Two gates have already been fitted to accept a 787, and Lambert is designated an alternate/backup destination (for ORD IIRC) in the event a flight can't land there for some reason.imperialmog wrote:Not sure if the current international arrival gates could work with say a 787. Maybe that part of the airport might be next for some redoing in part because of this, and also in case Southwest starts doing anything internationally from here.
All of these cities can be reached today with a single connection from STL. A non-stop London flight would be only of value to Enterprise and WorldWide Technologies.rbb wrote:There are many companies with headquarters or a significant presence in STL also have European operations, no? Could any benefit from a direct connection? I would think so, but the market would seem to indicate otherwise.
[AB/InBev - A-B Subsidiary headquarters in STL, AB/InBev Operational HQ in NYC, world HQ in Leuven, Belgium
Emerson - World HQ in STL, employs more than 25K across Europe
Enterprise Holdings - World HQ in Clayton, European HQ in Surrey, UK
Mastercard - World HQ in O'Fallon MO, has an European regional HQ in Waterloo, Belgium
Monsanto - NA HQ in Creve Coeur, International HQ in Morges, Switzerland
Nestlé Purina - NA HQ in STL, World HQ in Lausanne, Switzerland
Worldwide Technologies - World HQ in Maryland Heights, has offices in London, UK, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
A380s have absolutely nothing to do with how likely STL is to get a European flight. No airline is going to introduce service to STL on an A380 when there is no A380 service to Chicago yet.And the incorporation of 787s and/or A380s into fleets make a direct flight from STL to Europe a more realistic possibility for airlines than in the recent past.
You can connect to anywhere from London. This would be of value to pretty much everybody. We could even fly to India from London. This means not flying to Chicago first for all sorts of destinations.gregl wrote:
A non-stop London flight would be only of value to Enterprise and WorldWide Technologies.
That was my thought: London not as a final destination but as a gateway to the rest of Europe and Western Asia.CarexCurator wrote:You can connect to anywhere from London. This would be of value to pretty much everybody. We could even fly to India from London. This means not flying to Chicago first for all sorts of destinations.gregl wrote:
A non-stop London flight would be only of value to Enterprise and WorldWide Technologies.
gregl wrote:All of these cities can be reached today with a single connection from STL. A non-stop London flight would be only of value to Enterprise and WorldWide Technologies.rbb wrote:There are many companies with headquarters or a significant presence in STL also have European operations, no? Could any benefit from a direct connection? I would think so, but the market would seem to indicate otherwise.
[AB/InBev - A-B Subsidiary headquarters in STL, AB/InBev Operational HQ in NYC, world HQ in Leuven, Belgium
Emerson - World HQ in STL, employs more than 25K across Europe
Enterprise Holdings - World HQ in Clayton, European HQ in Surrey, UK
Mastercard - World HQ in O'Fallon MO, has an European regional HQ in Waterloo, Belgium
Monsanto - NA HQ in Creve Coeur, International HQ in Morges, Switzerland
Nestlé Purina - NA HQ in STL, World HQ in Lausanne, Switzerland
Worldwide Technologies - World HQ in Maryland Heights, has offices in London, UK, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
A380s have absolutely nothing to do with how likely STL is to get a European flight. No airline is going to introduce service to STL on an A380 when there is no A380 service to Chicago yet.And the incorporation of 787s and/or A380s into fleets make a direct flight from STL to Europe a more realistic possibility for airlines than in the recent past.
The problem that STL has is that it is just outside the range of a 757 flight to London. A 757 holds about 175 passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight. The smallest aircraft capable of STL-London are the 767 or 787, both of which seat 210-225.
If you have 150 passengers a day, that's a difference between an 86% load factor and a 66-71% load factor -- which is huge.
Greg
I'm pretty sure I've taken A380s to and from Chicago. All Nippon Airways and Korean Air if I remember correctly.gregl wrote: No airline is going to introduce service to STL on an A380 when there is no A380 service to Chicago yet.
Boeing Defense. Boeing has been relying more and more on international sale to Saudi, Israel, South Korea, Turkey, India, etc.rbb wrote:There are many companies with headquarters or a significant presence in STL also have European operations, no? Could any benefit from a direct connection? I would think so, but the market would seem to indicate otherwise.
