Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

I see on airliners.net that British Airways is converting 13 of the 752's for international service. With open skies kicking in I'd think it would make IND a prime candidate for service. Unlike IND-AMS which is 4171 miles and a stretch in the winter it is only 3995 miles for IND-LHR.

What are your thoughts?

Member

Joined: 11 Oct 2006
Posts: 248
Location: Lexington ky

i dont know if san couldnt keep service i dont know if we could.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

SAN wouldn't have been served with a 752 either. There is a big difference between filling a jet with 229 people (BA's 777) and filling one with 160 (NW's 752 - international).

Member

Joined: 11 Oct 2006
Posts: 248
Location: Lexington ky

they would have to get a lot of cargo for it to work though will 162 people fly to london and back on a daily flight

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

Well, looking at how open skies has been developing, I'm much less skeptical now that IND will get service to a European hub. The 752 makes some real sense, at least over the next few years until air traffic grows and the Dreamliners are deployed. I wonder, though, if BA won't dress up the 757's a bit more, maybe to include their first-class sleeping pods or at least their slightly smaller biz-class pods. If they also put an economy-plus section in, which I think they very likely would, this would probably drop the capacity down to something more like 136 total seats. In that case, very doable. And you would market it as a premium product - the only nonstop service IND to Europe, and the fact that it would be London (although probably LGW, not LHR) could certainly allow them a high RASM on the route.

And on that note, if another airline structured the 757 with premium cabins with around 140 pax, the overall weight of the aircraft might be low enough to comfortably reach AMS, FRA, or CDG.