urbanSTL

I have been on Delta, US Air and Alaskan Airlines this week. Will probably come back home to STL on either Delta, US Air or Southwest. My question is who would benefit by bailing out or buying up Frontier's Denver slots if they can't get themselves out of bankruptcy? I doubt the courts will be as gracious to them as one of the big five. My long shot or just wishful thinking, how about an Alaskan airline departure from STL to the West Coast via a Denver connection. Delta has Salt Lake, US Air and Southwest have PHX, and United, AA, and NWA probably want Frontier just

to go away. Alaskan Airlines could probably expand their reach and market with Denver slots

^Alaskan codeshares with American on the flight to SFO.

Dredger wrote:I have been on Delta, US Air and Alaskan Airlines this week. Will probably come back home to STL on either Delta, US Air or Southwest. My question is who would benefit by bailing out or buying up Frontier's Denver slots if they can't get themselves out of bankruptcy? I doubt the courts will be as gracious to them as one of the big five. My long shot or just wishful thinking, how about an Alaskan airline departure from STL to the West Coast via a Denver connection. Delta has Salt Lake, US Air and Southwest have PHX, and United, AA, and NWA probably want Frontier just

to go away. Alaskan Airlines could probably expand their reach and market with Denver slots

It'd be interesting. Some people say a JetBlue/Frontier match would be nice. Routing structure-wise you'd have JFK/east coast, DEN/west coast and some Caribbean/Mexican destinations covered. However, despite an all-Airbus fleet, they use different powerplants which would add massive complexity. In short, it'd never happen.



Alaska has a massive codeshare system currently in place. Expansion in the airline industry as a whole is definitely on the back burner for an indefinite period of time at this point. None of their business models can support $110/barrel oil and especially in the US, people generally have development a sense of entitlement for cheap airfare. Things are bound to change in major ways.

I don't think code share would make much difference. They all do it at this point. I'm sure US Airways and American West had their fair share of code share routes before they merged. Just as Delta and Northwest does. I just don't see Frontier surviving without a merger or buyout. Does an Airtran merger make sense? Didn't think about it on the last post. Airtran/Atlanta hub and Frontier/Denver hub.

Well Delta and Northwest will merge creating the world's largest airline.



Delta says it will retain NWA's hubs in USA (Minneapolis,Detroit and Memphis)... HAHAHA sure they will! :bash:

matguy70 wrote:Well Delta and Northwest will merge creating the world's largest airline.



Delta says it will retain NWA's hubs in USA (Minneapolis,Detroit and Memphis)... HAHAHA sure they will! :bash:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...804140419/1361



They're still trying to work out all the pilot seniority stuff. Delta seems to be the one emerging with the brand.



I'm trying to figure out how this affects me, my miles with Delta, and the world in general.



Both of their share prices are still near the toilet. Sort of back up out of the bowl, perched on the rim.



What with oil prices, in 10 years, I wonder if we're going to have air travel that looks anything like it does today.

City, airport officials mix pride, modesty in Lambet outlook

By Ken Leiser

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

04/15/200



St. Louis — Passenger boardings are climbing at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, and local leaders are confident the airport is on the cusp of becoming a top hub again.



The big talk comes with big plans as Lambert pursues more carriers and embarks on a $105 million makeover of its concourses.



But when it comes to Wall Street, the city is preparing to strike a more modest message: When you think of Lambert, think Oakland, not Las Vegas.



The city comptroller's office recently outlined a strategy that would "break with the past" by urging bond-rating agencies to compare Lambert with other medium-size airports in hopes of improving its credit score. Officials say a better score could save the city tens of thousands of dollars when it issues up to $250 million in bonds later this year for airport improvements.



Not so long ago, the Federal Aviation Administration regarded Lambert as a major passenger hub in the United States. In 2000, Lambert ranked 15th among major U.S. airports with about 15.3 million boardings.



But in 2003, American Airlines and its



partners cut more than half their flights at Lambert. While passenger totals have increased the last three years, the number of boardings the airport counted in 2007 — 7.7 million — was barely half the volume in 2000.



