Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantaguy
Huh? I'm not sure I understand your point.
. . .
ATL is what it is.
|
^ ^^I'm not sure you digested my question. Your arguments help prove my point - because they are demonstrably irrelevant to Caribbean geography.
Here is a more concrete illustration:
(
higher res)
For example, St Thomas and St Croix must be served by multiple routes, because they are islands. If these were continental resorts, they would more likely be served by only 1 route - especially if, as you say, smaller aircraft are getting unprofitable. Similarly, St Maarten, St Kitts, and Antigua are clustered too and 3 routes would, on the continent, have pressure to become just 1 route, with travelers just renting a car and continuing to their destination.
And this map covers only Delta; I have no idea what other less bigger players are serving the Caribbean out of ATL. For example, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, are in a similar cluster.
The trend of upgauging
would reduce the number of direct flights out of ATL to these islands - as it has presumably reduced overall flights out of other hubs around the country - but it
cannot (so long as the airline doesn't abandon the locations). Vacationers want to fly into the island of their destination, they cannot fly into a central airport and rent a car to their destination, as people do on the continent.