Originally Posted by
lolwut
What does the flying public benefit more from:
1) The ability to go nonstop from their small hometown to the capital of our nation?
2) The ability to get a $39 airfare to Orlando when Southwest adds 10 more flights?
DCA is a hub. A hub brings a lot of benefits to an airport. And theres nothing wrong with an airline having a hub. If anyone needs super cheap fares for their once a year visit to Florida, BWI isn't far away and has more WN than anyone would ever need.
Actually LL, I would suggest that allowing an RJ to operate non stop to an from BGR/DCA (as an ex.) is a waste of capacity. I would also suggest that while some of the locals might benefit, those flights are designed to accommodate members of congress (and their staffs) who then will feel obligated to respond in kind to protect said route. Let the smaller airports route through a large hub to get to DCA and then utilize bigger aircraft.
BWI is, as you point out, close enough to allow smaller cities to access the Washington DC area without taking up a slot with a 50 seat RJ.
It is quite obvious that this is all about keeping and increasing the market share so as to control prices to benefit the airline that will be created and not about service for the traveling public.
I know you meant if for emphasis, but a $39 fare would benefit the public. The airline operating it .....not so much.
The Oscar