Hypothetically, what would PHL do without US Airways?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Winging It
Hypothetically, what would PHL do without US Airways?
Tom Belden
Inquirer airline reporter Linda Loyd has a story today that I had to write several times in years past: What would happen to PHL, and by extension the regional economy, if US Airways were to merge with another airline, or be forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again? There's been a lot of chatter lately about that among industry analysts and other talking and blogging heads (this blogging head excepted). Linda's story is rightly hypothetical because, as those she quotes point out, US Airways is not in any kind of merger talks nor is it in the same financial shape it was before its two previous trips to bankrupcy court.
The short answer today to the worst-case scenario is the same as it has been for years. The region's large population means that US Airways hub here is different from those that operate now or have operated over the years in smaller cities, including Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Memphis. Almost two-thirds of PHL's passengers are "O and D," airline parlance for origin and destination, meaning they start or end trips here. In some hubs, 80 percent of the customers are simply transferring between flights, something they could do at other hubs. That O and D traffic base would over time attract other airline service. Rebuilding international service would take longer, but even there, the big population would keep quite a bit of direct service intact, in my opinion.
Today's story includes thoughts from PHL acting director Mark Gale and a number of other experts on the topic. Read it all here.
Just don't put anything of value in your bags, if you do it's as good as gone. Just pack clothes.— neddyflanders
Comment removed.- never had a problem with stuff being stolen. I think the first task would be to get a foreign airline to set up operations here, perhaps by running express trains from PHL to 30th, then to NY's Penn Station such that it coudl serve both markets well. From a domestic perspective, you'd have to hope that Southwest and other airlines would pick up the pieces.— dreinterests
- A good start to improving service would be to do away with baggage fees. The ones that don't get lost-that is.— V7110
- Let them walk and give Southwest their gates. USAir has the the most disrespectful and uncaring employess in the industry. I refuse to fly them. SW can show them what real customer service is all about. And bring in JetBlue. Why is Philly the only major(?) city that doesn't have a true discount airline like JB?
- And another thing. USAir is a bunch of thieves. When Airtran was flying to Boston out of Philly, they were matching fares at less thatn $100 R/T. When Airtran stopped flying that route, the next time I went to book, USAir want $1200! Good riddance.
- i cant tell if its usair or phl that sucks. you wait on the tarmac 30-40 mins to take off, wait on the tarmac 30-40 mins when you land and then continue to wait an additional 30-40 mins at baggage claim, only to discover that your laptop is missing from your bags, and when you ask the usair respresentative, they very impolitely and condescendingly ask you, "you checked your laptop?" ridiculous. thats why i only fly southwest now, even if i have to battle for my seat— John Kirchner
