northernbizzkit1

haha...this is fun... The thing that would make it possible for Southwest to go ahead and add the Embraer-195 to its fleet is the fact that the E-195 and the 737s both use CFM engines as opposed to, say, having 737s and 717s. The points that make me believe Southwest is going to do this is the fact that fuel is over $75 a barrel now and the fact that Southwest has talks this past week with officials at Embraer and even Chinese and Russian airline companies for the possibility of a 100-125 seat fuel efficient plane. All of these factors make me believe the E-195 is it. Furthermore, I find it hard that 95% of all Southwest flights out of BNA are booked solid b/c some of the flights from BNA are actually ones I've heard mentioned as going to the E-195 if it were to happen. It's what makes sense, tho. A 90-95% load factor on an E-195 is a helluva lot better and economical than a 60% load factor on a 737-700. Yeah, it worked quite well for ATA, but I'm sure that isn't the direction Northwest wants to go. Those Asian routes are coveted! The whole hub issue is the fact that lake effect snow is a pain in the @$$ for hubs like Chicago and Detroit. Plus, winter is harsh in Minneapolis. Chicago is utter hell to deal with when a blizzard comes through. Even when snow can be plowed, the hour delay causes much longer delays because you have to deal with the insane congestion at O'hare. Delays in general cause a loss in finances for an airline. Yet, look at the airlines with hubs in the North...they all have a significant presence in warmer climates to make up for losses. American may have a big hub at ORD, but there is also one at DFW. Northwest operates MSP and DTW, but MEM also runs. United has ORD, but it also has SFO. Continental has Newark and Cleveland, but there is still Houston. The point is, you need balance. The North may have a greater population (obviously since they have most of the hubs); however, the Southern or Western hubs make it where the winter isn't a total wash for an airline due to delays and cancellations. With the status of today's airlines (particularly Northwest and Delta), it simply isn't feasible to put all of the eggs in one basket and have that basket bring money-losing delays. And I'm just going to say it...what you have said on skyscraper about the MEM hub is quite offensive. I certainly don't dangle the MEM hub over BNA like you apparently think Memphians do. Most people would probably prefer Southwest; however, let me tell you this...Memphis is NOT a minor hub. It is a major one. It's beyond the capacity that BNA and Raleigh were for AA, so I think we can't throw around that MEM is the luck of the draw for keeping a regional hub. If that were the case, why is service being beefed up and the airport expanding? FedEx makes it where NW is enticed. Furthermore, if MEM was as undeserving or as nasty as you apparently believe, as I'm finding out, then why is it that another airline is looking at making MEM one of its two major hubs(see posts on Victory Airlines)? I'm sorry to end the post on a nasty note, but what you've said about MEM is quite ammusing and nasty. O, and wrong.

yes, you have made good points as well, but I think ALL of the airlines have to rethink their strategy now because the lowcost airlines aren't exactly making a killing anymore. Yes, they are lucrative and much more profitable than the legacies as far as domestic routes go, but fuel costs have made it where Southwest, Jet Blue, and Frontier have had to all scramble to figure where to go. Southwest has looked into 737NGs and even into purchasing regional jets and Jet Blue has fuel-efficient regional jets that are basically equivalent to a small 737 simply due to the fact that the soaring fuel prices have made it where even cheapo Southwest is not making the profits that it expected. The issue of the DC-9 and DC-10 I addressed earlier with the fact that Compass is going to take care of the DC-9 problem (fuel efficient air craft and lower salaries for the flight crew) and the A330/787 combo will alleviate the gas guzzling DC-10 by the end of the year. Northwest is coming out of bankruptcy and it is doing so by recognizing where it can make money and trim costs. If you have a market like Paducah or Laurel, MS where Northwest is basically the only airline operating, it turns out to be lucrative b/c the O&D is actually quite well (not sure specifically about those specific markets, tho) and cutting it would be loss of a definite cash flow. The trimming is taking place on poor flights from the focus cities. MKE has been cut tremendously, and even flights from IND have been cut. Where most of the regional flights are being trimmed are at DTW and MSP because it is rather absurd for them to fly an A320 from DTW to Flint, Michigan. While some regional flights are working, the MEM hub is actually one of the most profitable things for NW, and that is why it is being expanded. The great weather and central location have made it where you don't have irate customers freaking out because of a flight delay due to snow. It's layout and overall operation is the reason as to why NW is expanding here rather than cutting like it is doing at the other hubs. And yes, I have spoken to an ATA pilot recently as well as an ATA exec from Indianapolis, my friend. If you go through pilots, you'll get a new story every week that is basically thrown around on the ATA message board that is basically the same as the message board at Northwest that constantly ignites the MEM IS SHUTTING DOWN FOR NW rumor. My friend's father works for ATA and has mentioned that the charter service is great (and yes, i can imagine the figures they make); however, it is NOWHERE near the profit level that ATA had while having a commercial service running at the same time.

