adam99420 wrote:Ugh.. This is terrible news for Saint Louis. Our industry in the city has no chance coming back without a major airline present.
Ugh.. This is terrible news for Saint Louis. Our industry in the city has no chance coming back without a major airline present.
Big cutbacks on flights in a few cities. Cutting back on certain "hub" airports that handle a lot of connecting flights is a major source of savings the airlines are going after. Delta CEO Richard Anderson has said the new Delta won't slash flights at its half-dozen or so major hubs. Believe the boss at your own risk: When Anderson, the former CEO of Northwest, took the Delta job last summer, he also denied he was seeking a merger with his former employer. Of course, there's always a "change in circumstance" that justifies an about-face.
With soaring fuel prices, both Delta and Northwest are strapped for cash, with cutbacks likely anywhere possible. And overlapping hubs are an easy target. For the new carrier, the most likely cuts would be at Delta's operation in Cincinnati, since many flights connecting there could be handled at Northwest's Detroit or Minneapolis hubs instead. To a lesser extent, Detroit and Minneapolis could take over some of the connections going through Delta's hub in Salt Lake City. Northwest's Memphis hub would also become redundant in the shadow of Delta's huge Atlanta hub.
If United and Continental merge, Continental's connections at Cleveland would probably be slashed dramatically, since United's hub at O'Hare could handle much of that traffic. For connecting passengers, it makes little difference which city they travel through, but people who live in the affected hub cities would have far fewer nonstop flights available.
Good point about Iberia, my preference would be for BA for the simple fact that Heathrow would allow significant connections throughout Europe, Middle East, etc.
