Just seen on Flightradar24 that BA Regional do a service from London City airport to Southampton. I find it crazy that these flights even exist when you consider there is a direct train from London Waterloo straight to Southampton. How can an airline even see this as beneficial/profit to their network.

Makes me wonder how many other similar flights exists!?

it's just a positioning service for the SOU weekend flying due to LCY non-operational hours at the weekend,

Your question is interesting but also complicated. It depends of what you call "better served".
If it is about a flight doing a trip that is of equivalent or shorter duration, city center to city center, with more frequencies by trains, then there are dozens of such links in Europe. They are usually diminishing with the improvement of train services and their use may be dictated by habits and perceived status rather than real usefulness.
Where it can become a bit trickier is when you add connections. Then, it can be argued that some of those flights may make sens to connect people to a hub.

JL200/209 HND-NGO is operated by international config B77W/787
You can enjoy full flat bed on 1hr flight

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

With the increase in night trains in Europe, you could possibly argue that many major routes are "best" served by train as there a great use of time (travel whilst you sleep) and save you on at least one hotel booking.
Even as a Ryanair fan boy I chose the sleeper train between TSR and OTP, and again need to do KRK-VIE next year but plan on taking Nightjet. For anyone who's never done a night-train, it's a fantastic way to travel! Heck if I one the lottery I would happily travel Europe by train instead of flying - it's relaxing, there's hundreds of scenic routes and if there's a dining car you'll see me in there

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

For the major U.S. carriers, those were killed off years ago. Most (in)famous was UA's Oakland-San Francisco flight, a route that had been served by frequent rail for many years.

AMS-BRU is an example of a route which is better served by train, and yet it's flown by KLM Cityhopper. There are numerous high speed trains a day between Amsterdam and Brussels, they even stop at Amsterdam airport and those trains got flight numbers on them so they can serve as feeders. Why KLM still flies between AMS and BRU is beyond me, the train is just as fast and convenient.

Aceme wrote:

Just seen on Flightradar24 that BA Regional do a service from London City airport to Southampton. I find it crazy that these flights even exist when you consider there is a direct train from London Waterloo straight to Southampton. How can an airline even see this as beneficial/profit to their network.

Makes me wonder how many other similar flights exists!?

Well if you actually bothered to check, you would realise that this is not a regular service with passengers. This flight only happened because the BA Cityflyer aircraft that was meant be to operating the flights from SOU today diverted to LYS.

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

In the past there were many FLL-MIA/ IAH-HOU/ LAX-ONT/ OAK-SFO types of flights.

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

As the OP mentioned routes being better served by trains, SAN - LAX is decidedly not such a route.

Amtrak will take you from San Diego directly to downtown LA, far from LAX. Public transport (bus/light rail) is an hour-long slog from Union Station to LAX. Uber will add $$$ and anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

rjsampson wrote:

As the OP mentioned routes being better served by trains, SAN - LAX is decidedly not such a route.

Amtrak will take you from San Diego directly to downtown LA, far from LAX. Public transport (bus/light rail) is an hour-long slog from Union Station to LAX. Uber will add $$$ and anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

True, but your destination is rarely the airport. It's somewhere in the city, which is served better by Union Station than by LAX airport. Keep in mind we're talking city center to city center, not airport to airport.

It also doesn't exactly help that LAX, like most major American airports, doesn't have a long distance railway station on-site. In Europe this is common, in America it isn't. A bus is the best they can do.