MEM serves as an international and a national hub. If you look, Memphis is the Caribbean hub of Northwest. Whereas service to the Caribbean from DTW and MSP are seasonal, it is year-round from MEM. Furthermore, MEM is becoming a bigger international hub like the other two. The AMS flight is packed from MEM and is quite lucrative for NW. That is why the airline is looking at adding a second daily flight to AMS along with a flight to CDG. Furthermore, the MEM flight to NRT will happen one the 787 is delivered in the next few years along with more service to South America. As far as national hub status, why is it that MEM was named the NW hub of the year last year if it wasn't in the same league as MSP and DTW? Surveys from the airline have showed that most passengers prefer going through MEM than the other two hubs due to terminal layout and service. MEM will not be trimmed down due to the fact that if it were (as mentioned before), you would have no base in the South for NW and the entire airline would shut down in the winter due to the fact that the close proximity of DTW, MSP, MKE, and IND would mean the same blizzard would wipe out all of the remaining focus cities and hubs. The way NW is going to trim down is by actually cutting service at the MKE and IND focus cities. As far as the upgrading the fleet question, every American airline today is going through this problem. It isn't just NW. Compass, the new NW-subsidied airline, will take use of larger regional jets that will be the replacement for the DC-9. Also, the DC-10s are being replaced by the A330s and the 787s. ATA is not the best example b/c it is barely an airline now. It basically went from a commercial airline to a charter service for the NBA. That is not the plan for NW. As I mentioned, the reason MEM is growing is b/c there is too much of a saturation of NW hubs in the midwest. That is why you see more cuts going on at DTW and MSP than you do at MEM.

Rumor about that has been around ever since Northwest merged with Republic in the 80s. If you look at the sources of much of the rumor, it comes from flight crews based in Detroit and Minneapolis. Simply put, Indianapolis or Minneapolis would have a better chance closing before MEM simply due to the fact that if MEM closes, Northwest no longer has a presence in the South and loses a large chunk of a passenger base. Furthermore, if the hub was going to close, why is the AMS flight being upgraded later this year along with the fact that more and more Carribean destinations are being added to the MEM hub?

I think once NW emerges from bankruptcy, you'll see MEM rocket in numbers. There is the return of the evening bank of flights that, coupled with additional international service in the next two years, should bring MEM to go beyond the 15 million pax mark.

Nashville isn't dominated by banks of flights like Memphis, and you also have to look at the design...the terminals at MEM are spread out and separated by long bridges that make it where you never see what's going on in the other terminals. If you're at MEM at lunch or in the early evening, it's packed in "B" and "A" due to those being the busiest of the Northwest banks (plus, you have the AMS flight at night). However, BNA has smaller terminals that are closer to each other where it will make it seem busier. I've walked from the end of B where it was packed at MEM and walked through quiet, dead spaces and then been faced with major traffic at "A" with all the Delta and Airlink flights

I REALLY want to know what type of hotel is going to be at One Beale...part of me really thinks it could be a Four Seasons just because it would be similar to how the Four Seasons occupies a few floors of the Mandalay Bay in Vegas...but I guess any hotel could do that

The issue with the A380 isn't just length and thick concrete...you also have to widen the runway and the taxi-ways and make way with the terminals and for maintenance facilities. The airports in the US that will see the A380 have been revamping their facilities for the past few years...I'm sure BNA will be on the boat soon...unless that congressman gets his wish and no money will be provided for the US airports to support the A380...blah

Does anyone know if the revamping will bring improvements to the main terminal where you check-in? I flew out of BNA in December, and a few of the check-in counters are basically right there as you walk in...not all, but towards the end, I noticed some of the Southwest counters are right as you walk in to where if a line began to form, people would be outside

This is FANTASTIC! I always thought Biloxi had the better downtown out of Gulfport and Biloxi...but it seemed so underrated and undervalued...just small and nice. Can't wait to see if it happens!

A few months ago, I flew into CLT and just as I was about to step off the jetway and into the B terminal, I was greeted by German Shepherd poo...and the cleaning crew and the US AIR staff looked at it as though it was terminal art similar to the statue outside of the terminal building!

Yup yup...I was driving home and saw him a few days ago.

I believe the most expensive went when one of the Jernigans bought a house and adjoining property on Shady Grove in the 5 million range...I could be wrong about the exact number, tho.

I used to not like the winning design for Beale Street Landing...LOVE the rendering in this list, though...Hope it starts soon!

There are a few factors...one is that Northwest apparently threatens to leave Memphis everytime there is a chance of Southwest coming to the airport. The other is that the Wright Amendment won't permit Memphis-Dallas flights...those are, surprisingly, some of the most expensive domestic ticket prices in the country with walk up fares being well above $1000...astonishing even for a legacy carrier. Right now, the big thing is that Tunica may become a secondary Memphis airport with Southwest being an anchor. Otherwise, Memphians are looking forward to JetBlue coming in the Spring.

One reason flights could be lost is the fact that with a Wright Ammen. repeal, you would have basically no Memphians driving to Little Rock to fly Southwest. I'm not saying Memphians make up a majority of passengers flying SWA out of LIT, but they do make up a considerable percentage of passengers. With no Wright Ammendment and Southwest flying directly to Memphis, a large passenger base for Southwest in Little Rock is gone.