re: Flight from BTR to DCA in danger of being discontinued

CLT sucks. Too crowded.

Another thing to consider here is the fact that Reagan National (DCA) is slot controlled. That means American is having to use a slot pair on the BTR flight that could be used somewhere else.

Even if the BTR-DCA flight is profitable (which is unlikely given the load factors) it would need to be more profitable than another route that AA would rather fly. With MSY right down the road fares are likely lower on BTR-DCA to try and compete as compared to something like TLH-DCA or another frequency on CLT-DCA which can support a larger aircraft.

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from MSY right down the road

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you mean an hour away.

That’s basically down the road. Look at most large metropolitan areas and a good chunk of the population is at least 45 minutes to an hour away from an airport.

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The flight destinations being canceled out of Austin is disconcerting to say the least.

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Austin cuts were due to a number of factors. AA grew too fast in AUS to try and keep other competitors out and built it up as a mini-hub, even trying to connect passengers through an over capacity Austin Airport.

Also, the vast majority of the cuts were routes operated by the E175's and the airline scope clauses came into effect here. American’s contract with its pilots states that 85% of flights operated by one of its regional affiliates must touch one of its hubs — Charlotte, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington Reagan National. Austin is not considered a hub by the definition in the contract.

In addition, the collapse of the Northeast Alliance with JetBlue means they need the feed back in places like NYC, which the E175 is perfect for.

There is no reason AUS needed this much AA service with their massive DFW hub just up the road.

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And while I'm at it, anytime an airline comes in talking about a new flight to any city that isn't Atlanta, Dallas, Houston or Charlotte - it too isn't going to be around long.

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With flights to IAH, DFW, ATL, and CLT you're one stop from pretty much anywhere in the world. That's what BTR is and will always be and people need to accept that.

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With flights to IAH, DFW, ATL, and CLT you're one stop from pretty much anywhere in the world. That's what BTR is and will always be and people need to accept that.

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The one nonstop I really wish they had was UAL to DEN.

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you mean an hour away.

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You add an hour of travel both ways, that's 2 hours of your total "trip" whenever you're done. Here's where I value those extra two hours:

I'm saving $100-$200/ticket (flying with at least 1 one now, will eventually fly with more).

Saving $100+ on luggage (most airlines will charge for more than just a carry on)
Being able to have more than one carry on.

Saving between 2-4 hours on average when flying out of MSY -> whichever major hub I plan on traveling to, since BTR usually requires you to connect at another airport for any destination greater than 300 miles away.

If I choose to fly with someone other than Southwest, there are backup airliners that are just as affordable or will at least make the trip not as expensive as flying out of BTR.



In the last 9 years I have flown out of BTR ONCE because the price was just as good as flying out of MSY but I only had to drive 15 minutes to the airport, could park for free at the time, and it was a direct flight. TSA took less than 5 minutes. I could be in the door and at my gate no longer than 10 minutes tops. That feels very uncommon.

DCA is space and slot constrained so it can't grow any further. While it is a hub for American it serves mostly O/D traffic for people going to/from DC. Dulles is the major international airport but it's far out and inconvenient.

American runs the largest regional jet operation in the world from their Charlotte hub which is one of the reasons that route has lasted. They've added frequencies and increased aircraft size on the BTR-CLT route so it clearly is working.

BTR doesn't fit in to Southwest's operational demographic as a 737 would be extremely hard to fill, especially considering their large operation down the road at MSY.

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You add an hour of travel both ways, that's 2 hours of your total "trip" whenever you're done. Here's where I value those extra two hours:

I'm saving $100-$200/ticket (flying with at least 1 one now, will eventually fly with more).

Saving $100+ on luggage (most airlines will charge for more than just a carry on)
Being able to have more than one carry on.

Saving between 2-4 hours on average when flying out of MSY -> whichever major hub I plan on traveling to, since BTR usually requires you to connect at another airport for any destination greater than 300 miles away.

If I choose to fly with someone other than Southwest, there are backup airliners that are just as affordable or will at least make the trip not as expensive as flying out of BTR.

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yea none of that makes since....
MOst of my travel is business related. Meaning cost isnt considered. AND when i have priced the difference BTR is only a few 10s of bucks more expensive which IMO is negligible compared to driving 2 hours.

Who charges you for luggage? I ahavent had a luggage charged in years.

Anywhere im flying BTR doesnt have a direct, neither will NOLA, so connections are the same.

All of what you said makes me think you havent flown out of BTR sint prior to the renovations. IMO since the Reno BTR is an awesome quick airport, baring the airline frickups.