After American Airlines' reductions, credit rating agencies like Standard & Poor's and Fitch downgraded Lambert's debt rating. City leaders now want bond-rating agencies to compare Lambert with its present economic realities, not the pre-2003 days when its passenger volume rivaled Newark.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument

So the bond rating authorities should ignore the fact that the airport authority blew $2B on a totally useless runway, just because a few years have passed since now and then? What is the indebtedness of the airport on the bonds used for that runway?

bonwich wrote:So the bond rating authorities should ignore the fact that the airport authority blew $2B on a totally useless runway, just because a few years have passed since now and then? What is the indebtedness of the airport on the bonds used for that runway?

I thought that was one of the draws for a Chinese trade deal.

goat314 wrote:

bonwich wrote:So the bond rating authorities should ignore the fact that the airport authority blew $2B on a totally useless runway, just because a few years have passed since now and then? What is the indebtedness of the airport on the bonds used for that runway?

I thought that was one of the draws for a Chinese trade deal.

Wouldn't it have been more efficient simply to give everyone in China a buck and a half?

bonwich wrote:So the bond rating authorities should ignore the fact that the airport authority blew $2B on a totally useless runway, just because a few years have passed since now and then? What is the indebtedness of the airport on the bonds used for that runway?

look at the runway as an investment in the future. Seriously though, I really wish that 2 billion would have gone to building new terminals, that would be something to be proud of.

I think in order to pay for the Iraq war (and keep taxes for American billionaires low) we have paid about a C-note to each Chinese man, woman and child

JMedwick wrote:I feel confident that Delta will keep DTW and MST. CVT and MEM have more to worry about. There is no reasons for the combined airline to dump either hub, but I bet both are "right-sized" just like St. Louis expect that CVT might get an international flight or two because of corporations like P&G.

I assume you mean CVG (Cincy), which is actually in Northern Kentucky?

I love it...



Northwest/Delta Merge Conference today... "We (Delta) 'vow' and are committed to NWA's hubs and employees"







Oh my goodness... isn't that the same thing AA said about and to TWA / St. Louis...



So Sad!



This is interesting too:



http://wcco.com/realitycheck/nwa.realit ... 00535.html

Would it be duty free? Tourists LOVE duty free!

bikin'_man wrote:So here is an idea. A friend of mine was in Portland this weekend and to repay us for watching her cat, we got a bottle of wine that she bought from the airport in Portland that is dedicated to selling beer and wine made in oregon. It’s within in the security gate so there is no problem getting it on board.



Say someone gets off the plane, sees a store that sells schlafly, they may not know what it is at first, but when they get in town, they might feel intrigued to try something other then a/b. then when they leave, they see the store again, and say, you know that was good, I’m going to take some home with me.



How can this be pitched to the proper people?

There's a Schlafly Taproom in the B Concourse.

XpresSpa to open at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

St. Louis Business Journal - by Matt Allen



Lambert-St. Louis International Airport signed a five-year deal with retailer XpresSpa that will bring two XpresSpa locations to the airport that will offer spa services and specialty products for passengers.



XpresSpa offers premium class services such as body massages, manicures, pedicures, facials and waxing. The spas will be located in the C Concourse and the East Terminal and will be open following a construction build-out period of up to six months, according to Lambert.



"XpresSpa will be a perfect fit for Lambert because our passengers are looking for better ways to relax or simply pamper themselves before their flights," Dick Hrabko, director of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, said in a statement. "Plus, XpresSpa fits our current Lambert Advantage strategy to give our passengers better services and more amenities throughout the airport."



The St. Louis Airport Commission and the city of St. Louis approved the agreement.



XpresSpa opened their first spa at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2004 and now has 34 spas in operation or under development at 18 airports in the U.S., Amsterdam and Mexico.



http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stor ... 2&ana=e_du

I like to shop at the duty free shop...I like to shop at the duty free shop...

I already thought the TSA offered the body massages for free.