Originally Posted by
Mercyful Fate
This time of year you are always going to see mainline creep into certain markets to meet demand. Yes, Delta has shuffled the west coast quite a bit as it tries to pinpoint what markets can support what with all the new routes they are taking on. A lot cheaper to slap RJ's on certain routes to see what the market dictates before making a move for larger, more expensive aircraft to do the flying.
Maybe.
Historically fuel has been the biggest cost factor of the operation. When we burn 50-60% more fuel on a 737-900 than a 175 but carry more than twice as many pax it becomes more enticing to upgage.
Quite frankly we burn almost as much gas on the 737-700 ( a bit more) than an e175 and carry 40 more pax. Therefore, the higher legacy costs are easier to absorb. You add that to the fact that we got the 65 737-700 for a ham sandwich, mainline upgaging becomes more probable for the long term.