steep (almost criminal) discount.

Early 1990s: Lorenzo removed, EA liquidated & CO was in such dire straits that they didn't have the money to even open a C-3. Things got better when Gordo came around (rah-rah) but basically CO and EWR was at the bottom until the tail end of the late 1990s.

Late 1990s/Early 2000s: Expressjet begins, allowing CO to dump small range mainline planes in favor of ERJs until a rigid scope clause (likely because of high lease rates). CO flooding the airport with capacity, this issue led to EWR becoming one of the most delay prone airports in the US, only being dealt with by the DOT creating slots in the late 2000's

CO was also responsible for using small jets at the airport's operating expense to force out competition, as well as price gouge it's regional population -- becoming the most expensive NYC airport over time.

Maybe my glass is half empty, even as someone who grew up in NJ. But my experiences with CO were always less than stellar.

Boo_Radley

That's literally the entire purpose of this.

If you (conservatively) figure 5 flights in and out from each of SFO and LAX, that's 20 a day to/from JFK, so 2840 seats per day. If you can bump the average seat revenue $20 (absurdly conservative IMO), that's over $20,000,000 per year. The revenue gains absolutely dominate the cost reductions.

I'm aware the above is a gross oversimplification, but you understand my point I'm sure. Fares on ps will not be staying the same, or going up a little.

CO_Nonrev_elite

I think you'll see the economy fares go up significantly and the business fares decrease a little.

Firewind

Hm. And any knock-on effect at IAD?

Kacee

I doubt that. This is a cut-the-losses move. They were not competitive at JFK.

Indelaware

You also provide a fair reading. But I'd say that CO under both Six and Bethune was stellar.

One correction. ExpressJet's history dates to the 1949 founding of Provicetown-Boston Airlines. PBA came to CO by way of being acquired by PE prior to Texas' acquisition of PE. CO spun ExpressJet off in 2002.

AlreadyThere

Says the person at "Location: Over the Bay Bridge"...

kit125

This is the same airline that said they couldn't turn a profit at a hub captive station (CLE). I'm sure they can make the profits look any way they wanted. This reeks of cost-cutting.

REPUBLIC757

Overrated under Bethune. Especially when you correlate the operational deficiencies that carried over into post merger UA. Namely SHARES and on-time rates. Operational superiority was never CO's strength.

Also CO kept passengers captive on single seat RJ's and Props through the merger in large numbers. CO spun it off but they were still operating express jet on a ton of EWR flights. Never for a second did they re-evaluate a 2-cabin strategy until the merger with UA.

Firewind

Indelaware and milesmuncher, indeed. And he will do so after October 24. I think it was a mileage thing. He was on a multi-leg back from Thailand.

And, for the record, I was unaware of the great number of convenient *A connections already at EWR as listed above, debunking the theory that UA is running away from *A at JFK. I also didn't consider UA's power to bring to heel the "remaining" *A that now fly into JFK. I suggest that many others in the discussion also have discounted this.

BearX220

But Bethune knew how to spin a magnetic ("worst-to-first") narrative in a way current UA management will never understand. And for a few years in the late '90s everything at CO clicked. During that time I was flying SEA-EWR and back all the time for my job, always on 752s, almost always in F, sometimes getting lucky with BE-config plans borrowed from TATL, and extremely happy with CO. Good times. Probably my favorite chapter of my FF career.

dmurphynj

I lament the loss of OAK. Similarly, as someone who lives out in western NJ, I have zero issue with EWR. I guess those who have to connect there gripe about it, but as a home airport, it's just fine.

I've had days where it takes 4+ hours to drive home from JFK. EWR - the longest it's EVER been has been 45 minutes... Usually under 25.

This is a net win for me... big time. Easier access to lie-flat seats. I do the EWR-SFO route quite a lot, and EWR-LAX less often, but often enough. So long as I can use my RPUs, I'll be in great shape.

Did EWR-SNA this morning - but if lie-flat to LAX were an option, it would've been my choice. Doing EWR-SFO next week.

This is good stuff and has ripples across the route network too. More 767's TATL, and frees up narrow bodies for other domestic routes, in lieu of Barbie Jets.

No complaints there.

The JFK operations have felt like an also-ran for quite some time now... Almost like an anachronism. Time to let it go.

TennisNoob

Does anyone know what the exact trade was?

IMO Slots at JFK are worth much more.