In-roadsrpad by low-fare operators are changing major US airports. In February Delta Air Lines depeaked its Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City hubs. The transformation has achieved two goals: buttressing their defensibility as fortresses against low-fares competition and improving performance. Delta says its Atlanta depeaking improved on-time performance within its first 10 days, boosting bad-weather arrivals by six to 10 percentage points and trimming passengers queues at security checkpoints, a sore point for Atlanta, by 35min minutes at peak times.
Delta's sschedule change, which it says is calls the largest in modern airline history, also transformed Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International airport. Long one of the few US duopolies where two majors hub, DFW is now "owned" by American Airlines after Delta 's new schedule cut mainline service there from 250 to 21 daily flights under its new schedule. In contrast, American will have 119 more daily DFW flights by summer.
DFW had aggressively sought new low-fare service after Delta's announcement in September 2004 of its dehubbing, offering incentives worth between $10 -million and $22 million. The airport courted Southwest Airlines, hoping the low-cost king would add DFW to complement service at its Dallas Love Field base. Southwest bluntly refused, prompting public complaints from the DFW board. But AirTran Airways, the low-cost carrier that already served six of DFW's top 10 markets with 14 daily flights, was planning limited DFW growth for which it does need incentives.
At Boston, Logan airport is one of the few large city airports that is not dominated by a single carrier. That stands to change as a major expansion by JetBlue Airways adds a considerable low-fares element. AirTran now serves Logan, but the area's largest low-cost presence is provided by Southwest at two cities each within 80km (50 miles) of Boston: Manchester, New Hampshire, to the north, and Providence, Rhode Island, to the south.
JetBlue's plan to use 11 Logan gates could let it operate more than 100 flights a day within five years, up from 19 daily flights there as of summer. JetBlue also plans transcontinental flights from Boston and is expected to link the city with its New York JFK hub as it begins flying Embraer 190s later this year. JetBlue's plan to use 11 Logan gates could let it operate more than 100 flights a day within five years, up from 19 daily flights there as of summer. JetBlue also plans transcontinental flights from Boston and is expected to link the city with its New York JFK hub as it begins flying Embraer 190s jets later this year.
New York JFK will become even more of a low-fares airport itself as Delta boosts its low-costfare arms Song unit there, transferring its mainline cross-country services this summer between JFK and the west coast. both San Francisco and Los Angeles airports. Song will also take over Delta flights between JFK and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Seattle. In all Song will nearly double its operations at JFK.
Source: Airline Business
