Delta Air to Unveil Plans For a Low-Cost

[Starshipper]

FLX757,

Thanks for your reply. I agree, point-to-point service circumventing ATL looks like the appropriate strategy. With USAirways losing passengers due to high prices and crap service (my personal experience recently), Airtran, Jetblue and Corndog (Southwest) should gain market share and continue to grow.

By the way, your background in terms of types of aircraft flown is amazing - seems like you have flown every modern airliner - including the A320. How do you like the 717 compared to all of the other modern aircraft you have flown? What has been your favorite thusfar?


Cheers

 

[flx757]

Starshipper,

It just means that I have worked for too many different companies and had too many different jobs. Last stop here, though.

As far as how do they all compare? Honestly, it always seems as if the one I'm flying at the time is my favorite. I enjoy the 717, though the FMS seems a bit less user-friendly than the version on the other Boeings. And I miss the roomy cockpit on the 757....just not the 4 and 5 hr legs. All in all, the 717 is a very nice aircraft to fly.

 

[Publishers]

Service Levels

What I see is much more of service levels moving to the middle where there really is no such thing as LCC.

The AirTran vs. SWA is going to be interesting as SWA had long stayed away from many east coast cities due to the difficulties of maintaining their schedule philosophy. This allowed AirTran to grow at a significant rate.

 

[Lonestar]

Corndog? I'm pretty slow I guess...I don't get it.

 

[Ty Webb]

Gate constraints at ATL are a concern. One that I'm sure hasn't escaped those that make the decisions at AirTran. I expect a large portion of AirTran's growth in the future will not be in ATL, but in "focus cities" such as BWI, and additional point-to-point type service.

Yepper . . . . focus cities, plus the RJ flights are going out of another Concourse (B, I think) I haven;t had the opportunity to ride them yet . . . I think the 737-800 will also help a little with some of the congestion so we don't have airplanes arriving from MCO or MDW within minutes of each other.

I have also heard rumors that we will have our own concourse when the construction at ATL happens, but I have never seen that confirmed anywhere.

I already have weeks where I leave ATL on the first day, and don;t come back through until the end of the trip . . .

 

[Starshipper]

Groover,

Corndog refers to the old Southwest colors - red and yellow - like those of a corndog. Nothing derogatory, just something I heard another pilot say on approach into PHX - "Got the Corndog in sight..."

I agree that "focus" cities make a lot of sense in Airtran's case. I personally think hubs are anachronistic and far too expensive with all of the associated fixed costs. How much money must American lose operating the gargantuan DFW hub - especially in this highly-competitive, low fare/low margin environment? Lots...

FLX757,

I recently flew on an Airtran 717 - the flightdeck looked awesome to me - nothin' but glass. I was pretty surprised by its acceleration on takeoff - quite a zippy airplane. How does the 717 compare vs. the A320 in your book?

 

[Seeniner]

I don't claim to know much about the airline industry, but:

-"owning" a hub airport, with all the local city's tax incentives, etc does seem like it would/could be cheaper than having a bunch of "skeleton" operations at many airports.


-The "full-service" airlines need to get back to providing just that, full service. They have "stooped" down to the service offered by the low cost operators (no offense intended), and are getting beaten, in certain markets.

-Glad to see this thread lightened up, you guys really get defensive out there.

See

 

[C3P0]

Delta LCC

I was curious if anyone else heard that the new LCC was going to be a seperate company perhaps like a start up seperate from Delta. And does anyone know if they can do this legally?

Curious

 

[General Lee]

C3PO,

From what we heard so far is that the LCC will have a new "catchy" name and that it will be on a "separate certificate." Almost everyone working on it will be new (or atleast former Delta employees that will not be going back to mainline (?) and have to be interviewed first (front line positions--Flt Attend etc)), except the pilots. I have heard through the grapevine that 757's will be used in single class configuration, offering movies, and bypassing the hubs---flying point to point service, mainly up and down the East coast---with some venturing to the West Coast possible. Upto 50 757's (coming from the mainline fleet----no new aircraft) will supposedly be used eventually. It should be interesting, and there will supposedly be an announcement this week.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[9rj9]

Who's gonna fly them ?

??? Will they pay the Delta mainline rate ? or something subpar ?