On the road: Airlines make major route map changes

By Joe Brancatelli

WEST COAST ROUTE MAP: A War for the Routes to Florida

Virgin America says that it will launch flights to Fort Lauderdale from both Los Angeles and San Francisco beginning on November 18.
JetBlue Airways promptly responded it would launch San Francisco-Fort Lauderdale flights beginning on November 19.
Alaska Airlines says that it will begin flights from Portland, Oregon, to Chicago/O’Hare on November 16.

AIRPORT REPORT: Continental Jiggles Its Route Map to Match Star Alliance Hubs

As you surely know by now, Continental Airlines drops out of the SkyTeam Alliance on October 24 and moves into the Star Alliance on October 27. That also means a rejiggering of Continental’s route map to reduce its service to SkyTeam hubs (including Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City and Memphis) and new flights to Star Alliance hubs.

Beginning October 27, Continental will launch flights from its Cleveland and Houston/Intercontinental hubs to Washington/Dulles, a hub fornew Star Alliance partner United Airlines. But Continental won’t make it comfortable to catch up with United’s international route network in Dulles. The 1,190-mile IAH-IAD run will be serviced with a 50-seat regional jet. And you’ll be stuffed into a 37-seat turboprop if you want to fly the 275+ miles from Cleveland to Dulles.

AirTran Airways has relocated facilities in Philadelphia. While the carrier’s ticket counter and baggage claim remain in Concourse D, its flights now operate from Gates E6 and E8 in Concourse E.

NEED TO KNOW: On-the-Road Intelligence to Help You Travel Smarter

Delta Air Lines, which has a zillion configurations for its BusinessElite business class, is moving them around again on key routes. On its New York/Kennedy-London/Heathrow route, Delta says the business class now has seats that convert to fully flatbeds. And on transcontinental flights between Los Angeles, San Francisco and Kennedy, the carrier is switching to its narrow-body version of business class. That has 55 inches of legroom and cradle seats with 150 degrees of recline.

The partially completed expansion of the terminal at Helsinki opened August 27. The 150-million euro project is meant for long-haul flights, including those to and from the United States.

Worth noting: In the first quarter of the year, labor costs at the five money-losing legacy carriers averaged 22.1 percent of the cost per available seat mile (CASM). But the three profitable carriers–Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran–all devote a larger portion of CASM to employees? At AirTran, labor accounts for 22.7 percent of the airline’s CASM. It’s 24.7 percent at JetBlue. And at Southwest, which has reported profits for 36 consecutive years, labor expenses are 33.1 percent of the CASM.