Gfgdfgv wrote:

With the increase in night trains in Europe, you could possibly argue that many major routes are "best" served by train as there a great use of time (travel whilst you sleep) and save you on at least one hotel booking.
Even as a Ryanair fan boy I chose the sleeper train between TSR and OTP, and again need to do KRK-VIE next year but plan on taking Nightjet. For anyone who's never done a night-train, it's a fantastic way to travel! Heck if I one the lottery I would happily travel Europe by train instead of flying - it's relaxing, there's hundreds of scenic routes and if there's a dining car you'll see me in there

Well, TSR-OTP is inside Romania. KRK-VIE is inside of the Schengen area. So you can sleep undisturbed when crossing the borders. It is a different story when you get woken up by immigration and customs officers in the middle of the night. I used to travel a lot by train between TAT and PRG. Taking my car with me. So when arriving to the Poprad station, I had to clear the car with customs, then board the car. Then the train arrived, the sleeper with the car transport were connected to the train ad we took off. But...in Zilina Slovak customs and immigration bordered. Then in Ostrava their Czech counterparts boarded. Again, passport and customs check. The suckers didn't even arrive at the same time! So the passengers were disturbed 4 times during the night. That wasn't enjoyable.
I have no problems with taking a train on shorter trips. But if you book a cabin that gives you privacy, you don't save anything on a hotel. And the time spent traveling - 13 hours for the Nightjet on the Vienna - Zurich route compared to 1.5 hours of VIE - ZRH flight; no thank you.

The vast majority of these routes are not designed to serve O&D passengers like a train. Most (especially AMS-BRU, for example) are designed for connecting traffic. O&D numbers on AMS-BRU are miniscule at best; passengers flying this route are connecting at AMS to destinations like JFK, SIN, YYZ, LAX, IAH, etc.

This is also true in the US, where train travel is much less common. There are 10+ flights per day on routes like SAN-LAX and COS-DEN, all of which would be much shorter and easier to drive. That's not where the market is, though - it's meant for connecting pax.

WildcatYXU wrote:

Well, TSR-OTP is inside Romania. KRK-VIE is inside of the Schengen area. So you can sleep undisturbed when crossing the borders. It is a different story when you get woken up by immigration and customs officers in the middle of the night. I used to travel a lot by train between TAT and PRG. Taking my car with me. So when arriving to the Poprad station, I had to clear the car with customs, then board the car. Then the train arrived, the sleeper with the car transport were connected to the train ad we took off. But...in Zilina Slovak customs and immigration bordered. Then in Ostrava their Czech counterparts boarded. Again, passport and customs check. The suckers didn't even arrive at the same time! So the passengers were disturbed 4 times during the night. That wasn't enjoyable.

Czechia and Slovakia are both in Schengen and have been for 15 years. There should not normally be any customs or immigration checks between the two countries since 2007. Yes, Czechia can introduce border controls for a temporary period... but not forever, and my understanding is that the temporary border control period has already ended. Using the example of TAT to PRG as a reason not to go by train seems a rather historic example

davidjohnson6 wrote:

Czechia and Slovakia are both in Schengen and have been for 15 years. There should not normally be any customs or immigration checks between the two countries since 2007. Yes, Czechia can introduce border controls for a temporary period... but not forever, and my understanding is that the temporary border control period has already ended. Using the example of TAT to PRG as a reason not to go by train seems a rather historic example

Sorry, the late nineties somehow got dropped. Currently I wouldn't even have to drive to TAT, there is a car train service between KSC and PRG.
That said, there was a immigration check on Czech-Slovak border as recently as in 2022. I believe it was only dropped this year. And there currently are border controls between Austria and Germany. Just extended until November 11. Now how these affect EN and Nightjet passengers, I don't know. There is always a way not to bother the passengers. Traveling from Strasbourg to Vienna in 1995 I left my passport with the attendant and nobody bothered me at the borders.

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

Were I still an Angeleno, I would definitely take The San Diegan or the Coast Starlight (?) LAX- SAN. No fighting the crowds at LAX, no security theater, roomier seats, and I get dropped right into down town SAN. Same for the airport of course, but still...

Albany NY (Rensselaer terminal just the otherside of the Hudson River from Downtown Albany) to NYC (Penn Station - Manhattan).... Amtrak all the way.

Ill say it Manchester to London, unless you are going onwards to another destination it is prettly pointless to fly. Train is about 2 hours city centre to city centre plane is one hour but with security and the trip to the airport easily about 4 hours from city to city.

