Houston, how do you feel about United Airlines? (Dallas, West: how much, hotels)

[lockmat]

Seriously, who else are you going to fly in Houston? It provides 90% of the flights practically. If you live on the north side of town, it's not feasible to drive to Hobby when the prices are the same.

[JimBaker488]

Originally Posted by lockmat

Seriously, who else are you going to fly in Houston? It provides 90% of the flights practically. If you live on the north side of town, it's not feasible to drive to Hobby when the prices are the same.

You know Lockmat, that's so obvious but I don't think your mayor understands this because she seems to be doing everything she can to alienate and just pizz-off United, and she doesn't seem to get it - United Airlines is the one with all of the leverage in H-Town when it comes to commercial air travel, not her ?
Apparently she's not a very bright woman, because she seems to be trying her damndest to make Houstons air service more like the service they've got in
Albuquerque, or Omaha, or Tulsa instead of the service one sees in major-league
places like Atlanta and Dallas-FTW ?

[lockmat]

Originally Posted by JimBaker488

You know Lockmat, that's so obvious but I don't think your mayor understands this because she seems to be doing everything she can to alienate and just pizz-off United, and she doesn't seem to get it - United Airlines is the one with all of the leverage in H-Town when it comes to commercial air travel, not her ?
Apparently she's not a very bright woman, because she seems to be trying her damndest to make Houstons air service more like the service they've got in
Albuquerque, or Omaha, or Tulsa instead of the service one sees in major-league
places like Atlanta and Dallas-FTW ?

So you agree with United's stance that allowing Hobby will weaken IAH/Houston for international flights?

I really don't see her being vengeful at United. I think she's truly trying to create competition and better fares for Houstonians. What else has she done to try and alienate them?

[lockmat]

Originally Posted by stop-go

I loved Continental and tried to fly with them all the time.
I'm one of the "might fly Uniteds" now, as it will all come down to price and flight schedules for me.
I'm eager to see Southwest's new routes as they generally have great prices.

It's always about price for me. I don't fly enough to care enough about good service. If Southwest is still cheaper even though I have to drive an extra 30-45 mins to get to Hobby and pay for parking, then I'll go there. Until then, United is right up the road from me and the obvious choice.

[JimBaker488]

Originally Posted by lockmat

What else has she done to try and alienate them?

Adding to the mix, United just broke ground on a $700 million expansion of Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental this past January.

The Houston Chronicle explains what came next, writing, "That very same day, with the dirt freshly turned, (Houston's) mayor headed back to City Hall and, unbeknownst to United, met with another suitor. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly visited the mayor to push an international Hobby. United learned about the proposal through the news media."
United to shrink Houston hub after city backs Southwest plan - USATODAY.com
***************************
Does Parker not understand that 700 million $ is more than 100 million $ ? Like I said, I don't think Parker is a very bright woman.

[lockmat]

Originally Posted by JimBaker488

Adding to the mix, United just broke ground on a $700 million expansion of Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental this past January.

The Houston Chronicle explains what came next, writing, "That very same day, with the dirt freshly turned, (Houston's) mayor headed back to City Hall and, unbeknownst to United, met with another suitor. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly visited the mayor to push an international Hobby. United learned about the proposal through the news media."
United to shrink Houston hub after city backs Southwest plan - USATODAY.com
***************************
Does Parker not understand that 700 million $ is more than 100 million $ ? Like I said, I don't think Parker is a very bright woman.

Most likely Southwest is just going to displace the jobs United was going to create, in my opinion.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by JimBaker488

Adding to the mix, United just broke ground on a $700 million expansion of Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental this past January.

The Houston Chronicle explains what came next, writing, "That very same day, with the dirt freshly turned, (Houston's) mayor headed back to City Hall and, unbeknownst to United, met with another suitor. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly visited the mayor to push an international Hobby. United learned about the proposal through the news media."
United to shrink Houston hub after city backs Southwest plan - USATODAY.com
***************************
Does Parker not understand that 700 million $ is more than 100 million $ ? Like I said, I don't think Parker is a very bright woman.

And who says that we are "married" to United?
Competition is good for everybody, expect for the people that want to have a monopoly (United)

[JimBaker488]

Originally Posted by Dopo

And who says that we are "married" to United?

The fact they they have 75% or more of the flights at IAH which includes an even higher percentage of the nonstop service, that's why you are married to them. And BTW Dopo, that's a pretty good analogy. You really are married to them in a sense.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by JimBaker488

You know Lockmat, that's so obvious but I don't think your mayor understands this because she seems to be doing everything she can to alienate and just pizz-off United, and she doesn't seem to get it - United Airlines is the one with all of the leverage in H-Town when it comes to commercial air travel, not her ?
Apparently she's not a very bright woman, because she seems to be trying her damndest to make Houstons air service more like the service they've got in
Albuquerque, or Omaha, or Tulsa instead of the service one sees in major-league
places like Atlanta and Dallas-FTW ?

As was written here this week and in the business section of the Houston Chronicle today, this reduction in jobs and service had nothing to do with the decision of the city. It was a convenient (yet short-sighted) excuse. I say short-sighted because it makes United look like a bunch of petulant vengeful children.

There is zero connection between Southwest flying out of Hobby to Caribbean and Latin American destinations starting 3 years from now and United's decision to not fly non-stop to Auckland, NZ for example. Laying the people off, if in fact linked to the city decision, is an embarrassing acknowledgement that United is not capable of competing before they ever have to compete.

What is this really about? That is easy: the only profitable routes for most major US Airlines are the international routes. United (thanks to Continental) has the strongest presence in Latin American flights, not just in Houston but out of anywhere in the US. United is scared to death of losing that position and seeing their margins erode same as has happened everywhere in the US where airlines like Southwest come in. Separate from that, a merger happens and cost reduction through lay-offs and re-proritization of routes always occurs. Blaming that on the Southwest decision is like calling all of us stupid.

Where United is really short-sighted here, and where it would have been really stupid for Houston to not support United, is that had Houston said no then Southwest would have simply shifted their plan to San Antonio, Austin or Dallas. United still would have had to compete, still would have seen their margins erode and job losses for United in Houston still would have occurred but without Houston drawing any benefit from what Southwest was doing.

Only thing I can think is that United banked on the idea Houstonians would pay more for a non-stop flight out of Houston rather than having to link through one of these other cities. My only answer to that is that I would have gladly linked through another city for cheaper fares.

[MDinTelfair]

I will be flying SWA more now. I even ate the cost of a ticket because they wanted $150 change fee even though the flight was 50% empty when I asked. Continental usually would waive the change fee. I told them to F off and booked flights through SWA. I was a platinum member from 2003-2007 with continental. When not available via SWA, I will fly Delta. Jeff Smisht is one of the worst CEO's today.