UA to launch SFO - HGH service (Hangzhou, China) {Service terminated 14 Oct 2017}
Aug 23, 2016, 10:46 am
#151
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Isn't CAN a zone 1 airport in the bilateral? If so, there r only 4 or 5 slots left for zone 1 airports.
Sep 3, 2016, 7:35 am
#152
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Thinking about taking this flight SFO-HGH on Wednesday 10/26. Load looks empty as of now, but wondering if anybody has experience or knowledge on load factors and when most people will book for this flight. If I can get a row to myself in E+, I don't want to waste the UPG.
Not sure how long they can keep this fight, with so few passengers.
Sep 3, 2016, 8:52 am
#153
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Of the secondary city flights they have launched from SFO, it seems like this is the worst-performing one? Kind of makes me wonder if there is another long/thin route (like SFO-BKK) that would make more sense / money.
Sep 3, 2016, 9:56 am
#154
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Perhaps this flight pays its way on cargo revenues?
Sep 3, 2016, 5:35 pm
#155
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As I've stated in previous threads on this topic, SFO-HGH might not be mature enough wrt supply/demand now, but if UA didn't claim it, another airline would. 5 years from now, I'm guessing we'll conclude that launching the route was a smart call on UA's part.
Sep 3, 2016, 10:29 pm
#156
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Yeah, this flight has not done so well. UA was hoping to rely on people avoiding PVG and choose HGH instead. However, that has not been the case. UA should really consider BKK & SGN as replacements for this route. Both of those destinations have high O&D demand from SFO and can be done with a 789. China's economy is also slowing down right now.
Sep 3, 2016, 10:46 pm
#157
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Yeah, this flight has not done so well. UA was hoping to rely on people avoiding PVG and choose HGH instead. However, that has not been the case. UA should really consider BKK & SGN as replacements for this route. Both of those destinations have high O&D demand from SFO and can be done with a 789. China's economy is also slowing down right now.
2. BKK and SGN are not especially close to SFO
3. do you honestly believe China's economy is less stable than Thailand's?
Sep 3, 2016, 11:21 pm
#158
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I'm not sure that you've understood the poster's points. He was simply noting that BKK and SGN are within the range of the aircraft, not that they were closer than HGH to SFO. This would allow, but not require, the aircraft to be switched to those routes. Also, there was no comparison made between the economy of China and other countries. The point was that the current state of China's economy does not portend a short-term solution to poor demand for this route.
Sep 4, 2016, 12:41 am
#159
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Yes, more time is needed, but we will see how long UA will wait, from now to CNY, my guess it will be like this with very low loads? The better comparision would be how Chinese Airlines are doing on USA-China 2nd tier/below cities, such as LAX-Changsha, or Xiamen-Seattle flights?
Sep 4, 2016, 12:57 am
#160
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I'm not sure that you've understood the poster's points. He was simply noting that BKK and SGN are within the range of the aircraft, not that they were closer than HGH to SFO. This would allow, but not require, the aircraft to be switched to those routes. Also, there was no comparison made between the economy of China and other countries. The point was that the current state of China's economy does not portend a short-term solution to poor demand for this route.
I DID understand the poster's points; time will tell if HGH makes sense.
Sep 4, 2016, 7:17 pm
#162
Join Date: Mar 2001
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Could the light loads this week be due to the G20 summit and the travel restrictions into Hangzhou?
Sep 4, 2016, 11:56 pm
#163
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This said SFO-HGH is 6247 miles. SGN is 7837 miles, and BKK is 7932 miles. That is a HUGE difference, much different fuel burn. HGN can be done with no weight restriction (lots of cargo), SGN and BKK will require in the winter not only no cargo going west, but empty seats. And the per seat/mile fuel cost is substantially higher. I don't see UA being able to do either SGN or BKK profitably, compared to other (equal or better) options.
Sep 5, 2016, 12:18 am
#164
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Yes. I would not judge this flight this week, no idea how the G20 impacts things. And I say that as a (see above) skeptic...
This said SFO-HGH is 6247 miles. SGN is 7837 miles, and BKK is 7932 miles. That is a HUGE difference, much different fuel burn. HGN can be done with no weight restriction (lots of cargo), SGN and BKK will require in the winter not only no cargo going west, but empty seats. And the per seat/mile fuel cost is substantially higher. I don't see UA being able to do either SGN or BKK profitably, compared to other (equal or better) options.
This said SFO-HGH is 6247 miles. SGN is 7837 miles, and BKK is 7932 miles. That is a HUGE difference, much different fuel burn. HGN can be done with no weight restriction (lots of cargo), SGN and BKK will require in the winter not only no cargo going west, but empty seats. And the per seat/mile fuel cost is substantially higher. I don't see UA being able to do either SGN or BKK profitably, compared to other (equal or better) options.
Sep 7, 2016, 11:06 pm
#165
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