urbanSTL

jstriebel wrote:You think SWA is the same pricing as AA?

Usually all airlines have the same fares filed for the same routes, with some exceptions. Actual fare availability depends on how full the flights are. (If Southwest has sold only 10% of the seats on a flight, they may still offer the $99 fare to LA while American is asking for $139 because they have sold 40% of the seats on the flight.)

Southwest has done a VERY good job of ingraining the belief they are the LOWEST fare ALWAYS, which is definitely not the case. By not participating in the third-party websites like Orbitz, it makes it less likely someone will price shop the competition when they find a fare on the Southwest website.

Greg

Chalupas54 wrote: I KNOW! While 737-800s fly into KC and other cities with small AA presences, STL gets trashy, grimy and humid planes that feel that they may just plummet to the ground. Delta's MD-80s have undergone major renovation and actually pleasant to fly in. American will fly the MD-80 into STL until the FAA grounds them. I would pay to see them fly a 737-800 into STL. With the Usless Air merger, now we will get America West's battered A319's. I have little to no positive things to say about American. I have most likely been delayed by AA 10 times because of an MD-80 equipment failure. Disturbing.

Well lookie here. New schedule just loaded:

Effective Thursday, November 21, 2013:
AA 1552 06:00 STL 09:45 MIA 738
AA 2414 12:00 STL 15:35 MIA 738
AA 1246 16:10 STL 19:55 MIA 738

AA 2414 09:45 MIA 11:15 STL 738
AA 1246 13:40 MIA 15:25 STL 738
AA 1640 20:20 MIA 22:20 STL 738

Other noteworthy changes to AA's operations effective the same date:
-DCA S80 service replaced with Eagle CRJ-700
-LGA S80 service replaced with Eagle CRJ-700
-All 757s withdrawn from STL, 1x daily DFW service on 757 also replaced with 738

As with anything in the airline industry this subject to change.

And for the record, AA has had 738s in the STL schedule in the past. Equipment swaps do happen and they show up occasionally, particularly on the MIA flights.

Presbyterian wrote:I fly AA between Miami and St. Louis every January and will be glad for the upgrade to 737-800s. Miami is a cash cow for AA because it's the doorway to their profitable Caribbean and Latin American international service. IIRC, the MD-80 was five seats wide, with boxy picture tube monitors that seldom as worked.

AA has not flown MD-80s STL-MIA for a number of years. The flights have been on 757 aircraft. MD-80s don't have IFE. The boxy monitors are found on the 757s.

All S80s have been gone from MIA since 2005, if you flew STL-MIA 99.5% chance you were in a 757. Occasionally 738s cycle through that route when a 757 goes MX, but just a few weeks ago a S80 flew STL-MIA-STL, and the only spare aircraft available in STL was S80.

And once again, these are not new aircraft to STL or for AA. AA will continue accepting deliveries of the type til 2017. AA last operated 738s BOS-STL-SNA-STL-BOS in 2004, and Alaska, Delta, Southwest and United fly the type into STL as well.

JAL007 wrote:

Chalupas54 wrote: I KNOW! While 737-800s fly into KC and other cities with small AA presences, STL gets trashy, grimy and humid planes that feel that they may just plummet to the ground. Delta's MD-80s have undergone major renovation and actually pleasant to fly in. American will fly the MD-80 into STL until the FAA grounds them. I would pay to see them fly a 737-800 into STL. With the Usless Air merger, now we will get America West's battered A319's. I have little to no positive things to say about American. I have most likely been delayed by AA 10 times because of an MD-80 equipment failure. Disturbing.

Well lookie here. New schedule just loaded:

Effective Thursday, November 21, 2013:
AA 1552 06:00 STL 09:45 MIA 738
AA 2414 12:00 STL 15:35 MIA 738
AA 1246 16:10 STL 19:55 MIA 738

AA 2414 09:45 MIA 11:15 STL 738
AA 1246 13:40 MIA 15:25 STL 738
AA 1640 20:20 MIA 22:20 STL 738

Other noteworthy changes to AA's operations effective the same date:
-DCA S80 service replaced with Eagle CRJ-700
-LGA S80 service replaced with Eagle CRJ-700
-All 757s withdrawn from STL, 1x daily DFW service on 757 also replaced with 738

As with anything in the airline industry this subject to change.

And for the record, AA has had 738s in the STL schedule in the past. Equipment swaps do happen and they show up occasionally, particularly on the MIA flights.

YAY!! However the CRJ 700s are operated by regional subsidiaries. I thought AA flies mainline to those cities?

Chalupas54 wrote: YAY!! However the CRJ 700s are operated by regional subsidiaries. I thought AA flies mainline to those cities?

Currently they do. From St. Louis, LaGuardia has always been mainline but the DCA service was operated by Eagle CRJ-700s in the past and recently switched back to mainline in February. Going back further (post November 2003 cuts) the route saw a mix of S80 and American Connection ERJ service.

Overall these changes are a reduction in capacity for St. Louis. Miami has increased to three peak day frequencies on 757s November-April for the past four years now, and in the fall season drops down to a single frequency from the current two frequencies. You may consider the newer aircraft a victory but its simply a further capacity reduction.

