ClueByFour said:
2 comments:
The PIT O&D point is getting old, and is still incorrect (PIT's O&D is higher than CLT, and would be much higher than CLT if half a million boardings did not drive to CLE every year for the much more realistic fares).
The "thorough" de-icing in PHL was probably due to the fact that simply by going thru PHL, you were sitting on the ground at the gate and enroute to the de-iceing pads for about 5 times as long as you would have had to wait at PIT.
A couple of replies to your 2 comments clue.,
The O&D difference between CLT and PIT is hardly any difference at all in present terms. The cost of operations difference and PIT's proximity to PHL is of a major concern.
What is a HUGE difference is the annual costs of the two facilities Vs. what they yield this company. PIT is frankly priced out of acceptable levels for USAirways....and this is not even taking into account the annual costs of de-icing Acft 4 months out of the year Vs. maybe a few days or weeks at worst per year...Hince the 11th hour breaking of the leases with PIT instead of the cost effective CLT base of operations. CLT is a bargain as a hub by anyones measure...and this is a major reason LH will be flying MUC to CLT instead of to ATL and dealing with that headache. CLT also has a number of companies with German based ties that make this a good deal for them as well.
The next issue is market growth potential..something U has to be very concerned with , if its to survive?. The Greater Pittsburg area is beginning to die in some respects...and people and businesses are departing the area. The same cannot be said of the Charlotte /metropolitan area by any means. Hell Pittsburg and Allegheny County are on the verge of bankruptcy in their own right. My reading indicates their bond status as being a heart beat away from junk status of late.
The last issue....Sure lower fares out of CLE hurt PIT.....but the exact same thing happens to CLT due to even closer distances to GSP , RDU , GSO and soon to be HKY again...often those alternatives lead people away from U in CLT....and in some cases into the open arms of the competition in those smaller cities. Check the distances between those cities , and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I cannot think of a single time when I've been in public wearing a U Polo shirt or deck jacket with the U logo on it...when a local hasn't appraoched me with this comment, What's Up with your airline? I can drive to GSO , RDU or GSP and fly to CLT and on to my destinaton for $300 to $800 dollars less , than if I boarded in CLT to begin with. They cannot grasp flying on two planes for less money than boarding just one in CLT and then on to where they wish to be.
U thinks they are upholding our business with high prices out of the hubs..but I can attest to hundreds of cases where CLT lost the passenger...and CO, WN , AA or someone else netted that paying soul elsewhere within a 100 mile radius of CLT.
