Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
HowardDGA wrote:6x SFO-SNA to 0x seems the oddest to me. For Monday, southwest.com shows nine SNA-SJC and seven SNA-OAK nonstops. Do you have 2017 flight info for OAK-SNA and SJC-SNA?
jplatts wrote:Here is the current breakdown of WN service out of SFO:
6x BUR, 3x DEN, 4x LAS, 5x LAX, 3x PHX, 5x SAN (26 daily departures)
WN SFO-MDW nonstop service is currently suspended through 6/11/2022, and then WN SFO-MDW nonstop service is scheduled to return on a Saturday-only basis starting on 6/11/2022 through 9/3/2022 and then on a Sunday-only basis starting on 9/4/2022 through 10/30/2022.
Here was the breakdown of WN service out of SFO in Summer 2017:
4x BUR, 3x MDW, 2x DAL, 5x DEN, 6x LAS, 9x LAX, 1x MKE, 6x SNA, 5x PHX, 3x PDX, 8x SAN, 1x STL (53 daily departures)
Chicago, Baltimore/Washington, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix were the only markets where WN carried more domestic passengers in January 2022 than it did from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Top destinations traveled to from the San Francisco Bay Area on WN that don't currently have WN nonstop service out of SFO (but have WN nonstop service from OAK or SJC) include SNA, ONT, HNL, LGB, PDX, SLC, SEA, BOI, OGG, GEG, DAL, PSP, MDW, EUG, and HOU.
Is WN likely to
(a) pull out out SFO (but retain WN service out of OAK and SJC in the San Francisco Bay Area),
(b) maintain current levels of service out of SFO,
(c) make further cuts at SFO but maintain service out of SFO in addition to OAK/SJC, or
(d) add more flights out of SFO
once WN has more staff and more planes?
If WN is planning on further expanding out of SFO, is WN likely to
(a) increase frequencies on current service out of SFO,
(b) resume routes that were dropped by WN such as SFO-DAL/SNA/STL, or
(c) add new routes out of SFO such as SFO-HOU/LGB/BNA/SLC/SEA?
Does WN really need a presence at SFO in addition to OAK and SJC, or could WN pull out of SFO and consolidate its San Francisco Bay Area presence to OAK and SJC?
jplatts wrote:
Does WN really need a presence at SFO in addition to OAK and SJC, or could WN pull out of SFO and consolidate its San Francisco Bay Area presence to OAK and SJC?
jplatts wrote:Does WN really need to restore more flights out of SFO to remain relevant in its network and in the San Francisco Bay Area?
UALFAson wrote:It seems like WN has answered this question for you. If they saw untapped demand or potential at SFO, they would add more flights and routes. The fact that they haven't seems to suggest they're good with where they're at.
There's really no reason for them to build SFO into a huge operation when they already have a hub-like operation across the bay at OAK and a significant operation down in SJC. WN is running out of cities to add, so they're moving into major airports they previously shunned like SFO, ORD, and IAH. But they're keeping service at those airports limited to flights to other WN hub-like destinations, not adding a bunch of O&D.
People who use SFO as their primary airport as opposed to trekking across the Bay to use WN at OAK are probably loyal to UA or maybe AS anyway and aren't likely looking to book WN unless the schedule just happens or to work or the price is too good to pass up.