JAL007 wrote:

Chalupas54 wrote: YAY!! However the CRJ 700s are operated by regional subsidiaries. I thought AA flies mainline to those cities?

Currently they do. From St. Louis, LaGuardia has always been mainline but the DCA service was operated by Eagle CRJ-700s in the past and recently switched back to mainline in February. Going back further (post November 2003 cuts) the route saw a mix of S80 and American Connection ERJ service.

Overall these changes are a reduction in capacity for St. Louis. Miami has increased to three peak day frequencies on 757s November-April for the past four years now, and in the fall season drops down to a single frequency from the current two frequencies. You may consider the newer aircraft a victory but its simply a further capacity reduction.

I see. However, STL does not currently have to worry about capacity reduction. Southwest has a very solid foot in the STL market, the only way I could see ending is if Southwest went completely out of business. I would say Lambert is in a much better place today than 3 years ago. If we were to look at Kansas City or Cincinnati, Lambert looks like Atlanta.

I think this shows her pragamatic approach to slowly but surely put Lambert on sound financial footing as well as meet a business need out there (the new runway is there and she is finding ways to generate revenues and cut unnecessary expenses to pay the bonds after the TWA crash). I can easily see execs like Peabody needing this type of service - direct flight to mine n the Powder River Basin or Montsano execs following up on one of their seed facilities. A lot of companies have facilities located outside major urban areas and often severals of travel are still in the cards after getting off the of the not so cheap anymore domestic flight.

What is wish is that she would extend her pragamatic push into some selective facility demolition. I believe Lambert has facilities that are simply underutilized, outdated and will not attract business like the old National Guard hangers just did. I really think she is a pont where any big gains will have be as a result of physical improvement that new build out can provide.

1) Concourse D - to make room for a future consolidated rental car - additional short term parking to keep business happy and parking revenues close to home.
2) Concourse E/International Gates - to make room for a rebuild that keeps Southwest from busting from the seams and encourages more SWA connecting traffic.
3) Thinking AA's stand alone maintenance hanger which is undergoing a slow death if it used at all to clear the new runway flight path once and for all, believe their is a restriction under certain weather conditions because of that hanger but could easily be wrong.
4) Old McDonald Douglas facility? I think their was a chance at one point from the state to help rebuild into a cargo facility. i Say punt, level with a dozer and start over. MidAmerican might be giving away their cargo space but hard to dispute that it is much newer and was easy to convert over for current uses.

More potential bad news for Lambert. More mainline flights going to Eagle.

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forum ... n/5859667/

(references http://www.aa.com/i18n/aboutUs/newServiceRoutes.jsp)

It's really sad that there are so few options to international gateways. You can't even fly to JFK on AA. Now LAX on a regional jet? You've got to be kidding me.

I've said this before... I LIKE regional jets. More room (ok less headroom, but who stands during a flight?) QUIETER, and you dont have to worry about getting a spot for your carry-on since they just gate check it and you get it 5 mins later at the gate. Plus if you are on a mainline and you are row 30,well that is another 5+ mins waiting to deboard compared to a regional.

zink wrote:I've said this before... I LIKE regional jets. More room (ok less headroom, but who stands during a flight?) QUIETER, and you dont have to worry about getting a spot for your carry-on since they just gate check it and you get it 5 mins later at the gate. Plus if you are on a mainline and you are row 30,well that is another 5+ mins waiting to deboard compared to a regional.

More room for what? AA RJ seat pitch is equal or less to an MD80 and width is an inch less.

If you don't want people spending either money or miles on business- or first- class travel, running regional jets on the route is a sure way to avoid them.

Time to remove "hub" from the title of this thread. Southwest doesn't have hubs and we're just an outpost for the major carriers.

(edit to clarify pitch/width)

bprop wrote:More potential bad news for Lambert. More mainline flights going to Eagle.

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forum ... n/5859667/

(references http://www.aa.com/i18n/aboutUs/newServiceRoutes.jsp)

It's really sad that there are so few options to international gateways. You can't even fly to JFK on AA. Now LAX on a regional jet? You've got to be kidding me.

There is no firm evidence that LAX is going to a regional jet. The changes to ORD / LGA / DCA have been loaded into the schedules and LAX shows it is remaining on MD-80s. It is possible they are going to load it this upcoming weekend... but I suspect it was just an error on the AA website.

Greg

I hope so too. When I go to Asia it's in business and first class via AA/OW, and would definitely not want STL-LAX or reverse to be in coach.

bprop wrote:I hope so too. When I go to Asia it's in business and first class via AA/OW, and would definitely not want STL-LAX or reverse to be in coach.

Well, even if it does go to a CR7 or an E-175, there is first class available. Actually, those aircraft have a higher ratio of F:Y seating than the MD-80s.

Greg

Last week I flew on a regional jet on the 2.5 hour flight from Salt Lake City to St. Louis. Delta. Wasn't too bad, I expected worse.

If it flies the E175s on this route, I would be placated. But that's a big if.

dweebe wrote:
Seriously American: f*%k you. That's just going to drive ticket prices up even more.

Haters gonna hate.