[AB/InBev - A-B Subsidiary headquarters in STL, AB/InBev Operational HQ in NYC, world HQ in Leuven, Belgium
Emerson - World HQ in STL, employs more than 25K across Europe
Enterprise Holdings - World HQ in Clayton, European HQ in Surrey, UK
Mastercard - World HQ in O'Fallon MO, has an European regional HQ in Waterloo, Belgium
Monsanto - NA HQ in Creve Coeur, International HQ in Morges, Switzerland
Nestlé Purina - NA HQ in STL, World HQ in Lausanne, Switzerland
Worldwide Technologies - World HQ in Maryland Heights, has offices in London, UK, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Any others I'm not thinking of? If each could chip in just a bit to subsidize even one direct flight then perhaps that could make it both benefit companies already here as well as making it more feasible for other companies with European presences to consider placing operations of headquarters here. And the incorporation of 787s and/or A380s into fleets make a direct flight from STL to Europe a more realistic possibility for airlines than in the recent past.
-RBB
Why do gates need to be changed for a 787?rbb wrote:Two gates have already been fitted to accept a 787, and Lambert is designated an alternate/backup destination (for ORD IIRC) in the event a flight can't land there for some reason.imperialmog wrote:Not sure if the current international arrival gates could work with say a 787. Maybe that part of the airport might be next for some redoing in part because of this, and also in case Southwest starts doing anything internationally from here.
-RBB
You can already get to India from STL with one-stop. Air India serves both Chicago O'Hare and Newark.CarexCurator wrote:You can connect to anywhere from London. This would be of value to pretty much everybody. We could even fly to India from London. This means not flying to Chicago first for all sorts of destinations.
My point is that most large European and Western Asian cities can already be reached one-stop from STL. Chicago has service from Air India, Turkish, LOT Polish, Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Alitalia, Austrian, Emirates, Ethiad, Lufthansa, Royal Jordanian and others.dweebe wrote:[That was my thought: London not as a final destination but as a gateway to the rest of Europe and Western Asia.
ORD has not yet received A380 service. Both Korean and ANA use 777-300 aircraft to Chicago.CarexCurator wrote:I'm pretty sure I've taken A380s to and from Chicago. All Nippon Airways and Korean Air if I remember correctly.
... err maybe not.
Which destinations out of the 71 already served at STL would you like to see with larger airplanes?I'd rather see more direct lights to major U.S. destinations on larger/nicer planes, and more direct Canadian, Mexican, and Caribbean destinations than a London flight. What's the point exactly? Prestige?
LaGuardia, Newark, Philly, and D.C. - the crop-dusters that United, American, and Delta fly to those destinations are pretty sad old 3-4 seat wide tin cans.matguy70 wrote: Which destinations out of the 71 already served at STL would you like to see with larger airplanes?
Agreed. I'd also like to see Mexico City, and then domestically Puerto Rico, San Jose, and JFK added, along with year-round service to San Diego.matguy70 wrote:I would like to see Vancouver and Montreal added.
^These are my thoughts exactly. If the point is to fly to all of the major global commercial hubs in just one stop, you can do that today by flying through NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta or L.A. There's no need to go through London. I guess the best argument is more direct ties to a major global financial center, but I just don't see enough business existing between St. Louis and London to justify a direct flight. Then again, I don't really see the connection between Austin and London, and now they'll be filling up a 777.gregl wrote:My point is that most large European and Western Asian cities can already be reached one-stop from STL. Chicago has service from Air India, Turkish, LOT Polish, Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Alitalia, Austrian, Emirates, Ethiad, Lufthansa, Royal Jordanian and others.
Yes, smaller cities in those areas would have one-stop service via LHR.. but that's not a significant source of STL traffic.
No new destinations were added out of STL, but one was eliminated (Panama City Beach).imperialmog wrote:Also Thursday Southwest does their next schedule extension covering August to just before Thanksgiving.
I liked this line from the should-be-obvious department: "Lambert worked with Southwest on the configuration of the these jet bridges to ensure safe operations for arriving and departing aircraft." Much better than "The expanded gates require planes to taxi through the food court."matguy70 wrote:Well... it is official. Southwest has expanded E gates to 31 and 33. Lambert has ripped out the old floors lighting interior all the way to D concourse. SWA now will have permanent use of the gates and they installed the new jet way systems this week. Including E33 to accommodate 787 aircraft for international flights.
Outbound SWA flights will use both gates and international flights will also use both gates as they enter into Customs area under E.
Hints: Watch for British Air nonstop EU service soon.
Also watch for new food court west into D.
http://flystl.com/Newsroom/Blog/tabid/4 ... -Week.aspx