WesternDC6B wrote:

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

Were I still an Angeleno, I would definitely take The San Diegan or the Coast Starlight (?) LAX- SAN. No fighting the crowds at LAX, no security theater, roomier seats, and I get dropped right into down town SAN. Same for the airport of course, but still...

I was in SoCal last Nov, trying to use the AMTRAK service was a pain, nothing convenient, rented a car.

PatrickZ80 wrote:

AMS-BRU is an example of a route which is better served by train, and yet it's flown by KLM Cityhopper. There are numerous high speed trains a day between Amsterdam and Brussels, they even stop at Amsterdam airport and those trains got flight numbers on them so they can serve as feeders. Why KLM still flies between AMS and BRU is beyond me, the train is just as fast and convenient.

Slot sitting? If not (and I can't believe that there is a need for a repositioning leg being operated in this case), then I do wonder how profitable such a flight might be. Is there anyone (in the know) and/or the capability available to me, to know what quantity of passengers were connecting onto the flight (to get a better gauge of yields)? I can still see a market being there, though - for a few seats daily of passengers (particularly to whom an already ticketed trip might provides a cohesive experience), is/as needed. If your business with the E.U., started with the Dutch, this is the highway to the European Capital, and adding to the decent on-board experience, as well as being able to cater to all of that Codeshare Partners/SkyTeam Partners/DL/AF/HV help that they can get on filling those flights as well, with a rather "American" approach of providing/catering to the the average passenger who may well be 'connecting' from a/the mainline partner, to the 'commuter' product - with the relative wealths of Amsterdam (and The Netherland) and Brussels (and/within the E.U.) provides what decent 'O/D' there is as well (for this direct flight).

PatrickZ80 wrote:

AMS-BRU is an example of a route which is better served by train, and yet it's flown by KLM Cityhopper. There are numerous high speed trains a day between Amsterdam and Brussels, they even stop at Amsterdam airport and those trains got flight numbers on them so they can serve as feeders. Why KLM still flies between AMS and BRU is beyond me, the train is just as fast and convenient.

Short answer: connections.

Longer but elaborated answer: you are totally correct, if you focus only on point to point journeys. But no; the train as a feeder is not just as fast and convenient as the flight. If you have a connecting flight, the train will always be the inferior solution and many people still prefer the short feeder flight over it. Reason for that is, that at some point in that journey, you will need to pass security, passport control and in many cases drop you bags, which have become the main hurdle nowadays, since online check-in has become ubiquitous. All those tasks that ask for queuing, are time consuming and bear the risk for delays. It is always more convenient to have this hassle dodged as early as possible in your journey. People generally feel less stressed, once they are "inside the system" an thus prefer their closest airport over a(nother) train ride. Especially if you are not from downtown Bruxelles (or any other city), but already had an hour or more just to reach the city. And this is basically valid for any airport with such connections. Look at stuff like STR-FRA with Lufthansa, MAN-LHR with BA or GVA-ZRH with Swiss. Or LYS-CDG, where airlines are banned to sell tickets for the domestic sector, the flights however continue as pure feeder.

On top of that there is the competition: as said above, people tend to prefer their local airport. If there is a nonstop offer from BRU with SN, people will prefer this flight and if your offer (KLM's in this case) needs the longer time to reach the airport and requires an additional connection anyway, you can only compete over the price. This however will affect KLM's local sales in the Netherlands, exactly because these two airports are so close together. And if you don't have the flight option, you will also loose many of those passengers, as there are multiple airlines who will happily fly them from BRU over their hubs.

You write it correct: it's beyond you. Which means; there is something totally explainable behind this mental wall, if you take the time to dive deeper into the matter. However this system is so freaking complex and confusing, it is not even stunning, that even among us AvGeeks so many people are unfamiliar with how the system "air traffic" with its multiple players, multiple hub and spokes actually works. How should an average politician, people in charge for transport planning, understand it then? Or the average citizen who elected those politicians, if you need a goddamn master in aviation management to understand it?

PatrickZ80 wrote:

AMS-BRU is an example of a route which is better served by train, and yet it's flown by KLM Cityhopper.

