UA secondary US cities non-stop to FRA - Why not?
Oct 28, 2021, 10:24 am
#1
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UA secondary US cities non-stop to FRA - Why not?
Why isn't UA looking at secondary US cities to FRA (instead of more flights to LHR)? With FRA, they can grab connecting alliance traffic unlike LHR. Has LH already snatched up all the interesting UA secondary cities? Or is there some other reason? Are the logistics to EU secondary cities from UA hubs than US secondary cities to LH hubs?
Oct 28, 2021, 10:29 am
#2
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I have thought the same thing, kinda like how AF/KL/DL operate some flights from non-hubs. I thought maybe the 787 would have allowed some of that being a smaller plane than a 340/777 of LH/UA.
Oct 28, 2021, 10:41 am
#3
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Why isn't UA looking at secondary US cities to FRA (instead of more flights to LHR)? With FRA, they can grab connecting alliance traffic unlike LHR. Has LH already snatched up all the interesting UA secondary cities? Or is there some other reason? Are the logistics to EU secondary cities from UA hubs than US secondary cities to LH hubs?
BTW - which secondary cities are you looking at anyway?
Oct 28, 2021, 11:16 am
#5
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Oct 28, 2021, 11:21 am
#6
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Kind of inefficient to set up Polaris catering out of a secondary city, plus no PLs. UA is going to continue to offer Polaris out of Polaris Lounge hubs with few exceptions (eg BOS). LH provides service out of a lot of other carriers' bubs and some "secondary" cities. UA Polaris can't be everywhere - gotta choose where to compete and where not to.
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Oct 28, 2021 at 12:01 pm
Oct 28, 2021, 12:00 pm
#9
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Why isn't UA looking at secondary US cities to FRA (instead of more flights to LHR)? With FRA, they can grab connecting alliance traffic unlike LHR. Has LH already snatched up all the interesting UA secondary cities? Or is there some other reason? Are the logistics to EU secondary cities from UA hubs than US secondary cities to LH hubs?
also, BOS-LHR I think is generally thought of less as a push for secondary city routes, and more of a competitive response to B6 flights BOS-LON.
and probably this. Until last summer (save for some foreign short hops either due to range or operational considerations), UA flew almost every flight to/from a hub. This summer, they started a few point-to-point leisure routes to take advantage of pandemic vacation plans, but this is off from their typical hub strategy.
Oct 28, 2021, 12:05 pm
#10
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Kind of inefficient to set up Polaris catering out of a secondary city, plus no PLs. UA is going to continue to offer Polaris out of Polaris Lounge hubs with few exceptions (eg BOS). LH provides service out of a lot of other carriers' bubs and some "secondary" cities. UA Polaris can't be everywhere - gotta choose where to compete and where not to.
Oct 28, 2021, 12:12 pm
#12
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But you've already got the LH flight there, which was mentioned as a point in a couple of posts upthread - LHs network means there is already alliance flights to FRA. Sure, it's not UA metal, but really, is there really demand for 2 different *A flights a day SAN-FRA? I'm not in network planning, but doubtful that's going to generate profit (for either *A carrier) especially when the LH flight is already part of a JV.
Oct 28, 2021, 12:19 pm
#13
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I think we could look at the likes of BNA/MSP/IND/CMH/PIT/RDU as secondary opportunities. Would love to see a 788/330 in there.
Oct 28, 2021, 12:43 pm
#15
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It's logistically more difficult because none of these secondary US cities are crew bases for 757/767 or 787 aircraft. That's not to say it can't be done but it's more costly and a bit more difficult to schedule. Also, FRA is mostly a connection city on the other end. Few go there as a tourist destination though more might do so to MUC. That's the big difference to LHR which is huge OW connection city and a huge destination. Probably could say the same for CDG and SkyTeam.