Triangle Trip

There are four airlines (American, Delta, United, Virgin) that operate nonstop flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles LAX. Each airline has six round trip flights per day out of each airport. This means there are 24 flights per day from JFK to LAX. Assuming each flight can carry around 200 passengers which means there are 4,800 available seats from JFK to LAX. Do we really need that many flights each day between the two cities?

The number gets bigger if you include the Greater NYC and Los Angeles areas. Continental which flies out of Newark has about eight nonstops to LAX, Burbank and Long Beach. Jetblue has four nonstops from JFK to Long Beach and Burbank. This means there are 36 flights a day with 7,200 available seats everyday from the Greater NYC to Los Angeles area.

The among of flights between the two metro areas are way too excessive. This is one of many excess and waste we have in America which is part of the reason we are in a recession. Just like having too many Starbucks on one street, too many Citibanks in a two block radius, we have too many airlines flying half empty planes coast to coast. I can see the demand for the flights during peak travel season and peak travel days such as Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. I highly doubt the Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday flights are full.

For the record, the same airlines have similar among of flights between the Greater New York area and the Bay area (San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose). Also keep in mine that my statistics are only for NON-STOP flights. There are 200 more options if you decide to connect or use multiple carriers. Below is a simple search result from Kayak with a three week advance purchase search:

Kayak Search Result (JFK-LAX)

As a frequent coast to coast traveler, I have been on many half empty plane for the past month flying out on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings (which are peak travel times). Perhaps this is why my round trip tickets has not been more than $400 when I bought it 24 hours before the flight. This week’s round trip JFK/LAX ticket was $210 which was purchased 5 days in advanced. Competition driving prices down is capitalism at its best. I have benefited as a consumer. However we all should know that these airlines aren’t money on these flights. Here’s a link to a WSJ article (March 12, 2009) about fuel-hedging loses are impacting Cathay, Delta, etc. Eventually the airlines will go to the government to ask for money.

Government needs to step in to manage the airline industry or we will see another bail out request situation – which already happened once if you recalled post September 11. The previous bail out also drove every single major airline to bankruptcy. I may sound like a socialist but I rather be a socialist than paying for it like we are funding Wall Street and Detroit. I don’t want President Obama the US to appoint me as the Airline Czar to manage the bailout funds when he decides to distribute funds for airline failures. The airline industry needs government intervention now.

I have been using (Fly) Clear since mid-January 2009. My Clear membership has saved me on a couple of last minute to the airport, high blood pressure runs to the gate. The ability to skip the amateurs at the TSA security line is wonderful but it is not worth $199 per year. I was fortunate enough to get this year’s membership for free thanks to Starwood. Here are the reason why $199 is not worth it for any traveler:

1.  Clear is not available in major cities/airports – take a look at this list. How can Clear expect me or anyone to invest in them if they are not in the US’s #2, #3 and #4 cities. As a frequent commuter in and out of LAX, Clear is no where to be found. I have seen “coming soon” signs forever. Below is the latest screenshot from Clear’s website stating it will be at LAX by winter 2009.

Clear is also not in Chicago or Houston or Dallas which are huge hubs. I can use Clear to get into Candlestick Park but I cannot use it to get through LAX, ORD or DFW security. If I may also add that LAX TSA checkpoint is the worst in the nation. LAX security has limited space available to unpack your personal items before the checkpoint and repack your items after screening. LAX is also a top 5 worst airport in the US.

2.  Clear registration requires me to provide all sorts of personal data in exchange for skipping a line. Who are these people fooling? When I use Clear, the agent still requires me to show him/her my Clear ID and match me up against my fingerprint (for some, their retina). What’s the point of giving Clear my fingerprint when I have to provide an ID. Shouldn’t my fingerprint be tied to my ID?

3.  When you have airline status, skipping the TSA security line does not really help you much. The $199 membership fee is just too steep for business travelers with status. $199 a year definitely does not make sense for the casual travel. However, if Clear partners with the airlines to offer the following benefits to travelers without status: priority boarding, waiving baggage fee or getting a slightly better seat. Now that is a true value proposition. $199 per year to skip someone once awhile is just not worth it.

4.  Increase customer loyalty to gain adoption. I have not seen any referral programs or benefits for me to renew my membership. After what I have pointed out so far, I see no incentive for me to renew my membership when it ends this December.

We have just provided a month worth of free consulting to the Clear team via this post. I look forward to hearing from Clear management as this post can potentially save their company and jobs.

I have been commuting coast to coast for over 10 years – that’s between New York and California. I have flown out of JFK to LAX and SFO months at a time. There were only two carriers back in the 90s… now we’ve five options:

1. American
2. Delta
3. JetBlue
4. United
5. Virgin Ameirca

I have experienced all carriers and want to share my experience with everyone. Here are the plus’s and minuses for each:

1. American:

PLUSES:  Price – usually cheaper than Delta and UA. Coach seats are pretty roomy vs. the other four.

MINUSES:  The AA terminal at JFK is a zoo. Planes are older.

2. Delta

PLUSES:  Price – usually cheaper than UA. New seats inside the plane – leather. Live TV in coach. If you’re a Medallion Gold or Platinum, 80% chance to be upgraded to First.

MINUSES:  If you buy a low fare ticket, you will not get full mileage in your bank. Skyteam points are not as valuable as Star Alliance or OneWorld.

3. JetBlue

PLUSES:  Newer planes. Flights are cheap. Free live TV. Food for sale is decent.

MINUSES:  Have to fly to OAK or SJC vs. SFO. Long Beach or Burbank vs. LAX. No first class upgrades.

4. United

PLUSES:  Star Alliance points and UA offers 100% on all flights regardless of the price of tickets. JFK terminal is extremely clean. If upgraded to buniess, service is awesome – personal DVD player, plugs on all business class seats, etc.

MINUSES:  UA divided plane into 50% business, 50% coach. As a result, there are not that many seats available for sale in coach. Tickets are generally expensive.

5. Virgin Ameirca

PLUSES:  Plugs on all seats, games and TV on your seats, comfortable throughout the cabin, ticket can be pretty cheap as well.

MINUSES:  Limited flights throughout the day. Can only bank Virgin points.

Summary

In summary, you should fly Delta if you have Medallion status as you will get upgraded. Fly United if you have enough points to spend on the upgrades. Go with Jetblue if you’re cost conscious or don’t mind flying to alternative airports.