A route which is also served by plane. Having a choice is nice.

PatrickZ80 wrote:

Why KLM still flies between AMS and BRU is beyond me, the train is just as fast and convenient.

I took the train on this route a few times. The last time it was far from convenient, even in first class. Over thirty people were standing in the aisle of my train car. Every five minutes the train conductor warned over the intercom to guard your luggage, because there were thieves on board. Other 'passengers' were asking for money, because they claimed to be poor or have a sick child. I have never encountered people standing in the aisle, begging for money or trying to steal my belongings while travelling on KLM. So I prefer KLM over the train.

davidjohnson6 wrote:

Czechia and Slovakia are both in Schengen and have been for 15 years. There should not normally be any customs or immigration checks between the two countries since 2007...

Why did the Polizei board the SN train between France and Germany and check passports?

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

LAX-SAN rail is slow and doesn't connect to the airport. Roads in that area are notorious for traffic jams. Hence the flight.

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

there used to be an LAX to Palmdale service too on Delta Connection, one of which was sadly involved in the USAir Boeing 737 collision in 1991. I don't know if there was a train between LA and Palmdale at the time, however.

rjsampson wrote:

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

As the OP mentioned routes being better served by trains, SAN - LAX is decidedly not such a route.

Amtrak will take you from San Diego directly to downtown LA, far from LAX. Public transport (bus/light rail) is an hour-long slog from Union Station to LAX. Uber will add $$$ and anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

If you see who I quoted, I was talking about air service between LAX and SAN, not rail service.

SAN-LAX flights are for connections. And their numbers have dwindled in recent years, as numerous flights throughout the day on EMB-120s and SAAB 340s were replaced by fewer jet flights, mostly E-175s. Post-pandemic there’s just a handful of daily E-175 flights with American not even in the market. Though during the turboprop era there were some jet services; United had it as part of the Shuttle system for a while with some 737 flights alongside the props, and Northwest had a single A320 trip to feed their Asia flights.

The SAN-LA O&D market either drives or takes a train or bus.

KCRQ at one time had service to KLAX, on UA, I believe.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

KCRQ at one time had service to KLAX, on UA, I believe.

They did. If memory serves, WestAir (OE) flew CLD-LAX with J31s in the mid-to-late 90s. Not sure when it ended. .

hawaiian717 wrote:

The SAN-LA O&D market either drives or takes a train or bus.

True. Except for my buddies and me! As San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers fans, we've decided to fly to games from SAN to LAX. The stadium is literally down the street.

I've also known people wanting to spend extended amounts of time in Santa Monica and Western LA to make the flight and rent a car (especially when traffic is predicted to be soul-crushing).

Idiosyncratic exceptions, yes. SAN-LAX is rarely O&D as you and others have mentioned.

rjsampson wrote:

hawaiian717 wrote:

The SAN-LA O&D market either drives or takes a train or bus.

True. Except for my buddies and me! As San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers fans, we've decided to fly to games from SAN to LAX. The stadium is literally down the street.

I've also known people wanting to spend extended amounts of time in Santa Monica and Western LA to make the flight and rent a car (especially when traffic is predicted to be soul-crushing).

Idiosyncratic exceptions, yes. SAN-LAX is rarely O&D as you and others have mentioned.

I don't think it's idiosyncratic necessarily. It makes the point that where a passenger is coming from or going to in Los Angeles is important. For places not too far from LAX, flying probably does make sense, but that's only a small percentage of the O&D. I had a period of time about a decade ago where I was going from downtown Los Angeles to downtown San Diego frequently, and I almost always took the train. From points south of Long Beach or so, driving wins every time.

I am sort of surprised that no one has ever tried a handful of daily flights on BUR-SAN; BUR is far enough north that ground transport really sucks regardless of mode.

NWAESC wrote:

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

KCRQ at one time had service to KLAX, on UA, I believe.

They did. If memory serves, WestAir (OE) flew CLD-LAX with J31s in the mid-to-late 90s. Not sure when it ended. .

