Quote:
Originally Posted by FightOn!
A certain airline answered internally a question from an Employee that SAT is on their list for service in the future.
Dun dun dun.
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I’ve lived in SA twice and consider it a second home, so I enjoy following it.
I know that here in Sacramento, our problem isn’t how many Trans Atlantic or Trans Pacific bound passengers from Sacramento are using San Francisco International for non stop flights to Europe and Asia Nor how many people are flying from Sacramento to NY, Chicago or Atlanta then connecting to Europe. There are plenty of economy passengers heading to Europe and Asia, but there’s not a large business class market (at least for Europe). That’s the backbone that the airlines depend upon to make routes profitable. I’m guessing that’s San Antonio’s problem as well. The good news is that San Antonio has a strong corporate base, but who knows if there are sufficient numbers flying Business Class to Europe and Asia from SAT. The airlines have that data though.
San Antonio’s relative position in South Texas would seemingly make it an attractive hub for flights to Central and South America. Secondly, I’m not sure whether the shorter runways would still be a problem for larger aircraft since the Dreamliner is made of lighter composite materials? Hot Summers do pose a problem for lift because of the thin air though. If SA and Bexar County want to expand the runways though, it can get down.
The biggest obstacle facing any city trying to lure new trans oceanic flights will be the current direction of the economy. Flybe in the UK has ceased operations today because the tourist industry is bottoming out due to the Coronavirus. I’m betting a lot of airlines will put expansion on hold and more airlines might find themselves having to cut flights and layoff employees. Lastly, there’s a lot of pressure in the UK to cut carbon emissions by cutting the number of flights. The runway expansion Heathrow was hoping to move forward with was recently blocked by the courts there.