“With a standard configuration of first/coach, the planes no longer have to be dedicated to the shuttle runs,” he notes. Instead, they can be redeployed, as needed, on the regular fleet for longer-route service.
As I said on Friday, the roundtrip Shuttle fare between New York and Washington or Boston is nearly $700. Whoa. This, of course, is exactly what individual fliers and corporate travel departments have been saying as well, and Shuttle traffic has been softening. The Wall Street collapse will only add to that.
I don’t think Delta’s move had much, if anything, to do with the extra $100 to $200 it might theoretically wring out of Shuttle users for first-class seats, because the coach fare is already so daunting. As Delta made a big point of saying, the new first-class section will enable elite-status fliers to get free upgrades.
So it’s a perk and a ploy.
As to the bus: Obviously, a cheap ride on one of those new bus shuttle boutique services is an option for business travelers, but it takes half the day on the bus, so it’s not for someone who has to rush to Washington (or New York) at the last minute, which is where the core of the Shuttle market is — or was.
Amtrak isn’t a lot faster than the bus, but it’s a lot cheaper than either the Delta or US Air shuttles. And, of course, it’s a lot greener than either.
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September 29th, 2008 at 11:11 am
The real issue for passengers with this change will be the loss of legroom on the planes. We’re all losing 3″ of pitch, and a small handful will get the F seats - almost all as immediate upgrades from Y fares since that seems to be the most common fare sold on those flights.
I understand that the Shuttle market might be softening, but if they cut the frequencies too much it stops being a Shuttle so they may as well just kill it completely.