Last CLD-LAX flight was April 6, 2015. SkyWest took over the route at some point and operated it with the EMB-120.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFAObs9wJOI

I've said it once, I've said it 36 times. Intermodal hubs are the way to go.

Give me Acela for NYC-DC over a flight any day of the week. I’ve “raced” a friend from Manhattan to DC and my total travel time was longer flying than her train. Add in east coast flow control in the summer and it’s hands down no contest.

Washington DC -New York.
With getting to the airports and going through security which just was not as complicated during the Air Shuttle days…the New high speed Acela trains for the win. The actual on board moving time on the train may be longer that air time, but the entire journey…downtown to downtown is much faster.

For actual same metro area flights, there used to be lots of LAX-OXR/SNA/ONT flights, until Skywest retired the Brasilia and United drew down a lot of the regional flying.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

KCRQ at one time had service to KLAX, on UA, I believe.

CRQ-LAX lasted until OO retired the Brasilia. OO apparently would have kept CRQ with a CRJ, but needed the still planned runway extension to do so.

TWA772LR wrote:

I've said it once, I've said it 36 times. Intermodal hubs are the way to go.

Very true, and in Europe they're already mainstream. The US still has a long way to go when it comes to that, many major airports don't have a railway station and if they do it's just a local line to the city center. Major European airports like FRA, CDG and AMS have both local and high speed trains in all directions straight from the airport, I think FRA is the most intermodal hub on the planet. Many people switch trains at the airport for example, it's an important hub for the German railways.

In the US only BWI has a high speed train station on the Acela, although the station is not directly connected to the terminal. You need to take a shuttle bus to get there. The California High Speed railway, which is currently in development, will pass SFO and only stop in Milbrae which is near but not at the airport. You still have to catch a local train or bus to get from the airport to Milbrae. They could have easily let the train stop at the airport, the infrastructure is there.

But it can get even worse. There is a railway line literally bypassing CLT, yet there is no station at the airport. Build a station and you can not only connect the city of Charlotte to the airport by rail but also the city of Spartanburg which is at the other end of the line. That abolishes the need for GSP-CLT flights.

TWA772LR wrote:

I've said it once, I've said it 36 times. Intermodal hubs are the way to go.

Wish we could pick up Jamaica station and drop it on JFK.

Cubsrule wrote:

rjsampson wrote:

hawaiian717 wrote:

The SAN-LA O&D market either drives or takes a train or bus.

True. Except for my buddies and me! As San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers fans, we've decided to fly to games from SAN to LAX. The stadium is literally down the street.

I've also known people wanting to spend extended amounts of time in Santa Monica and Western LA to make the flight and rent a car (especially when traffic is predicted to be soul-crushing).

Idiosyncratic exceptions, yes. SAN-LAX is rarely O&D as you and others have mentioned.

I don't think it's idiosyncratic necessarily. It makes the point that where a passenger is coming from or going to in Los Angeles is important. For places not too far from LAX, flying probably does make sense, but that's only a small percentage of the O&D. I had a period of time about a decade ago where I was going from downtown Los Angeles to downtown San Diego frequently, and I almost always took the train. From points south of Long Beach or so, driving wins every time.

I am sort of surprised that no one has ever tried a handful of daily flights on BUR-SAN; BUR is far enough north that ground transport really sucks regardless of mode.

Actually, BUR and much of the market it attracts has Amtrak as a viable option.

Indeed, AS tried to make SAN-SBA work and failed, in large part due to the train, despite the flight being a truly quicker option.

TonyClifton wrote:

Give me Acela for NYC-DC over a flight any day of the week. I’ve “raced” a friend from Manhattan to DC and my total travel time was longer flying than her train. Add in east coast flow control in the summer and it’s hands down no contest.

TBH the number of flights are way down from its peak - used to be hourly for both AA and DL, now it's only 8 flights each.

