Moderators: jsumali2, richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
| Quoting TOLtommy (Reply 49): The days of building hubs is probably over. Focus cities focusing on point to point traffic is the model for the future. |
| Quoting Indy (Reply 50): A focus city with so many flights and destinations that it creates connection opportunities in bunches. It just seems to me that once you hit a hundred flights and provide connections you are a hub. |
| Quoting Indy (Reply 50): Maybe we should call it a hybrid hub. A focus city with so many flights and destinations that it creates connection opportunities in bunches. |
| Quoting Itsnotfinals (Reply 43): US didn't cause that, having a manufacturing business base and being in the rust belt did. |
| Quoting ScottB (Reply 8): it would not surprise me if Colgan were to shift its EAS markets to CLE, given their existing partnership with CO. |
| Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 57): Great, just when people thought it was safe to go to PKB, CKB and MGW, CO Connection is back! I can just read it now. Anyone really thinks those flights could be back at CLE? |
| Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 58): Colgan would need a massive PR campaign to prove that they're more reliable than Regions was. Wow, Colgan and "more reliable than" in the same sentence, I never thought I'd see the day. |
| Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 58): I could see those flights leaving PIT, but I'd put CLE as the #2 choice. With the Colgan UA Express hub at IAD, I could see those flights moving that direction before CLE. IAD offers alot more connections than CLE does in terms of int'l and so forth, and Colgan doesn't work out of CLE for CO as of now. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 59): So that would be what, a drop in about 12 turboprop flights? |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 59): Don't they have another base besides PIT and IAD?) |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 59): Besides, there really isn't that much traffic going between PIT and those EAS locations. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 59): How would those EAS routes wind up through CLE? Who is the regional air provider for CO? That was attempted with Regions Air, but that did not quite work last time I checked. |
| Quoting Apodino (Reply 14): The other reason its an apples to oranges comparison is because the corporate headquarters is still in PHX, while SOC is in PIT. Every other airline I know, mine included, has its SOC either in HQ or near it. (UA still has SOC in Elk Grove, while HQ is downtown, but they are both still in Chicagoland) You would think that they would try to keep SOC near HQ, which would mean a new PHX facility. This would have actually been a little cheaper for the company, because it would have probably meant losing some senior people who are topped out. The only benefit PIT has is the cost of living is lower, so they can attract better people. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 54): perhaps if/when that happens, some other airline will slowly start to build back PIT, especially since the region, despite everything else that has happened to it over the past several decades, is trying to make an economic comeback, though slowly. |
| Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 60): Parkersburg maybe a half a person per day of O&D, if that. |
| Quoting MasseyBrown (Reply 62): Assuming Frontier, Alaska, and Virgin America survive and want to grow in the East, any one of them could pick Pittsburgh. |
| Quoting MasseyBrown (Reply 62): If the US allows foreign ownership of airlines, that's another possibility. And what is their alternative? There aren't any other big, efficient airports sitting around with space available. |
| Quoting MasseyBrown (Reply 62): Five or six years elapsed between UA deciding to move out of CLE and CO deciding to move in. With some patience, you'll see PIT busy again. |
| Quoting N710PS (Reply 46): PIT was doomed before the merger in my opinion, the merger sealed it all for them. |
| Quoting N710PS (Reply 46): It would not suprise me to one day see LGA's operation or Bostons operation biger than PIT. |
| Quoting HPRamper (Reply 45): The Airbus orders are basically replacement orders. The E190s are new capacity. |
| Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 58): I could see those flights leaving PIT, but I'd put CLE as the #2 choice. With the Colgan UA Express hub at IAD, I could see those flights moving that direction before CLE. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 59): However, in Falcon84's defense, CO has officially announced that they intend to drastically build up their CLE hub, including several flights to several new cities, such as OMA and I believe Traverse City to name a couple. New transatlantic travel to AMS is also rumored fo 2009, along with the CLE base coming to 300 daily departures by 2009-2010 as well. |
| Quoting ScottB (Reply 64): PIT was doomed, in part, by the continued shrinking of the US Airways mainline fleet. It's simply not possible to operate five normal-sized hubs and three focus cities with a fleet of 350 mainline aircraft. |
