DirectAir

[c0ex]

Do they have a website up yet like virginUSA?

[ASpilot2be]

First a few questions: Who? What? Where? When?

[avro_arrow_25206]

First a few questions: Who? What? Where? When?

How?

[ASpilot2be]

How?

Ah, of course, how?

[ConcordeBoy]

First a few questions: Who? What? Where? When?

Long story short:

"DirectAir" is the working name of a startup which proposes to use $1B in state-sponsored market-rate financing to become the first Low Cost carrier to utilize a true hub system. It plans to base itself in New Orleans, offer 37 domestic and 10 international destinations, and operate with a fleet of either new 737s, used 737s, or used M80 aircraft.

...if it ever gets off the ground, and if it receives even 20% of the startup capital that it's seeking-- then it will, if nothing else, be the highest-financed startup in USA aviation history; far surpassing JetBlue's record.

Do they have a website up yet like virginUSA?

none that I know of, at this point

[DeltaRules]

First a few questions: Who? What? Where? When?

Or the way the industry is, I guess the best question would be "Why?"

DeltaRules

[ConcordeBoy]

Or the way the industry is, I guess the best question would be "Why?"

Louisiana politicos are hungry (read that: "desperate") for outside-of-the-box economic development... and since the Edwards Administration, have been looking to aviation/transportation as a catalyst.

Despite its relatively small size; the New Orleans metro area is already home to the largest and busiest port in the country (or heck, in the Western Hemisphere-- 4th busiest in the world) as well as a large train hub. Strategic location has made us the gateway to Latin America in terms of short-tonnage of goods handled per annum (surpassing both Houston and Miami).

Combine all that with having one of the country's highest gross aviation O&D ratios relative to population, and these politicians are left absolutely mystified as to why New Orleans isn't an aviation hub for some sort of major airline.*





The biggest proponents for the DirectAir project have been companies whose employees require significant intrastate transportation (we've completely lost our nonstops to Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and Alexandria when USAirways pulled its focus operation two years ago) and those who require Latin American traffic (to quite a few of which we're the largest O&D city in the USA without nonstop service). All that's left of New Orlean's once-spectacular Latin American service are daily flights to San Pedro Sula, Honduras and thrice weekly flights to Cancun, Mexico.

...hence, the proposal for Direct Air.


*I can think of a few reasons, such as our outmigration of Fortune500 and Fortune1000 companies; or the fact that we didn't do sh!t in the '70s/'80s when airlines like Delta, United, Delta, PanAm, Delta, National I, Delta, USAir, Delta and Delta asked us to build the necessary infrastructure to facilitate a hub here.

[FlyingPhotog]

There's a reason none of the other LCC's use hubs: because it's a STUPID IDEA!

[ConcordeBoy]

There's a reason none of the other LCC's use hubs: because it's a STUPID IDEA!

...doth quoth the aviation sage


Anywho, hubbing (by technical definition) is the only way such a startup could survive in a market of our size and patronage. If and when it could amass sufficient market share to depeak its operation and thus utilize the airport as a focus city akin to other LoCos, I'm sure they would... but alas, that option is essentially off of the table for them at this point.

[DAL767-400ER]

*I can think of a few reasons, such as our outmigration of Fortune500 and Fortune1000 companies; or the fact that we didn't do sh!t in the '70s/'80s when airlines like Delta, United, Delta, PanAm, Delta, National I, Delta, USAir, Delta and Delta asked us to build the necessary infrastructure to facilitate a hub here.

Hmm, I think I can see a tendency there .

[FlyingPhotog]

I always thought a hub is where people transfer from flight to flight with the same carrier like Delta at ATL. If you're calling the airline "Direct Air" yet you have a hub-n-spoke operation, that's a little ironic, don't ya think?

[ConcordeBoy]

Hmm, I think I can see a tendency there

As well you should.

It's a shame really... how hard Delta essentially threw themselves at this state and city to have a hub here. In part due to location, in part due to its historic ties to Louisiana.

....and that was even pre-Dallas. Then, even after their DFW hub was up and running, they begged Louisiana to legalize gambling and expand MSY by 20+ gates such that they could hub here concurrently.

Louisiana did nothing.

Even after that Delta decided to go ahead and "hub" at MSY with what resources they had. At its peak, they offered service here domestically to:
LGA
JFK
IAD
BHM
DTW
ATL
PNS
SLC
MOB
JAX
MCO
TPA
CVG
DFW
DAL
LAX
SFO
SJU

.....internationally to:
MEX
CUN
MID

.....intercontinentally to:
MAR
CCS



And yet, aside from outfitting a stock room into a Crown Room club... this airport/city/state did nothing for them. Sad.

I always thought a hub is where people transfer from flight to flight with the same carrier like Delta at ATL.

Ironically, ATL is no longer a (mainline) hub by technical definition, ever since DL depeaked it and rolled the arrivals. Funny thing, considering it's essentially the largest airline transfer operation ever in the world.

If you're calling the airline "Direct Air" yet you have a hub-n-spoke operation, that's a little ironic, don't ya think?

not really, considering the idea was born from the concept of connecting Louisiana's five largest cities to each other nonstop, something the state hasn't had in a while. Even with its MSY hub; DirectAir, should it come to fruition, still plans to do just that.

[FlyingPhotog]

It's a shame really... how hard Delta essentially threw themselves at this state and city to have a hub here. In part due to location, in part due to its historic ties to Louisiana.

....and that was even pre-Dallas. Then, even after their DFW hub was up and running, they begged Louisiana to legalize gambling and expand MSY by 20+ gates such that they could hub here concurrently.

Louisiana did nothing.

I think even though DL has come and left from DFW they made the right choice in DFW. DFW is more centrally-located in the country and further from ATL. DFW is less likely to have weather delays and had lately had near the top arrival times in the national system.

Here's a thought -- Direct Air could probably get some good incentives and CHEAP leases if they took over DL's old gates at DFW.

[ConcordeBoy]

I think even though DL has come and left from DFW they made the right choice in DFW. DFW is more centrally-located in the country and further from ATL. DFW is less likely to have weather delays and had lately had near the top arrival times in the national system.

...however, here, if DL had gotten exactly what they'd asked for-- they'd have essentially had the entire market to themselves, a la CVG. Though MSY was WN's first non-Texan market, they really didn't expand here much at all in the late 70s/early 80s.

Here's a thought -- Direct Air could probably get some good incentives and CHEAP leases if they took over DL's old gates at DFW.

...course, they'd have to start over from scratch in order to do so, seeing as the overwhelming majority of their startup capital is contingent upon them being based in Louisiana.

[srbmod]

I think the reason why MSY is not a viable hub is due to the location of four hubs within 500 miles of New Orleans. That many hubs in a region works fine in the Northeast, where there is the population and the population density to support that many hubs (just within a 500 mi radius of New York City, there are hubs @ EWR, JFK, IAD, CLE, PHL, and YYZ, and hub-like operations @ BWI, DCA, LGA, and BOS).

There's a reason none of the other LCC's use hubs: because it's a STUPID IDEA!

JetBlue: Hubs at JFK and LGB
AirTran: Hubs at ATL and BWI
Frontier: Hub at DEN
Spirit: Hubs at DTW and FLL
ATA: Hubs at MDW and IND (not really the best example these days)

Just because Southwest doesn't have any "hubs" in a traditional sense and that comes from a pre-Deregulation mindset and model, doesn't mean hubs are bad for LCCs. The hub and focus city hub and spoke model will not go away anytime soon as it is an proven model for efficiently moving the largest amount of passengers using the least amount of resources.