AUSTIN | ABIA Updates - Page 245

the Genral · #**4881** Posted **Sep 14, 2018, 12:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschwab

Am I the only one who still books flights based on cheapness?

Nope. I'd rather spend the good money when I get there, not on the getting there. Now if I ever spend more time in the air than on the ground, that would be reversed, like if I were to fly to NY just for a slice of pizza or catch a Jets game. I have splurged on premium cheap seats from time to time. I met an actress from the series 'Orange is The New Black' on SWA from Newark to Austin, she sat 4 rows in front of me. Obviously she doesn't feel the need to spend a lot of money on transportation, and she no doubt has a shit ton more than me.

aschwab · #**4882** Posted **Sep 14, 2018, 1:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoOgE

My order of operation is

1) Delta
2) Direct
3) Premium Economy (especially international)
4) Sanity check that none of my preferences are like 40% more expensive than the cheapest flight

See, to some extent I can see that. Domestically? I base my destination off of non-stop cheap flights. I just randomly will go look online and find some random deal, and book a flight. Usually on SWA, usually with miles.

Internationally? I hate layovers. But, I am way too cheap for Premium Economy. So, I find the cheapest flights with minimal layovers. Basically, I drive to Houston a lot to catch an international flight to avoid layovers and save money.

OU812 · #**4883** Posted **Sep 14, 2018, 6:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschwab

Am I the only one who still books flights based on cheapness?

I still do as long as it's not Spirit Airlines. Ungh! Like a friggin sardine can with wings!

aschwab · #**4884** Posted **Sep 14, 2018, 8:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OU812

I still do as long as it's not Spirit Airlines. Ungh! Like a friggin sardine can with wings!

I, sometimes, am willing to sell my dignity for a flight costing 1/3rd the cost and with no layover.

Allegiant is my guilt pleasure. I hate the experience. I hate the service. But, I can sometimes get to Pittsburgh for $100 r/t and direct. It does the trick.

the Genral · #**4885** Posted **Sep 15, 2018, 12:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschwab

I, sometimes, am willing to sell my dignity for a flight costing 1/3rd the cost and with no layover.

Allegiant is my guilt pleasure. I hate the experience. I hate the service. But, I can sometimes get to Pittsburgh for $100 r/t and direct. It does the trick.

I agree. Honestly, for 100 bucks, I would be tempted to do that just to check Pittsburgh out for a coupe of days.

khowaga · #**4886** Posted **Sep 15, 2018, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin1971

Here's the link to the article I was talking about. In the end who really knows.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2015/1...ts-in-2-years/

So, I blinked and missed the announcement, but Hawaiian is adding Boston with its A330.

Not going to hold my breath but would love to see Hawaiian Airlines somewhere in Texas someday!

GoldenBoot · #**4887** Posted **Sep 15, 2018, 9:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by khowaga

So, I blinked and missed the announcement, but Hawaiian is adding Boston with its A330.

Not going to hold my breath but would love to see Hawaiian Airlines somewhere in Texas someday!

Intersting...Boston was one of the cities singled-out by Hawaiian's former CEO in that article - as was Austin. It begins in April 2019 and has flies five times per week.

However, plans can be altered over time. The original article seems to have been written in 2012 with a December 2015 update. So, best case scenario is that that article is almost three years old. Additionally, does Hawaiian's new President and CEO still view Austin as apart of their route expansion vision? I hope so. It would be beautiful to see their A330 on our tarmac.

khowaga · #**4888** Posted **Sep 15, 2018, 10:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Intersting...Boston was one of the cities singled-out by Hawaiian's former CEO in that article - as was Austin. It begins in April 2019 and has flies five times per week.

However, plans can be altered over time. The original article seems to have been written in 2012 with a December 2015 update. So, best case scenario is that that article is almost three years old. Additionally, does Hawaiian's new President and CEO still view Austin as apart of their route expansion vision? I hope so. It would be beautiful to see their A330 on our tarmac.

Well, if you read it carefully, it was a list of growing and relatively underserved areas, but Hawaiian didn’t say that said those areas were targeted for route expansion. Sneaky.

ILUVSAT · #**4889** Posted **Sep 15, 2018, 10:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by khowaga

Well, if you read it carefully, it was a list of growing and relatively underserved areas, but Hawaiian didn’t say that said those areas were targeted for route expansion. Sneaky.

True. But, as a business, wouldn't you want to "target" those areas considered "underserved?" Seems to me like one would.

Furthermore, when they (Hawaiian) speaks of "underserved," just to be clear, I think they mean areas where there is a population of potential customers who have a higher level of difficulty in reaching the islands. Not simply, "underserved" in general.

They would not have pinpointed those cities if they hadn't already looked at them as potential destinations.

Again, this is an old article... Who knows what they're thinking today - especially with a new CEO.

khowaga · #**4890** Posted **Sep 15, 2018, 11:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

True. But, as a business, wouldn't you want to "target" those areas considered "underserved?" Seems to me like one would.

Furthermore, when they (Hawaiian) speaks of "underserved," just to be clear, I think they mean areas where there is a population of potential customers who have a higher level of difficulty in reaching the islands. Not simply, "underserved" in general.

They would not have pinpointed those cities if they hadn't already looked at them as potential destinations.

Again, this is an old article... Who knows what they're thinking today - especially with a new CEO.

Potentially. But they very carefully didn’t say they were considering all of them as destinations. I just think this is rather sneaky and noncommittal of them.

