Furthermore, they did it in 1991, at the beginning of the Gulf War, with relatively expensive (and harder to fill) 747's... Presumably the newer 757's will not be the maintenance and fuel hogs that the 20-year old 747's (-200's) were 10 years ago.
Let us remember that the gates belong to the City of Chicago and not to ATA. Also a Bankruptcy judge will be involved. I would suppose that the DCA and LGA slots will go to another carrier besides ATA and HP but that ATA and HP will fight over the planes and with the City of Chicago. The DCA and LGA slots are worth much more than $83 Million
Also - any airline can fly to Hawaii, this America West needing approval on the route is bizzare. The only thing I can think of is that they need ETOPS 757's.
But it is all about the City of Chicago and the Bankruptcy judge and his view on the slots right now.
I think that AWA should really try to get after some of the 757s. It would give AWA the plane to do the transons all year round without penalty. They could do JFK-LAX-HNL or BOS-SFO-HNL. I remember when AWA did operate one of the 747s on the route of HNL-LAS-JFK. I did it one time and there were about 100 that stayed on through LAS. A 757 would be profitable where the 747 was not. Just my thoughts............
The A330 is the better airplane for expansion if for no other reason, freight capacity. If more international destinations are on the horizon, you need an airplane that can haul the freight and make up for passenger fare wars that are inevitable. Maybe a 757 Combi with a cargo door.
