Where Do 279 Planes Fly?

[ISP]

I don't understand where 279 A/C are flying to. The Nov. schedule is out, and mainline continues to be eroded by RJ's & 170. Take a look at all the west coast & midwest stations plus a few other ones based on daily ASM's that I just received:

Station - Current Daily ASM - Nov Daily ASM - percent change

PNS - 36/396 - 0/0 - (100.0%)
IAH - 84/798 - 36/342 - (57.1%)
DEN - 218/1435 - 96/864 - (41.9%)
SEA - 150/1023 - 76/612 - (41.3%)
MSP - 72/672 - 36/342 - (39.5%)
MCI - 48/456 - 36/342 - (25.0%)
DFW - 120/1140 - 96/912 - (22.1%)
SAN - 116/790 - 86/629 - (21.1%)
LAX - 288/1664 - 220/1362 - (19.0%)
LAS - 96/2220 - 80/1850 - (16.7%)
SFO - 252/1504 - 222/1343 - (10.9%)
--------------------------------------------------
And the little good news...
PHX - 116/1008 - 142/987 - +0.5%
DTW - 24/216 - 24/228 - +4.8%
BNA - 60/588 - 72/684 - +14.3%
MSY - 120/1080 - 184/1584 - +47.3%
STL - 0/0 - 24/216 - NEW SERVICE

Here's the point... I don't believe many of these A/C are being "redeployed," especially the B733/734. Do you see any of these A/C doing Caribbean? No. I am interested to hear the take of someone like Jim - on your B737 pilot bids, do you see increases anywhere. If not, could we have a grievance with the 279 rule?

 

[Justme]

I have to show my total ignorance here, but I'm dying to figure this information out. Would someone please explain what the following mean?

PNS - 36/396 - 0/0 - (100.0%)

Pensacola, 36 divided by 396? 36 flights and 396 miles? 36 first class seat miles and 396 coach? Ambient blood pressure in Escambia county? And then it drops to 0/0. Does that mean U isn't flying to PNS anymore? Is that the 100%?

As you can see, this area of airline operations is not my forte. Appreciate the dicipering help.

jm

 

[ISP]

Mainline only operating statistics. Currently US flies 36 F seats and 396 Y seats per day to PNS. In November, it will decrease to 0/0 as the station is being expressed and will see no mainline service.

 

[Justme]

Thanks ISP!

 

[sfb]

I didn't quite get those numbers either but I think Justme has it figured out. It's not ASM's (which are Available Seat Miles) but Available Seats by class. We don't have a break-down by hubs, so we can't calculate ASM's without looking at the timetables and multiplying by the applicable distances.

As far as I'm aware, the pilot agreement only covers the number of planes in the fleet; someone more knowledgeable would have to say whether there are any requirements for utilization of those 279 aircraft. One would think that it would behoove the company to use it aircraft in the most efficient possible manner, but considering how bizarre the company's labor negotiation tactics have been, there clearly seems to be another agenda at work here. I expect that bankruptcy, at this point, is a foregone conclusion, and that's why we hear so little talk of it from the company now. If there's another bankruptcy, that 279-aircraft fleet goes out the window if the company even manages to avoid liquidation.

 

[Justme]

I just compared CLT-SFO Sep 7 to Dec 1 and found the following:

Looks like it went from 2 320s and 2 321s to 1 320 and 3 321s. So I guess the daily coach seats increased by what, 40 or so seats out of CLT. No SJs on this route! In fact, no SJs on CLT-DEN in December either.

jm

 

[usairways85]

Well a lot of the cities see the 319, 320, 321, and 757(LAX, SFO, LAS, DEN, SEA, and SAN) so i don't know how much the 737's have to do with this. Some of the aircraft I listed could be redeployed to the caribbean.

 

[ISP]

I am not suggesting that SJ's are flying transcons.

I am simply noting the reduction in west coast flying because yes, wouldn't those A/C have to go somewhere as well?

There is a significant decrease in transcon flying in Nov., and US is taking delivery of new 170/CR7 A/C at almost an alarming rate. Why haven't I seen new routes open, and where are all these planes flying to?

