More MEM Cuts

Kev3188 said:
Cranky weighs in: http://crankyflier.c...e Cranky Flier)


Nothing new under the sun here, though the breakdowns of each bank make for an interesting read...

Amazing how different the place is from when I worked there. :(
Click to expand...

News story (video): http://wreg.com/2012...broke-promises/
http://www.bizjourna...romises-to.html

But seriously, the writing has been on the wall for many years, MEM's demise was well known to many and should not be taken as a surprise. I was in MEM several years ago, there really isn't much there and while the DL employees are very nice and its a manageable airport, it's pretty dilapidated and in need of renovation. Does MEM really have the business community to support all these flights? At least CVG has P&G, GE, and Fifth Third. MEM has just International Paper and FedEx. Plenty of other medium sized hubs have gone away or been drawn down like CLE (CO/UA), PIT (US), and STL (AA/TW) the airlines just can't seem to profitably operate large number of flights in these markets.

Kev, I seem to remember NW demonstrated an interest in MEM-NRT. Was this just hearsay or was it a real possibility?

Josh
 
No, it shouldn't surprise anyone. I posted it because I thought it was interesting, and- on a selfish note- a bit nostalgic for me. Place used to be insane during banks; now it's a shadow of what it once was.

As far as the business community, there's some O & D volume there, but certainly not to the extent of other hubs, and certainly not enough to justify the volume of flying it once had. Being a cheap facility only goes so far. IMO, MEM (the airport & city) will always be more of a logistics crossroads than anything, and city leaders should focus on that. The airport itself has had some renovations done in recent years, but aesthetics will never be it's strong suit- unless one is a fan of beige bricks...

I seem to remember lots of talk about MEM-NRT. MEM was also extending/widening one of the runways at the time to facilitate TPAC flying, which only fueled the rumor mill. Not sure how far the planning (if any) actually progressed, though...
 
Kev3188 said:
No, it shouldn't surprise anyone. I posted it because I thought it was interesting, and- on a selfish note- a bit nostalgic for me. Place used to be insane during banks; now it's a shadow of what it once was.

As far as the business community, there's some O & D volume there, but certainly not to the extent of other hubs, and certainly not enough to justify the volume of flying it once had. Being a cheap facility only goes so far. IMO, MEM (the airport & city) will always be more of a logistics crossroads than anything, and city leaders should focus on that . The airport itself has had some renovations done in recent years, but aesthetics will never be it's strong suit- unless one is a fan of beige bricks...

I seem to remember lots of talk about MEM-NRT. MEM was also extending/widening one of the runways at the time to facilitate TPAC flying, which only fueled the rumor mill. Not sure how far the planning (if any) actually progressed, though...
Click to expand...

I just think its outrageous for people in MEM-Congressman Steve Cohen specifically-to assert that DL has some obligation to continue operating flights and maintaining employment there. DL is a company with a fiduciary duty to their shareholders and other stakeholders-including employees-and operating unprofitable flying at MEM is not consistent with this. The whole notion that DL made promises to Memphis is ludicrous. Sure at one point in 2008 some executive from DL or the former NW pledged to maintain service but times change, people need to adjust. If DL wasn't profitable in ATL even, they would cutback and we have seen this in several ATL markets too.

Josh
 
It is also worth noting once again that fuel prices jumped by 48% in the 2nd quarter of 2008, the quarter in which the merger was announced, compared to a year earlier - to $2.85 - and continued to increase to $3.16/gal by the time the merger closed, similar to today's levels.

Completely apart from the economics of RJs which constitute the majority of MEM and CVG flying, an increase in fuel prices of that amount is most certainly going to reduce demand as prices have to rise to cover that amount.


When you start pulling out flights out of a hub based on economics of each market, it doesn't take long before the hub doesn't work on the basis of connectivity. MEM Is in worse shape that CVG because of the smaller business base. MEM has always been one of the smallest hubs in terms of local revenue.


Every one wants to look at every reason in the book for labor and service related problems in the industry w/o looking first at the cost of fuel, an expense that has largely been out of airline control.

When the people of MEM come to grips with the fact that fuel prices alone have made it a whole lot more difficult for alot of air service to exist, there probably is a starting place for discussion.
 
(Bump)

More grist for the RUMOR mill:

Apparently, there is a large meeting for crew chiefs tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory, and even those out of station on TDY's are being asked to fly home for the day to attend. The agenda has not been disclosed.

Guess we'll see how it goes...
 
Kev3188 said:
(Bump)

More grist for the RUMOR mill:

Apparently, there is a large meeting for crew chiefs tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory, and even those out of station on TDY's are being asked to fly home for the day to attend. The agenda has not been disclosed.

Guess we'll see how it goes...
Click to expand...
crew chiefs of who?
news?

yes, DL has given MEM the very short stick in the Pinnacle reorg and the hub reductions.
 
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