Syracuse a test market for US Airways strategy
Airline cutting prices and changing the size of its flights to be competitive.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
By Rick Moriarty
Staff writer
US Airways, which announced sharp drops Monday in some of its highest fares at Hancock Airport, is using Syracuse as a test market for a new approach to pricing and scheduling.
From Our Advertiser
B. Ben Baldanza, US Airways senior vice president for marketing and planning, said the airline views Syracuse as a typical medium-sized Northeast city. That's one of the reasons the airline decided to try its lower-fare approach in Syracuse as it battles growing competition from discount carriers, he said.
"For us to grow and for us to thrive as a company, Syracuse needs to work for us," he said at Hancock Airport. "It's an important city in our network."
US Airways, the most dominant carrier at Hancock, lowered its top fares between 31 percent and 56 percent for flights between Syracuse and Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; Hartford, Conn.; New York City's LaGuardia Airport; and Philadelphia. The new fares took effect Monday.
The airline said it will increase from three to five its number of daily flights from Syracuse to Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. And it will begin replacing turboprop planes with new, 72-seat regional jets on flights to Boston, LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
Baldanza, a Syracuse University graduate who grew up in Rome, said the airline expects the lower fares to boost its business in Syracuse by giving business travelers less reason to drive to their destinations. The lower fares should also stem the leakage of customers from Syracuse to airports in Albany, Buffalo and Rochester, he said.
He said the airline plans to cut fares in other markets, too, but that federal rules prevent him from disclosing details until the new fares take effect.
To cut fares, the airline is cutting costs. It eliminated some costs while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, and it is discussing with its labor unions ways to cut more. It also is looking to save money by using more efficient regional jets in smaller markets and through scheduling changes.
Officials with the city and the Metropolitan Development Association said competition in Syracuse from JetBlue Airways and, later this year, from start-up Independence Air was a factor in US Airways' decision to cut fares in Syracuse.
The MDA and Mayor Matt Driscoll had been lobbying US Airways for lower business fares for about a year.
"This is good news because accessible, competitive air service is so important to our economic viability here in Central New York," said Kenneth Shaw, MDA chairman and chancellor of Syracuse University.
Airline cutting prices and changing the size of its flights to be competitive.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
By Rick Moriarty
Staff writer
US Airways, which announced sharp drops Monday in some of its highest fares at Hancock Airport, is using Syracuse as a test market for a new approach to pricing and scheduling.
From Our Advertiser
B. Ben Baldanza, US Airways senior vice president for marketing and planning, said the airline views Syracuse as a typical medium-sized Northeast city. That's one of the reasons the airline decided to try its lower-fare approach in Syracuse as it battles growing competition from discount carriers, he said.
"For us to grow and for us to thrive as a company, Syracuse needs to work for us," he said at Hancock Airport. "It's an important city in our network."
US Airways, the most dominant carrier at Hancock, lowered its top fares between 31 percent and 56 percent for flights between Syracuse and Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; Hartford, Conn.; New York City's LaGuardia Airport; and Philadelphia. The new fares took effect Monday.
The airline said it will increase from three to five its number of daily flights from Syracuse to Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. And it will begin replacing turboprop planes with new, 72-seat regional jets on flights to Boston, LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
Baldanza, a Syracuse University graduate who grew up in Rome, said the airline expects the lower fares to boost its business in Syracuse by giving business travelers less reason to drive to their destinations. The lower fares should also stem the leakage of customers from Syracuse to airports in Albany, Buffalo and Rochester, he said.
He said the airline plans to cut fares in other markets, too, but that federal rules prevent him from disclosing details until the new fares take effect.
To cut fares, the airline is cutting costs. It eliminated some costs while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, and it is discussing with its labor unions ways to cut more. It also is looking to save money by using more efficient regional jets in smaller markets and through scheduling changes.
Officials with the city and the Metropolitan Development Association said competition in Syracuse from JetBlue Airways and, later this year, from start-up Independence Air was a factor in US Airways' decision to cut fares in Syracuse.
The MDA and Mayor Matt Driscoll had been lobbying US Airways for lower business fares for about a year.
"This is good news because accessible, competitive air service is so important to our economic viability here in Central New York," said Kenneth Shaw, MDA chairman and chancellor of Syracuse University.
