17 responses to “Alaska and United Work on Summer Plans During a Quiet Weekend”

1. 

   CraigTPA

   Nov 29, 2021 at 7:04 am

   Mr. Porter doing Cranky’s head in:

   http://www.quickmeme.com/p/3w4tx0

   Reply
2. 

   John G

   Nov 29, 2021 at 9:36 am

   Not to get too political here but at some point the panic over Covid is going to have to end.

   Variant or no variant.

   At some point, people are just going to be tired of dealing with it, and hearing about it, and they will demand normal life going forward. The idea that we are ever going to “defeat“ this disease and put it behind us is clearly misguided.

   I also think that some of these countries that are trying to go back to lockdowns and whatever are going to start seeing serious unrest if they continue to do so.

   Doesn’t mean we need to give up, but we cannot simply change the way humans live because of this disease. And I think going forward you will see more and more countries decide in this way.

   Reply
   1. 

      Oliver

      Nov 29, 2021 at 9:58 am

      Sure, I don’t know anyone who isn’t tired of it. But how we feel doesn’t change the reality that hospitals and specifically ICUs in parts Germany, Austria etc. are full and patients are being air-lifted by the military to other regions of the country. In the US we are still seeing about a thousand deaths per day. We have already seen more deaths in 2021 than in 2020, despite vaccines. Given the protect that vaccines provide, my guess is that a lot of the 386,000 who died so far in 2021 were unvaccinated, no longer paid attention to NPIs, and simply were “done with the virus”…. but the virus wasn’t done with them.

      Germany has lost a significant percentage of ICU capacity over the course of the pandemic due to burn-out of staff. I think we are seeing the same in the US. And scheduled procedures/surgeries are getting cancelled to preserve capacity. Just because we want to live a normal life again doesn’t mean we actually can. Unless, say, we all agree that hospitals simply no longer provide any COVID care? (which, of course, isn’t realistic)

      I can’t wait to get back to a more normal life. But overall even my Covid-life is still pretty good compared to what others have been enduring for the last twenty months. That includes kids in school, front line workers, elderly who had very limited contacts with family in retirement homes etc.

      Reply
      1. 

         John G

         Nov 29, 2021 at 10:09 am

         What I am saying is that at some point we will have to accept the health care costs, and live with it. When does it end? Two years? Three? Five?

         People don’t want to live that way. And eventually they will rebel. Especially those at low risk. Unrest is going to spread in places where they try to limit the freedoms of those not at high risk. I am not exaggerating when I say I believe that continuing to enforce restrictions runs the risk of serous unrest and people taking up arms to fight for their freedoms.

         And I say that as a moderate Democrat whose wife works in a hospital in a low income area that was overwhelmed by Covid cases.

         Reply
         1. 

            Jim M

            Nov 29, 2021 at 10:14 am

            Funny. I thought we have elections to help settle this type of thing. . . have we already moved past that stage to “take up arms?”

            Reply
         2. 

            CraigTPA

            Nov 29, 2021 at 12:28 pm

            Many epidemiologists have been saying that at some point COVID will move from being a pandemic to just “endemic”, much like the annual flu. But COVID is much more dangerous than the seasonal flu, and because so many people globally have not had the disease yet but have also not been vaccinated, it is still mutating very fast and the more mutations there are the higher the possibility that a new mutation could be resistant to the vaccines or immunity from prior illness.

            That, besides the ongoing strain on hospitals (which we see in countries and regions where vaccine uptake is very low and the hospitals are being overwhelmed again), is why we can’t just treat COVID like the common cold or the seasonal flu yet. Once we get the vast majority of the world vaccinated and reduce the speed and number of mutations, it will become another endemic illness that we live with.

            We’re just not there yet.

            Reply
            1. 

               John G

               Nov 29, 2021 at 12:57 pm

               When will that be? It’s been almost two years. We will have to ultimately live with it. How long are we going to significantly alter portions of people’s lives for a disease that is not a serious threat to the health of most?