DCA-PHL on AA or EWR-PHL on UA are still much worse offenders anyway - but one is for slot-sitting, the other for connection.

chunhimlai wrote:

JL200/209 HND-NGO is operated by international config B77W/787
You can enjoy full flat bed on 1hr flight

You're still talking about 2 flights/day on JL and 1 flight/day on NH. NH also used to fly routes like NRT-KIJ for connection anyway for connection (Gone since the pandemic).

zakuivcustom wrote:

TonyClifton wrote:

Give me Acela for NYC-DC over a flight any day of the week. I’ve “raced” a friend from Manhattan to DC and my total travel time was longer flying than her train. Add in east coast flow control in the summer and it’s hands down no contest.

TBH the number of flights are way down from its peak - used to be hourly for both AA and DL, now it's only 8 flights each.

DCA-PHL on AA or EWR-PHL on UA are still much worse offenders anyway - but one is for slot-sitting, the other for connection.

chunhimlai wrote:

JL200/209 HND-NGO is operated by international config B77W/787
You can enjoy full flat bed on 1hr flight

You're still talking about 2 flights/day on JL and 1 flight/day on NH. NH also used to fly routes like NRT-KIJ for connection anyway for connection (Gone since the pandemic).

Well, I think DCA-PHL is not just slot sitting, but also connections.

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

Closest are PSP and SBA. PSP train station recently closed, service was not daily, and middle of the night.

SBA is served by seven trains weekdays. I believe there are only two UA flights LAX-SBA. No direct flights BUR-SBA. Timing of the LAX flights means you spend a night in a usually not inexpensive Santa Barbara hotel. Train up and back is doable within the same (very long) day.

I prefer the train, but driving is a reasonable option depending upon where one starts in the LA area.

Aceme wrote:

Just seen on Flightradar24 that BA Regional do a service from London City airport to Southampton. I find it crazy that these flights even exist when you consider there is a direct train from London Waterloo straight to Southampton. How can an airline even see this as beneficial/profit to their network.

Makes me wonder how many other similar flights exists!?

Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Arizona (FLG) is an example of the train being competitive with a flight. Roughly 6PM to 6AM. Train sleeper compartment can cost less than the flight, depending on when one books.

And you’ll have to forget Winona unless you continue on past FLG.

FLG back to LAX is a bit less convenient as I recall.

I flew on AA from SHA to PVG before. That can be done via metro.

HowardDGA wrote:

Aceme wrote:

Just seen on Flightradar24 that BA Regional do a service from London City airport to Southampton. I find it crazy that these flights even exist when you consider there is a direct train from London Waterloo straight to Southampton. How can an airline even see this as beneficial/profit to their network.

Makes me wonder how many other similar flights exists!?

Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Arizona (FLG) is an example of the train being competitive with a flight. Roughly 6PM to 6AM. Train sleeper compartment can cost less than the flight, depending on when one books.

And you’ll have to forget Winona unless you continue on past FLG.

FLG back to LAX is a bit less convenient as I recall.

Unfortunately there are no longer FLG-LAX nonstops, you have to go via PHX. Always wanted to try the train from ABQ to FLG, that one has a decent schedule - during daylight.

WesternDC6B wrote:

DTWLAX wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

Are there any flights that operate from one airport to another in the same metro area? For example MDW to ORD or LAX to LGB?

I believe there is LAX-SAN service. That is the closest today from LAX. But maybe sometimes it is faster than doing the 125 miles road trip.
I think there was a LAX-SNA service in the past that does not exist anymore.

Were I still an Angeleno, I would definitely take The San Diegan or the Coast Starlight (?) LAX- SAN. No fighting the crowds at LAX, no security theater, roomier seats, and I get dropped right into down town SAN. Same for the airport of course, but still...

Coast Starlight ends in Los Angeles. Pacific Surfliner is the name of the train to San Diego. There is a station in Irvine that is close to SNA that would serve as the closest train link for Amtrak and MetroLink And yes, I would take that over flying so I don’t have to deal with the airport drama.

Ziyulu wrote:

I flew on AA from SHA to PVG before. That can be done via metro.

American flew from one airport in Shanghai to the other?