| Quoting Captaink (Reply 31): I can understand how PITsbergers feel. I did my US ACS / Reservations training in PIT, a couple years ago when US was still offering flights to Europe (I distinctly remember FRA, not sure about LGW) ex PIT. US was the most important airline at that airport by a mile. Half of the checkin area, was US, the other half was the other airlines, not sure what it is like now. |
| Quoting SkyyMaster (Reply 32): I just find it disturbing, as others have pointed out, that Parker made the comment that east and west are not coming together like he'd expected. An airline in it's third year of post-merger should have many of those issues fixed, even if they are on different operating certificates. It seems pretty obvious the old US people and the old HP people have a certain degree of dislike and distrust of each other. One expects that from any merger. However, those issues should be moot at this point. Parker had grand ideas for his empire without bothering to see what he had before him at the time was not even working yet. |
| Quoting ScottB (Reply 64): It's a far better option for most of those smaller cities than having service to the decimated PIT ex-hub. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 54): If this ever happens, such a base I probably would see maxing out at maybe 180 - 200 daily departures, and I don't see WN doing this either. I see them at roughly 30 flights or so to about 10-12 destinations. |
| Quoting MasseyBrown (Reply 62): Think about the one-hub airlines. PIT could make good sense for them somewhere down the road. Assuming Frontier, Alaska, and Virgin America survive and want to grow in the East, any one of them could pick Pittsburgh. If the US allows foreign ownership of airlines, that's another possibility. And what is their alternative? There aren't any other big, efficient airports sitting around with space available. |
| Quoting USPIT10L (Reply 67): The checkin counters are the same, always have been. US Airways was placed on one end of the Foerster Terminal, everybody else was placed on the side. |
| Quoting PITops (Reply 69): I could see 40 flights in a few years or so. We are on the radar for more growth. |
| Quoting PITops (Reply 69): Virgin America is coming to PIT. They put out a statement saying we are on the second tier of cities they are going to add. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 70): They did mention that they intend to fly to PIT in the near future, but as far as any base is concerned, I think they hinted towards something at JFK. I do have to say, if they were to try and establish a base there, things could become extremely interesting at JFK!!! How many airlines have large bases there? AA, B6, DL, so Virgin America would make what then, four??? |
| Quoting PITops (Reply 71): Now the FAA wants east coast airports to cut flights. |
| Quoting PITops (Reply 69): Virgin America is coming to PIT. They put out a statement saying we are on the second tier of cities they are going to add. |
| Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 12): Likewise with the cost of living being so much lower in PIT compared to PHX, |
| Quoting JetJock22 (Reply 15): Uhhh, last I checked, the airline was still called US Airways.... |
| Quoting Apodino (Reply 40): Then I guess UA having hubs in both SFO and LAX is also strange. |
| Quoting PITops (Reply 71): Traffic is bad enough there. Now the FAA wants east coast airports to cut flights. So who knows. |
| Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 72): I did say before that the FAA mandate could be a saving grace for PIT. CO already saw the light and realized that they had to start relieving EWR before the FAA did it for them, hence the CLE build up. If the Feds start slotting the hell out of PHelL US would be forced to send alot of that connecting traffic somehwere, and MHT-DAY or something isn't going to go all the way to CLT to connect... and they surely couldn't ram more through LGA/DCA either at that point. Sure it's a longshot, and would be like "winning by forfeit" but it's a possibility. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 75): Sorry, but this FAA mandate at calming some of the traffic in the NE is rather new to me... |
| Quoting N77014 (Reply 61): PHX ops (old HP) is ripe for consolidation and relocation from PHX. This from a veteran SOC supervisor who fears more cuts coming due to the merger and consolidation. |
| Quoting USPIT10L (Reply 67): Let's face it, folks, the US East folks for the most part do not trust senior management, period. |
| Quoting USPIT10L (Reply 76): The whole reasoning behind the FAA's mandate is to quiet the ATC snarls and delays that are occurring with daily frequency. |
| Quoting USPIT10L (Reply 76): I know that PHL was never designed for the amount of traffic that goes through it. The only reason US Airways has such a large presence there is the O&D for both domestic and international travel. Same with EWR. At least CO has some where to put the excess flights, CLE. I'm not sure what US Airways will do, if anything. |
| Quoting Indy (Reply 79): I see PIT gets winter service to FLL on FL. |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 80): Does anyone think FL could be testing the waters a little bit in PIT? It would not surprise me if the answer is a "no," they're probably not, but with some airlines the way they operate, you can never tell... |
| Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 80): They're also adding TPA service. FLL goes daily in February... Does anyone think FL could be testing the waters a little bit in PIT? |