               I have my doubts that “the vast majority of the world” will EVER be vaccinated, given the resistance to it in many areas. There will always be mutations and new variats, and people running around tearing their hair out over it.

               Doesn’t mean we ignore it. We need to keep pouring resources into fighting it, and developing new medicines and updating the vaccines to deal with new strains. But the idea that we need to “flatten the curve” or just wait a little bit longer is getting outdated.

               People want freedom. The freedom to assemble, to celebrate weddings and funerals and graduations. Freedom to attend group events with others. Freedom to enjoy their lives. If you take away that freedom for too long, they will start to fight for it. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, but in some areas that freedom is STILL being restricted in the name of fighting a pandemic, almost two years later.

               Again, I say this as one whose spouse was directly affected. She got Covid early on, due to a lack of adequate PPE. They were overwhelmed, both initially and during later spurts of the virus. I also say this as one whose uncle died of Covid. Eventually people will get tired of being told to distance and avoid groups. It’s time we all accepted the reality of our world, and that includes Covid.

               Brett, if you read this, and would like me to leave the subject alone, let me know. I think it is pertinent to the blog, because it obviously directly affects this industry, but if you would rather limit the discussion, I will abide.

               Reply
               1. 

                  Bill from DC (aka Cranky Gazelle?)

                  Nov 30, 2021 at 2:55 pm

                  Where exactly is the freedom to assemble being curtailed? Football stadiums around the country are full as are all the planes I’ve been on recently.

                  I live in ultra blue DC and I can shop, go to restaurants, I’ve seen plenty of weddings and gatherings here.

                  What freedoms are being deprived on a widespread basis that would cause people to “take up arms” as you said?

3. 

   Jim

   Nov 29, 2021 at 11:42 am

   Alaska is dropping Missoula service from Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles. That would leave service from Seattle. What is going on here? Flights to Western Montana in June should not be a hard sell. At the same time, it looks like United is adding a bunch of flights to Missoula, although I believe that at least some of these are resumptions of seasonal routes that United has flown in summers past. But it feels like Alaska is just throwing in the towel.

   Meanwhile in Portland … it looks like Alaska is continuing to gradually trim back this hub. Alaska is flying PDX-SLC twice a day. Meanwhile Delta has ~five mainline flights.

   Reply
   1. 

      Nick Barnard

      Nov 30, 2021 at 8:21 pm

      I’m curious if the cut on the Montana routes are due to the wildfires.

      I was in Montana in August 2021, and the smoke made it not that good. Perhaps bookings took quite a bit due to smoke?

      Reply
4. 

   John G

   Nov 29, 2021 at 12:13 pm

   The MSO issue may be Alaska pulling back since AA had two daily flights to DFW and one to ORD.

   Reply
5. 

   Bigsix

   Nov 29, 2021 at 4:54 pm

   Management and marketing personnel at Delta Airlines have breathed a sigh of relief that a new COVID-19 variant has a name not related to their company!

   Reply
6. 

   John G

   Nov 30, 2021 at 4:09 pm

   Bill, I was referring more to how some countries overseas are handling this, with more lockdowns and bans on assembly in left numbers.

   Reply
   1. 

      Bill from DC (aka Cranky Gazelle?)

      Dec 2, 2021 at 6:44 am

      I see, thank you.

      Reply
7. 

   Nick Barnard

   Nov 30, 2021 at 8:25 pm

   I’m surprised to learn that Korean operated Honolulu – Tokyo/Narita at all. I’m curious about the history of that flight.

   Reply
   1. 

      Narita Kuko

      Dec 1, 2021 at 10:34 am

      Korean Airlines has Japan-US rights. I flew Tokyo Narita-LAX return a few years ago. Now they fly NRT-HNL

      Reply
   2. 

      CF

      Dec 1, 2021 at 10:53 am

      Nick – Yep, that used to run LA – Narita – Incheon, but a few years back they switched it to HNL. I don’t know why, but they must have enough local Japanese business to keep running it.

      Reply

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