General Lee
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2002
- Posts
- 20,442
Revenue is revenue. That revenue is used to pay fuel costs. Whether the airlines are competing for a Brit paying in pounds in England, a Frenchman paying in euros in France, or a New Yorker paying in dollars in the US, at the end of the day the airlines are competing for the revenue each passenger pays. If an airline from Europe comes to the States for its revenue, that revenue will be paid in dollars.
I agree that open skies could harm american airline careers, depending on how it's written, but not for the reasons you state.
If Lufthansa wants to go to Little Rock, AR, then good for them. Open Skies allows carriers to go anywhere between the US and Europe, assumming there are gates and slots available. Look, most US airlines can't really go to LHR thanks to the lack of gates and slots, and that is the same for any of the European airlines wanting to go to coveted US airports. Do you see a lot of gates open at JFK during peak times? Do you see any gates at ORD or BOS? How about IAD? Not really. There will not be huge expansion from those airlines over there, unless they want to go to Providence, Newburgh, Tampa, etc. The big cities in the US do not have a lot of extra room for new flights, just like London Heathrow doesn't have the room. But, if Lufthansa wants to start Brussels to JFK, they will have to find a gate and maybe move flights around to offer a departure at a peak time that allows business people in Manhattan the time to ride in cab all the way to JFK. Great idea, but most incumbant airlines at the hubs will remain dominate. (Just like BA and Virgin will at Heathrow)
Bye Bye--General Lee