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

how much will it affect IND. could it open the door for Frontier or Spirit to start flying to Las Mco ect

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

I think short term the merger will have a very negative impact on IND as there will be no competition (minus MIA) to Florida. Outside of the AA flight(s) to MIA only Southwest will serve the entire state. I believe we will lose frequencies to MCO, TPA and RSW. My guess is that FLL and SRQ will be gone if they aren't already.

Long term I think it opens the door to another carrier. With Frontier doing poorly in MKE right now I'd like to think they'd start to offer more service out of IND. The IND route map would basically be wide open and I feel confident Southwest has little interest in defending IND. I have also heard Delta is wanting to greatly expand their operation here and the merger of Southwest and AirTran may finally motivate them to start expanding.

Did anyone else notice that the Continental Airlines ticket counter moved which freed up that entire wall on the other side of Delta instead of United (which moved to the A concourse) moving over to where Continental is?

Member

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

maybe Frontier coulddo what they have done in Omaha with with flights to 5-7 cities

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

Honestly when the flight schedules merge I think Frontier should strongly consider moving some of their MKE ops to IND. At that point IND will be a much healthier market with little competition. That is ideal for a hub. There is just far too much competition in a market as small as MKE.

Member

Joined: 11 Oct 2006
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Location: Lexington ky

would Delta Defend Ind?

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

I don't know about Delta. Northwest would

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Joined: 28 Apr 2008
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Indy, do you know any details or specifics on Delta wanting to do an expansion here?

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I had a Delta employee at IND (recently - former NWA) tell me Delta was looking at restarting the NW plan. Also rumor was they were wanting to take over the row of ticket counters on the other side of the wall from them. I don't know if that means in addition to what they have now or just switching sides.

He said they were looking to expand and rumor was they were looking at CDG and AMS. No idea how accurate the information is. This was not the first I've heard of the NW plan being restarted. With competition going away via mergers it does make IND more attractive. Delta does have a ton of space to work with and that great new lounge which I am proud to say I am a member of.

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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
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Location: Carmel, IN

I've also heard about some of that DL stuff. I think they just want to move to the other side of the wall because they're current location is kind of hidden up against the back wall of the terminal. I'm not sure what "restarting" the NW plan would mean, though. The NW focus city, at various times, included flights to MCI, SEA, SFO, LAX, DEN, AUS, SAT, BOS, BDL, TPA, MCO, and for like a minute) STL. I wouldn't bet on AMS or CDG, at least not on daily service. I could see maybe 3x/week to AMS, and it would be on a 757-200 with winglets. That's got about 4100 nmi range, and the trip is about 3650. That puts the westbound fliights close to the edge in a headwind, which could lead to unplanned fuel stops. If they're going to restart the NW focus city idea, I'd say flights to MCO, RSW, TPA, and maybe MIA; increased frequency to BOS and BDL, and possibly new service to MCI. Honestly a 1x/day flight to STL would be really great too.

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

If DL were to expand they would need the extra ticket counter space. What they have now gets to be a bit of a mess when they are busy. I'm not really sure that the ticket counter setup at IND works all that well. It looks good on paper but it just seems a bit awkward to use. Especially the end rows.

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Joined: 28 Apr 2008
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As far as a/c type on the possible AMS or CDG route, they've also got the option of the 763.

Indy, did the DL employee give you any indication on when this could potentially happen?

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

It was just things he had heard at work and didn't know when it would happen because of the state of the economy.

What about the 767-200? Also now that the 787-800 has been certified I wonder if we have a chance of seeing that here?

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

could a 767 make it to NRT.

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

I thought for some reason that somebody runs the 767 from the US to NRT. The range of the 767-200ER is 6,385 nmi or 7,348 mi. The distance from IND to NRT according to the great circle mapper is 6,450 mi. So almost 900 miles to spare.

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

to bad Delta wont get the 787 for several years if ever

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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
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Location: Carmel, IN

You can absolutely forget about a widebody from IND to anywhere, except for special events or charters. There's simply not enough traffic to fill one up. I'd really doubt the 787, either. CO is the North American launch customer for the 787, and their first route is IAH-AKL. It'll be that kind of route for all of their 787s - hub to somewhat smaller international destination. Think IAH-BNE, LOS, DME or EWR-BKK, DXB, KIX. If IND ever gets n/s service to an international destination (non-Canada/Mexico/Carribean), it'll be with a narrowbody aircraft to a big European hub.

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

We also have to consider the possibility of a European carrier starting the service. For example IND-FRA on LH.

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
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Location: Indianapolis, IN

We can't get get/keep SAN/SFO/SEA so I'm not counting on anything.

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Joined: 28 Apr 2008
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At one point, IndyStar.com ran an article about SFO service. Supposedly, the airport officials were in talks with UAL, VA and another unnamed airline about a nonstop flight to cater to business travelers.

Member

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

i was looking at the flights to Las are they running 3 n/s a day everyday or just sometimes