nene

They have to have weekly meetings of the "long range planning committee".....

tcco94

How are we still not smart enough to know this? Last time I brought this up and said a shrink in our bid over a covid wave will be a huge mistake I was then told that our stock price is evident of how the future growth will be and thus an AE. Well, market is in a correction and forward bookings are up. SHOCKER.

Gunfighter

Small bids would allow for small decisions based on near term data. It seems they are addicted to the challenge of making big predictions based on limited data.

gloopy

This, plus it's just not possible to sharpshoot savvy cost savings in this environment.

Either carry some costs in advance and be ready, or save pennies now and tank the operation and lose much more later. Yes we can "flex up" with ALV, WS, GS, RR, etc. but only to a certain extent. A rapidly evolving market like we're in now and for a while mean we can't worry about someone's EPS bonus based on correctly predicting best case scenarios on the low end of staffing.

Same with battling some "irrational" ULCC's (and others). Making every route comply with some "profitable" litmus test just gives your competition your playbook and offers your marketshare as a menu to poach on their terms without consequence.

Spend some now or spend way more later.

sailingfun

I agree with you on this. They should with the current amount of uncertainty runs bids to keep the simulator pipeline full. A year in advance is just not smart.

FangsF15

Yes, but when you are an addict, you can’t help yourself from taking a hit. Even if you know the truth in moments of sobriety…

The Localizer

This - there is a 330 base in dtw and I think this spring I think there is one daily flight to fra and that’s it
same base prior to Covid had 4 ams
lhr
ngo
fco
cdg
fra sometimes
muc
now 767 does lhr and muc this summer
350 does all ams ngo and cdg plus All of its normal icn and hnd
so you have an airplane with no base doing more flying than a plane that’s based there this leads to dtw crews doing atl and nyc flying.
not sure if Covid recovery will get some of those routes back but don’t bid a plane based on routes because before you know it you will be on a flight to Lagos

iaflyer

I flew with a guy who bid the 767 international because he had a girlfriend who moved to India to teach. By the time he got trained, the 767 stopped serving India and it went to the 777. Which he couldn't hold...

Don't bid a plane based on where it goes. Constantly changing, month to month sometimes.

DeadStick

The consensus seems to be “don’t bid a plane based on where you live, as route specific equipment changes.” While that’s generally true, if you’re a commuter and want overnights at home it’s not as random as some make it out to be here. For instance if you lived in CLT and wanted to be home ATL717 would be a better choice than ATL7ER. Conversely if you lived in MCO or TPA, the opposite would be true. Both of these case examples have remained consistent for a very long time. The next question is, is it worth it going home for an 11-14 hour overnight. For some it is, and it can really go a long way in breaking up that 4 day trip (assuming you don’t get rerouted!).

When I commuted on the MD88, and before the days of the optimizer, I would consistently get a 30 hour overnight at home every trip. And I’d fly with the same 4-5 captains doing the same thing I was doing. It was pretty nice…

1Taco

AUS, IAH, SAT, and DFW seem to be exclusively Airbus NB destinations too. I can’t see that ever going to the 737 or 7er. If you live in one of those bases and want to overnight at home, it’s a pretty safe bet imo.