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Ranking Atlanta ahead of SF is not gonna sit well with the Bay Area posters and ranking Miami ahead of Boston is not gonna sit well with the Northeast posters. I hope you're ready to defend yourself.
Regarding Atlanta, you cannot overestimate the impact that Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has had on the city's standing regionally, nationally and globally. Quite simply, it is the engine that drives the economy of the entire Southeast -- and it has been so since the 1950s. Put another way: The airport is not what it is because of Atlanta; rather, Atlanta is what it is because of the airport. Make sense?
Maybe this will help: 80 percent of the U.S. population is within a 2 hour flight to ATL, which is the largest hub of the world's largest airline, Delta. From ATL, Delta flies to more cities in more countries on more continents (6) than any other airline on earth. In reverse, that makes Atlanta the most easily accessible U.S. market for international travelers looking to do business in the booming Southeast. Delta is the ONLY U.S. airline that flies to the continent of Africa ... THE CONTINENT. Delta's Atlanta-Johannesburg service -- the longest direct domestic flight on earth -- has been an enormous catylyst for investment and trade between South Africa and Georgia. Atlanta's reputation in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and South America is extremely high due to the 1996 Olympics, the legacy of MLK and the role the city played in the American Civil Rights movement, the diplomatic efforts of former President Jimmy Carter, the global war on AIDS being led by the Center for Disease Control, as well as the reach of corporate giants like Coca-Cola, Turner Broadcasting, Home Depot, UPS, etc.
I dare say, Atlanta has greater name recognition -- and gets more respect -- outside the United States than it does here at home.
In addition, Atlanta has historically had an extensive network of rails. Atlanta has truly become a great city primarily due to its geographical position historically and it is still somewhat important now.
Ranking Atlanta ahead of SF is not gonna sit well with the Bay Area posters and ranking Miami ahead of Boston is not gonna sit well with the Northeast posters. I hope you're ready to defend yourself.
It doesn't bother me. I can't WAIT to visit Atlanta this summer. However based on the OP's data, ATL is solidly behind SF.
The thoughts on Hartsfield are very interesting. This will actually be my first time flying into this airport. I wouldn't think that that location would be so advantageous, but it makes sense based on the discussion. LAX and SFO's positions with Asia certainly cannot be underestimated.
From ATL, Delta flies to more cities in more countries on more continents (6) than any other airline on earth. In reverse, that makes Atlanta the most easily accessible U.S. market for international travelers looking to do business in the booming Southeast. Delta is the ONLY U.S. airline that flies to the continent of Africa ... THE CONTINENT. Delta's Atlanta-Johannesburg service -- the longest direct domestic flight on earth -- has been an enormous catylyst for investment and trade between South Africa and Georgia.
United Airlines begins its service from Washington DC to Accra in Ghana tomorrow actually around 10PM. So beginning tomorrow, United will also fly to all 6 continents from the United States. Its future merger partner (pending approval) Continental, begins service to Lagos in November 2011.
Also, Delta's flight to Johannesburg is about 16.5 hours. The longest flight on earth is actually Singapore Airlines nonstop flight from Newark to Singapore at 18.5 hours. Its been the longest flight in the world since it started.
United Airlines begins its service from Washington DC to Accra in Ghana tomorrow actually around 10PM. So beginning tomorrow, United will also fly to all 6 continents from the United States. Its future merger partner (pending approval) Continental, begins service to Lagos in November 2011.
Also, Delta's flight to Johannesburg is about 16.5 hours. The longest flight on earth is actually Singapore Airlines nonstop flight from Newark to Singapore at 18.5 hours. Its been the longest flight in the world since it started.
Yeah they just announced that if approved by the gov't, there will be a Houston-Lagos connection beginning in November of 2011 and a Houston-Auckland connection beginning in that same month. Could be pretty big for IAH.
Yeah they just announced that if approved by the gov't, there will be a Houston-Lagos connection beginning in November of 2011 and a Houston-Auckland connection beginning in that same month. Could be pretty big for IAH.
Its going to cut into Delta's Atlanta-Lagos flight big time. Houston is by far the largest point of revenue generation on that flight. On Deltas flight, more people start their journey in Houston than Atlanta itself. Most of these are oil people up in Business Class too. Atlanta-Lagos will probably still be around, but with a smaller plane once CO starts their flight.
