Cranky on the Web (December 7 – 13)

Dec 14, 2013

More Reading on This Topic: American, Mergers/Finance

Consumers can expect gradual changes after American Airlines merger – Ft Worth Star Telegram
I was asked what might change after the merger. The comment of mine they used was about the operation.

What does American Airlines merger with US Airways mean for Los Angeles? – Daily Breeze
I talked a little about what I’d expect to happen in LA after the merger.

In the Trenches: Being Honest With Clients – Intuit Small Business Blog
Last week was incredibly busy with two of us out at the same time (not on purpose). We did our best to cope.

Brett

8 responses to “Cranky on the Web (December 7 – 13)”

Ron

Dec 14, 2013 at 7:59 am

“Why are we running these flights to smaller cities like El Paso and Albuquerque?” — Well, Southwest serves these routes on bigger planes and with higher frequency, suggesting that the demand may be there.

Then again, some of the Southwest passengers may be going to Dallas, and will be able to fly non-stop shortly.

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1. MeanMeosh
  
  Dec 14, 2013 at 3:33 pm
  
  I can pretty much guarantee that some of those Southwest passengers are going to DAL. I know, because I’ve had to make the stopover in both ELP and ABQ on my way to/from LAX and SAN over the past couple of years. Then again, it doesn’t make much sense for AA to compete on connecting service through ELP and ABQ when they can offer nonstops to DFW, so maybe the demand really is there.
  
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David SF eastbay

Dec 14, 2013 at 10:54 am

I don’t care for the new AA livery and US doesn’t have anything worth keeping. Maybe a whole new one is needed so neither carriers employees can feel like they lost out in the deal.

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1. CF
  
  Dec 14, 2013 at 11:11 am
  
  David – Here’s my take on the livery. I think they do what they did when they took over US Airways. They keep the logo because it’s already been rolled out everywhere and would be more costly to roll back. (It’s also not terrible anyway.) Then they changed the livery on the airplane for pragmatic reasons.
  
  With US Airways, they changed it to make it white because the dark paint soaked up the heat in the Phoenix sun. It also gave them a new look that distanced them a bit from old management. (This is mostly about the employees, after all.)
  
  With American, the new livery is extremely expensive to paint. Even with a quarter of the AA fleet done, it would save money to repaint those with a less expensive livery that costs similar to what others pay. I don’t know where all the expense is but I’m sure some of it is in the insanely complex tail. I’d be that goes away. There may be more expense in the particular paint color they chose to simulate silver (which it doesn’t do well anyway).
  
  So in short, I bet the logo stays but the livery gets modified.
  
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  1. DesertGhost
    
    Dec 14, 2013 at 11:55 am
    
    Maybe American can emulate jetBlue and experiment with different tails. I feel the tail is the biggest issue with American’s new livery, because it’s rather garish and very complex (especially if viewed up close). Using the jetBlue model would give everyone a chance to see what’s possible without the expense of repainting all of the aircraft which have already been done. Outside of the tail, I think American’s new scheme is fine.
    
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  2. Nick Barnard
    
    Dec 14, 2013 at 10:46 pm
    
    Hrm. I just looked at the new AA tail again, and yeah its complex. I wonder if we get a UA/CO deal. US Livery, with the American logo on the fuselage and the current tail, sans the flag logo… Maybe not. I think as much as the US management is about keeping it cheap, they’ll skip that UA mistake. If they’re smart they’ll figure out a way to gently modify the US livery to fit into the new-merged livery, so all the planes look like they belong together, so they don’t have to go on a huge repainting spree.. (No US Air on the side of a plane with a Blue Piedmont cheatline.)
    
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    1. DesertGhost
      
      Dec 15, 2013 at 6:29 pm
      
      Nick, I think you’ll see the gray / silver fuselage stay. Most of the negative comments I’ve seen revolve around the tail. But who knows?
      
      Reply
DesertGhost

Dec 14, 2013 at 12:00 pm

Albuquerque and El Paso are fairly large cities (especially Albuquerque). It might make more sense to serve Santa Fe from Phoenix (and maybe DFW). But being ignorant of the financial performance of those routes, All I can do is speculate and give an opinion, which, along with five dollars or so, will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

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