Originally Posted by
SSlow
IAH has the worst thunderstorms in the country and UA seems to be able to figure it out, and it probably has less to do with weather and more to do with them not waiting hours to get rescheduled or find a hotel.
So yes it is possible to run a heavily utilized operation out of Florida, otherwise we would just move everything to the perfect year round weather of Saint Diego and call it a day.
While I won't downplay the lack of operational support compared to other airlines, Florida does absolutely suck from an ATC perspective. It is constantly cut in half by thunderstorms and you can't go west (for the most part) because of military airspace and can't go too far east over the Atlantic. Thus insane congestion causing stupid lengthy delays that other areas of the country with storms are able to recover from much quicker because they can depart in every direction. Is what it is, company could do better but having the "fortress" be in the worst possible location atc/weather wise is a combo for failure.
Can't leave Florida because it is a cash cow.