Houston-Lagos will be big money for Continental. They will fly full in Business class, but half empty in economy and still pull and big profit. Thats how it is with Singapore Airlines Houston-Moscow flight. That flight makes big money dispite the fact that the loads in peak season are below 50%. Its all about yields not loads. This is also why Houston has so many foreign carriers. They fly their planes half empty most of the time and still pull huge profits because First and Business class are full or oil people.
Im not sold on Houston-Auckland. It could work, but from the numbers Ive seen, its not going to be instant success. Unlike Houston-Lagos, there is absolutely no local market (from Houston, Texas, or anywhere in the Southeast). If CO/UA were partners with Qantas and they were flying Houston-Sydney, I think it would be very successful. But since Qantas and American are partners, Qantas will probably be flying Sydney-DFW in the next 3-5 years (they actually announced it several years ago but cancelled it). New Zealand is simply a harder market to make work. Not nearly as much traffic and its much lower yield. However, Im sure they will get enough connections to fill the plane, I just dont know what kind of profits they will be pulling.
Is it because Continental (which will be United by that time, right) is trying to make Houston it's major international hub? I'm surprised there wasn't a Houston-Lagos connection already with the large Nigerian population in Houston and the business connections between the two cities that share the same economy.
Is it because Continental (which will be United by that time, right) is trying to make Houston it's major international hub? I'm surprised there wasn't a Houston-Lagos connection already with the large Nigerian population in Houston and the business connections between the two cities that share the same economy.
When two airlines merge, they start routes where they make most economic sense. Houston will see some new routes, but so will Chicago, DC, and San Francisco too. Houston has always been an international hub, so its not changing in that sense.
The Houston-Lagos route has absolutely nothing to do with the Nigerian community in Houston. Not only are there not enough of them to justify a route like that, but VFR (visiting Family and Relatives) traffic is exceptionally low yield. If VFR traffic could drive ULH (ultra long haul) routes, we would have seen LAX/Houston/Dallas/San Francisco-Saigon, Dallas/Houston-Bombay, and San Francisco-Bangalore by now. All of the mentioned routes have over 4x the traffic numbers that Houston-Nigeria has. I can tell you that none of the routes I named make any kind of economic sense. VFR routes only work when:
1) They are less than daily-which turns off the business community
2) There is a hub on one end that can connect people to places where there is high yielding traffic
Houston-Lagos has everything in the world to do with the oil industry. Thats where the money is. For that reason alone, I expect this route to be a huge success.
LAnative10 - I just want you to know that your expertise and knowledge of the industry is very much appreciated by this member. Your access to data is extremely impressive, and you are a fantastic asset to the forum. Just sayin.
LAnative10 - I just want you to know that your expertise and knowledge of the industry is very much appreciated by this member. Your access to data is extremely impressive, and you are a fantastic asset to the forum. Just sayin.
Thanks! Here is some other info you may enjoy.
My firm did a study ranking most of the major airports around the country. We came up with something that resembles this:
MEGA-HUBS: Hubs that have a balance large amounts of domestic service and international air service with a good balance. These hubs carry at least 150,000 passengers through them per day. These hubs attract foreign carriers, but the number of international passengers carried by domestic carriers is a great deal larger. These hubs have a bias for connecting traffic, but are very massive O&D markets:
Atlanta-ATL
Chicago-ORD
Dallas-DFW
International Gateways: Airports with a large bias for international traffic. The major international gateways in the US. The magnents for foreign carriers on American Soil. They serve as hubs, but have a bias for O&D traffic:
New York-JFK
Los Angeles-LAX
San Francisco-SFO
Miami-MIA
Gateways/Hubs with a bias for International traffic. These airports offer a larger than normal percentage of international traffic as a part of the whole. They still offer domestic service to most major cities. Some may be hubs, but others may be focus cities. They have a relatively even amount of connecting and O&D traffic. These gateways also attract foreign carriers:
Gateways/Hubs with a bias toward Domestic Service. Airports with mostly large amounts of domestic service. These airports have some international service, but have a much larger share of domestic traffic:
Phoenix-PHX
Minneapolis-MSP
Las Vegas-LAS
San Deigo-SAN
Orlando-MCO
Portland-PDX
Salt Lake City-SLC
Cinncinatti-CVG
Hubs that may fit in more than one category:
Seattle-SEA
Detroit-DTW
Philadelphia-PHL
Fort Lauderdale-FLL
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