Delta Shuttle to go all E-175

[eolesen]

Shift in LGA–BOS Shuttle Flying


As part of the evolution of Delta’s New York hub, Network continues to review routes to ensure the proper aircraft are in place to maximize revenue. That review showed that over the last twelve months, the LGA-BOS-LGA Shuttle segments have experienced a significant decrease in demand as Amtrak’s Acela high-speed train service has expanded.

Ten years ago, there were over 2,100 passengers per day who flew between BOS and LGA. Today, that number has dropped to just over 900 – more than a 50% reduction. This means that the LGA-BOS load factor has averaged ~37% over the past twelve months with a peak of 43% in the month of June. With that, each A319 is only filling up approximately 45 seats per leg, and Delta is losing approximately $1 million per month on the route. Although we are aggressively building LGA, the Shuttle remains located at the Marine Air Terminal due to lack of gates on C and D. This limits our ability to generate connections to Boston, Chicago or Washington.

− Delta operates 15 daily LGA-BOS flights and holds 52% market share
− US Airways currently operates 16 daily LGA-BOS flights with two-class E190 aircraft and maintains a 44% market share
− In March 2009, LGA-DCA Shuttle flying was shifted to Embraer regional jets with positive customer feedback and an earnings improvement on that route of $13 million annually

In order to improve LGA-BOS profitability, Network plans to re-fleet this Shuttle route with two-class Embraer 175 regional jets and return the four A319s currently serving that route to traditional hub and spoke flying effective June 2012. The overall result will be a $20 million annual earnings improvement on the Shuttle route and a $10 million annual improvement on the hub routes the A319s will assume - a net $30 million annual earnings improvement. In addition, an A319 operating out of our hubs drives an incremental 15% increase in block hours per aircraft versus what it can produce on the Shuttle.

 

[BoeingBoy]

US FFers rated the E170/175 highly even without FC and some claim it's the best ride in the fleet now that they have FC. As you know, US has replaced the Airbus with E190's in the BOS-LGA Shuttle market and passenger enthusiasm for the Embraer remains high. The statistics given makes me wonder if even the E190 isn't too big for the market - US had some connection possibilities in LGA prior to the slot swap but will only have hub/DCA flights once the swap is complete.

Jim