urbanSTL

shadrach wrote:CT, unless I'm reading you wrong, AirTran already flies from STL to Atlanta. Flown it a couple of times.

shadrach wrote:Does anyone know if AirTran is going to be an owned subsidiary or will their livery be repainted and integrated with SWA or will SWA run two different brands?

shadrach wrote:If merged, would AT gates be consolidated in the East Terminal?

matguy70 wrote:First - Southwest won't "trim" any flights from STL because of the merger.

matguy70 wrote:As for Southwest to ATL - sure this is a new nonstop flight for Southwest since they are not even in ATL. This would just replace the Airtran flight(s).

matguy70 wrote: Those are the only destinations Airtran has out of STL.

matguy70 wrote:The Post makes it sound like STL will be a loser in this.

In addition to the eight daily nonstop flights to and from Chicago Midway and St. Louis, Southwest Airlines’ new service will offer direct or connecting service from St. Louis and Chicago to more than 45 destinations including Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Houston, and San Diego.

“And with the addition of Newark to our route map in March 2011, Southwest will now be able to fulfill additional demand to New York City from our customers in St. Louis and across the country.” says Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines’ chairman, president, and CEO.

matguy70 wrote:More Flights added at Lambert St. Louis International.

Southwest Airlines will add Newark/New York Liberty International Airport NONSTOP to STL International beginning on March 27.

Someguy wrote:Interesting article from usatoday about seats out of different airports.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/ ... ty-map.htm

Lambert hasn't gained too many seats over the past year (although it has gained some!). However, the cool thing to note is that we have significantly more seats than a number of smaller hubs and airports that still have direct service to Europe: MKE, MEM, BNA, CLE, PIT. That tells me that we could definitely see some sort of hub status again if we got these landing fees down.

Dredger wrote:Frustrating to look at the fact that those airports still have a direct European flight with less seats then Lamberts. Not a big believer that STL is poised to have hub status anytime soon. However, feel that the hub hope mentality is keepting STL from securing one of those flights.

A more hopeful sign in my mind for STL in long run is the agreement between Southwest and pilots union. Hopefully it will translate into some of the bigger planes coming through STL.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... -jets.html

In other words, STL might not have a lots, lots, and lots of little planes shuttling people. However, getting bigger planes might tip the scale for enough carry through traffic along with some freight (even coming or going from Mid America) to warrant a direct European flight.

Someguy wrote:MKE, BNA, and CLE are still, however, considered to be hubs or focus cities by one airline or another.

We have enough O/D traffic to make a Europe flight feasible on an aircraft like the 767 or 787 (Last I heard, I think around 400 people a day travel between StL and Europe).

If an international carrier gave us the sort of connections that exist in MKE, BNA, or CLE, we could support a Europe flight with no question.

The way I see it, Southwest is already providing people with opportunities to connect through StL, and with the Airtran deal, they're gaining international experience and new aircraft.

If Southwest is suddenly going to fly 717s on Caribbean routes, why not 787s on European routes?

Someguy wrote:We are still not a named focus city for anyone. You might say that Southwest has a focus city here, but they won't because that's not their style. A brand stating that St. Louis is a focus city/hub would put us on the map. Southwest does not.

I must admit, the only source I've got for the O/D numbers is from a post on airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forum ... #ID4593877), but still, 300 St. Louisans per day going SOMEWHERE in Europe? Doesn't seem like a huge stretch to me.

Two reasons airlines aren't giving us service already: 1. People think TWA died because StL didn't work as a hub. They completely forget about the Karibu deal. 2. It's easier for them to just put StL pax on connecting flights.

In the previous post, I meant to state airports that had either hub/focus city status, direct europe flights, or both. BNA got in there on accident, sorry. But if you look at the wikipedia pages for the airports I listed, they've got many more destinations that St. Louis does.

My entire point with the whole thing is that someone COULD use the 787 and maybe some connections to make a direct Europe flight profitable. I only mentioned Southwest because they seem like they'd be the most likely to do so, and I NEVER said that anyone WILL.I am openly admitting that I am simply speculating. Is there any harm in keeping a hopeful and optimistic outlook here? A hub/Europe flight might not happen with the Airlines ceasing to build hubs and looking to streamline operations, but can we at least say that we are a city capable of supporting such a thing?

leeharveyawesome wrote:And hello to having the smoking terminal right by the main entrance instead of in a little box and hello to having the security checkpoint clogged with people going back and forth to smoke!