Re: Airline downsizing means more hassles, fewer choices for travelers


"Ablang" <HilaryDuffSkinny18YO@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:51kuk15h81apm9qvq6rv6o72jb1tqqarmm@xxxxxxxxxx
> Airline downsizing means more hassles, fewer choices for travelers
>
> As noted in an earlier AskEd & AnswerEd, most of the U.S. legacy lines
> are downsizing in an effort to cut costs. Depending on circumstances,
> the impact of this downsizing on individual travelers could range from
> none to huge.
>
> A reader recently noted a problem due to Delta's downsizing. "Delta
> has always been my best bet for early morning flying from Tulsa to the
> West Coast, arriving by 9:00 A.M. (via a Salt Lake City connection) in
> most major cities. I've been trying to book travel next April and
> noticed that Delta will no longer have that early morning flight from
> Tulsa to Salt Lake City. It was always full, so I don't know why Delta
> would discontinue it. Is there a chance that another carrier will pick
> up Delta's early morning route to the West Coast? Are these routes
> 'sold' to other airlines?"

The problem here is that Delta's routes west from Tulsa compete with two
LCC's, Southwest (via Phoenix) and Frontier (via Denver). Their operating
costs are higher than either of these carriers, so they probably can't make
money even on a full flight.
>
> To answer the easiest part of that question first, deregulation ended
> the sale of routes between domestic airlines. Any U.S. airline can fly
> anywhere it wants, so route authority no longer has a monetary value
> to either buyer or seller. What does still have value is access to
> landing and takeoff "slots" at a few busy airports, but that applies
> to neither Salt Lake City nor any West Coast city.
>
> Downsizing to cut costs
>
> Whether bankrupt or not, the giant "legacy" airlines-American,
> Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways-are cutting back
> on the size of their domestic operations. The driving reason is to cut
> costs, which means cutting out as many unprofitable services as
> possible. In some cases, low-cost lines are ready and able to offset
> any cutbacks by the legacy lines, but not in others. Here's my take on
> likely developments.

Actually, the cutbacks are largely due to fuel prices, which have gone
through the roof. At some point, I would expect many of these routes to be
reinstated, but I don't know how long this will continue.
>
> Smaller planes: The most benign form of downsizing is replacing
> mainline airplanes such as 737s, A320s, and MD80s with smaller
> regional jets (RJs). This sort of replacement doesn't cut down on the
> number of flights at all; it just results in use of smaller planes.
> That saves money because (1) the smaller planes use less fuel for a
> given flight and (2) RJ pilots and other aircrew are usually paid far
> less than mainline crews. While most of us find those RJs to be
> cramped and uncomfortable, at least they keep up the schedules. You'll
> be lucky if that's all that happens on the routes you fly.

I would agree with you up to a point. Some of the new regional jets (the
Embaer 170-175-190-195 series, for example) are actually quite comfortable,
with more room than many larger jets. Delta, United, and US Airways'
regional partners are now flying them on many routes, including some longer
ones.
>
> Fewer flights: In addition to switching some flights to smaller
> planes, several of the legacy lines have sharply reduced the total
> number of flights at some of their hubs. You can expect:
>
> * Fewer flights on busy routes where airlines figure their
> remaining flights can take care of the traffic (at higher load
> factors). Routes linking hubs with regional "spoke" cities will be
> hardest hit.
> * Total cancellation of routes that don't produce enough of a
> profit.
>
> American's recent announcements provide perfect examples of both
> approaches. American temporarily cancelled some flights from Chicago
> and Dallas (Ft Worth) to cities where it still has lots of other
> flights to satisfy the demand; it cancelled its entire nonstop
> schedule from Chicago to Nagoya, Japan, presumably because of weak
> traffic.
>
> Continued...
>
> Next Page
> Pages: 1 | 2
>
> http://www.smartertravel.com/advice/askanswer/advice.php?id=96416&source=dealalert&value=2005-10-13&u=SL4F6B4DC5
>
>
> ===
> "Under the guise of anonymity, whether it is on the internet, or on
> the roadway, a person's true nature will come forward."
> -- Me


.

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