But, yes, new CEO, new...something.

khowaga · #**4891** Posted **Sep 16, 2018, 2:10 PM**

In the next rumor mill: Emirates’ CEO says the carrier is considering secondary US markets.
https://skift.com/2018/09/07/ceo-emi...ness-recovers/

The article names Austin, Indianapolis, and San Jose as examples of secondary markets that other airlines have opened; granted this is the author’s own analysis AND (big caveat here) Emirates’ CEO says an awful lot of things (he’s kinda famous for running his mouth actually).

GoldenBoot · #**4892** Posted **Sep 16, 2018, 5:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by khowaga

In the next rumor mill: Emirates’ CEO says the carrier is considering secondary US markets.
https://skift.com/2018/09/07/ceo-emi...ness-recovers/

The article names Austin, Indianapolis, and San Jose as examples of secondary markets that other airlines have opened; granted this is the author’s own analysis AND (big caveat here) Emirates’ CEO says an awful lot of things (he’s kinda famous for running his mouth actually).

Emirates is not coming to Austin anytime soon. They already fly daily to DFW and IAH.

khowaga · #**4893** Posted **Sep 16, 2018, 6:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Emirates is not coming to Austin anytime soon. They already fly daily to DFW and IAH.

I am kind of surprised their cargo operation doesn’t fly here. I would actually expect to see that long before a pax operation.

GoldenBoot · #**4894** Posted **Sep 16, 2018, 8:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by khowaga

I am kind of surprised their cargo operation doesn’t fly here. I would actually expect to see that long before a pax operation.

Why would they? AUS cargo ops are not exactly jumping off the charts.

DoubleC · #**4895** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 3:32 AM**

The difference between BA and EK is that when BA started service here, it was the only transatlantic service and there was untapped demand to Europe. I doubt it’s the same case with Austin to the Middle East, and if they did start I imagine it would take a chunk of (connecting) traffic from BA just like Emirates and the other gulf carriers did to DFW.

When I say connecting I mean people connecting in Europe/Middle East from AUS. They’d probably start other top tier secondary cities first, perhaps SJC as mentioned, or PDX or DTW. On a brighter note, a transpacific would be more likely first.

khowaga · #**4896** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 12:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubleC

The difference between BA and EK is that when BA started service here, it was the only transatlantic service and there was untapped demand to Europe. I doubt it’s the same case with Austin to the Middle East, and if they did start I imagine it would take a chunk of (connecting) traffic from BA just like Emirates and the other gulf carriers did to DFW.

When I say connecting I mean people connecting in Europe/Middle East from AUS. They’d probably start other top tier secondary cities first, perhaps SJC as mentioned, or PDX or DTW. On a brighter note, a transpacific would be more likely first.

The Middle East, no. The Indian subcontinent, however, is a notoriously price-sensitive and not terribly brand loyal market.

I’ve actually always been afraid that Emirates would try to barge in here—I think it would hurt the BA service far more than another major European carrier (or the long rumored DL to AMS) entering the market would, especially given that Emirates is ever so slightly known for things like predatory behavior and unfair state subsidies.

On the other hand, there’s a lot of ifs here: if they’re serious about second tier markets, if they convert their existing 777 options into smaller airframes, if they continue to survive all the WTO lawsuits being lobbed at them over the Dubai government protecting them from unprofitability.

I agree with you that there are much more likely places to start (Detroit, with its large Arab American population, seems like a slam dunk for them). On the other hand, when they first announced it 5 years ago I had doubts as to whether the BA service would even make it, let alone be operated by a 747 one day. Things change so fast here.

aschwab · #**4897** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 2:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by khowaga

The Middle East, no. The Indian subcontinent, however, is a notoriously price-sensitive and not terribly brand loyal market.

I’ve actually always been afraid that Emirates would try to barge in here—I think it would hurt the BA service far more than another major European carrier (or the long rumored DL to AMS) entering the market would, especially given that Emirates is ever so slightly known for things like predatory behavior and unfair state subsidies.

On the other hand, there’s a lot of ifs here: if they’re serious about second tier markets, if they convert their existing 777 options into smaller airframes, if they continue to survive all the WTO lawsuits being lobbed at them over the Dubai government protecting them from unprofitability.

I agree with you that there are much more likely places to start (Detroit, with its large Arab American population, seems like a slam dunk for them). On the other hand, when they first announced it 5 years ago I had doubts as to whether the BA service would even make it, let alone be operated by a 747 one day. Things change so fast here.

As much as I like Emirates as an airline, and would take them any day, I would prefer to have Turkish. Mainly because I like their connections better to get to places like Europe than flying through Dubai.

khowaga · #**4898** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 5:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschwab

As much as I like Emirates as an airline, and would take them any day, I would prefer to have Turkish. Mainly because I like their connections better to get to places like Europe than flying through Dubai.

TL;DR I’m not really hoping Emirates comes here so much as I’m afraid they might.

But, yes, in general, I also like TK as a carrier better (although the new Istanbul airport can’t come soon enough. Sitting on the floor is overrated).

khowaga · #**4899** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 5:37 PM**

In other news: Frontier is pulling out of the Austin-Atlanta market. Apparently 2x per week can’t really compete with multiple daily flights on Southwest and Delta. *shocking,* I know.

cazkey · #**4900** Posted **Sep 18, 2018, 2:42 PM**

In other OTHER Frontier-related news: the ABIA website recently posted an updated map of the terminal that says Frontier will start flying out of the South Terminal on November 14, 2018: http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/def...t_counters.pdf. Not sure about reliability - I haven't seen this announced or press-released anywhere else yet, and that date is less than two months away. On the other hand, I seem to remember Allegiant only announcing their move a couple of months in advance, so could be legit.

They currently share gates with other airlines in the main terminal, so it wouldn't mean more open gates, but could mean more check-in counter space for whoever picks up the expansion gates??