That is my question.

 

[Justme]

ISP,

I wasn't really focusing on the 73's just really checking to see if overall service from CLT was going to be reduced to the west. I think that the 73's will be used for mostly east coast stuff. Notice that DCA JAX service jumps from 1 SJ to 1 SJ plus 2 73's (Sep to Dec). I imagine that will be repeated for lots of city pairs that are N-S on the east coast. Please forgive me if this is so obvious it hurts.

jm

 

[ISP]

right, it is obvious, but I don't think the added service comes close to replacing lost service. 3X RT/day CLT-PNS... gone... much of IAH/DFW/MSP - gone. I also didn't look at stations such as ILM, SAV, MYR, ATL, etc., but I am sure they are reduced. E170's are taking over slowly but surely (like mgmt planned), and I question whether mainline are still actually being used. I just started this post becasue I didn't know if anyone had concrete evidence of MANY new routes. DCA-JAX is a start I guess. What about upstate NY? Carolinas? Washington BWI/IAD?

 

[tadjr]

Also finalized in Nov TPA-DCA adds one flight to a total of 4, TPA-PIT adds one flight to a total of 4, TPA-PHL adds one flight to a total of 8. I am sure there are many other N/S markets where this will be occuring for the busy holiday/winter season. We usually pull down West Coast flights with the Sept/Oct skd change every year.

 

[tadjr]

I just started this post becasue I didn't know if anyone had concrete evidence of MANY new routes. DCA-JAX is a start I guess. What about upstate NY? Carolinas? Washington BWI/IAD?

[post="176252"][/post]​

They are adding/will add a lot of mainline back out of DCA. Some of this service starts this month and I'm sure there will continue to be a shift of mainline/express aircraft during the transition to the new point to point flying plan. In the meantime, they are adding a mainline plane here and there back into some cities that were previously all Express. This is something that they can do with the current CWA contract in those cities. They drop all mainline flying to Express them, then add back in mainline planes on a couple flights a day. I wouldn't be surprised to see SRQ and PNS get some mainline flying back next spring just in time for the busy Spring Break crowds.

 

[ISP]

here's my thing though...

I was really hoping that the E170 would open up new markets. What is the range on them anyway? I know that they were doing PIT-MCO for awhile... I assume their range is about 1500 miles?

Instead of opening new markets, it has replaced mainline (along with the C700 to a lesser extent) and new mainline service seems limited. Saturday only service BWI-MIA, etc. obviously doesn't count. Lets not forget also that the FLL buildup does not occur until February, gives us 3 months inbetween to fill the PIT void.

 

[ISP]

alright, I'll bite on the DCA buildup. Any news on adding ML back into LGA? Our favorite pilot has said recently an additional 150 mainlnie flights. Although I think that is quite a stretch, that station is just bare bones. It is so convienent for me (aside from ISP, but don't get me started on ISP options), but flying on US gets harder and harder with connections.

 

[Light Years]

The range on the E170 is about 2000 miles. Right now they seem to be replacing 737 flying and 50 seat RJ flying equally. Where the 73's are going does seem vague. Keep in mind there are only 20 right now, but will eventually be around 80, and who knows how many more if the E190 is permitted.

If they were to expand the network with E170s, they could easily serve AUS, SAT, ABQ, COS, OMA, and LNK as "Express" stations. Not sure how sensible these markets would be but they would seem most likely. If they were flying new routes out of PIT (not likely) I guess you could include SLC.

There doesnt seem to be very much expansion domestically, its all in the Carribbean with the Airbus fleet. If they could get there hands on more widebodies there would undoubtedly be more transatlantic routes added as that seems to be the other bright spot of the network. Ironic that the smallest, least international of the legacy carriers, with the most regionalized network, smallest aircraft, and weakest hubs, does best on its international routes.

Anyway, its a mystery where they plan on redeploying the 150 or so 737s, the 'meat and potatoes' of the fleet to... aside from of course, MHV, the city with the largest US Airways presence of all.