D ocket OST

- 2000

- 7182 1 BEFORE THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

___________________________________________ Application of
US AIRWAYS, INC
under 49 U.S.C. 41718 for pendent lite Docket OST

– 200 0

- 7182 authority to operate sl ot exemptions (Washington, D.C. Reagan national Airport

– Jackson, Mississippi

______________________________________

Boyd Group International, Inc. Comments Regarding
APPLICATION OF US AIRWAYS, INC. FOR PENDENTE LITE AUTHORITY

TO OPERATE WITHIN

- PERIM ETER SLOT EXEMPTIONS (Washington, D. C . Reagan National Airport

– Jackson, Mississippi)
Boyd Group International, Inc., an aviation research and consulting firm headquartered in Evergreen, Colorado hereby su bmits its support for the application
file d by U S Airways for pendent lite authority to operate within

- perimeter slot exemptions to avoid an interruption of nonstop service between Jackson, Mississippi and Washington Reagan National Airport. Boyd Group International is well familiar with the Jackson, M ississippi air service market, and the economic importance to the region in assuring th at nonstop access to Washington Reagan National Airport continues uninterrupted. While this document is submitted independently, the firm has worked with Jackson

- Evers Int ernational Airport since 1994, and has specific expertise in the air service market. The application by US Airways is in the best interests of Mississippi and consumers in both the Jackson region and the Washington Metropolitan area

. Boyd Group Internatio nal would submit the following to the Department.

The market is currently underserved

. W e are cognizant of the scarcity and value of slot authorities at Washington Reagan National Airport . However, analyses done by the firm indicate that the current levels o f passenger traffic between Jackson

Evers and Washington Reagan National are not representative of the true demand.D ocket OST

- 2000

- 7182 2

While the current total O&D traffic between these airports is indicated as approximately 26,400 a nnually , the economics and demographics in the Jackson region
i s estimated to have potential for over 51,000 annual O&D passengers. 1 If the Delta service to DCA is allowed to lapse, the only access to the Washington Metro area will be via time

- consuming connections which will tend to discourage traffic demand, and will translate i nto declining enplanements at Jackson

Evers. It is estimated at as much as half of the current traffic now utilizing the Delta nonstops could be simply lost with the end of nonstop flights. 2 The proposal by US Airways will offer enhanced access to other po ints beyond Washington Reagan National. Delta is a fine airline, but it has a much more limited presence in the Washington area, and far less ability to flow traffic beyond DCA than does US Airways.

1 Source: Analyses of the Jackson m arket based on 2011 data. The current O&D figure is the total as reported to the DOT for the 12 months ending 2Q 2011, as analyzed by Aviation DataMinerTM. The single daily nonstop round trip currently operated by Delta/Delta Connection captures approximate ly 73% of the current reported traffic in the JAN

DCA market. 2 We would concurrently note that this traffic base would materially increase with additional frequencies, a potentiality outside the remit of the US Airways application and this document.D ocket OST

- 2000

- 7182 3

The route system and market position of Delta Air Lines at DCA prior to the slot swap with US Airways were far more limited than those of US Airways
, bot h currently
and post

- s wap . In terms of markets
, there are essentially only three d estination s to which Delta could logically offer any connectivity f rom DCA , pl us the LGA shuttle. The brand identity and depth of the consumer r ecognition of a carrier at a key market such as Washington Reagan National is critical to building ridership in a market
such as JAN

- DCA. The relatively lower brand

- identity of Delta at DCA re sulted in a disproportionate percentage of the JAN

- DCA market being originated at JAN. In fact, over 74% of all passengers on the nonstop Delta flights to DCA were generated at Jackson. It is clear that the lower brand profile of Delta at DCA resulted in t raffic that was generated in the Washington area using other carrier systems, or, unfamiliar with the service offered by Delta, n ot traveling to Jackson at all. 3 The US Airways profile and brand identity at DCA is significantly higher than tha t of Delta, and will almost certainly result in increased traffic on the route. 4

3 Sou rce: Aviation DataMinerTM analysis of DOT/BTS data. 4 Map does not fully reflect all of the post

- swap markets, such as Bangor, which is being added. Only markets w h ere there would be a hypothetical connection routing are shown.D ocket OST

- 2000

- 7182 4

This is not to imply that with a single JAN

- DCA round trip there would be connections to and from all of these points. But the combination of connectivity potential at DCA and the additional connectivity potential at the US Airways hubs at Charlotte and Philadelphia, it is clear that US Airways’ proposal offers a significant consumer advantage compared to the service that Delta intends to cease. T here will be connectivity at DCA that is compatible with connections at both CLT and PHL. Therefore, the US Airways application actually opens additional one
- way or round

- trip connection potential to far more points than the current service. This additional traffic will materially strengthen the financial performance of the JAN

- DCA route. The proposal by US Airways o ffers a qualitative increase in service

. It is noted that the US Airways application proposes service with Embraer E

- 170/175 aircraft. While only slightly larger in terms of seat capacity than the current regional jets used by Delta/Delta Connection, the cabi n dimensions of the E

- 170/175 are not only comparable to those of mainline airliners such as the Boeing 737, but in some areas are actually more comfortable. 5 In conclusion, Boyd Group International would submit that the US Airways application is enormous ly beneficial to Mississippi, to the Jackson consumer, and will result in increased passenger traffic for both JAN and DCA. Please refer any questions regarding this document to Michael J. Boyd President Boyd Group International 78 Beaver Brook Canyon R oad Evergreen, Colorado 80439 (303) 674

- 2000 www.AviationPlanning.com mikeb@aviationplanning.com

By : January 5, 2012

5 The CRJ

- 700s operated by De lta are being shifted to dual

- class cabins with 64

– 66 sea t s. The E

- 170/175 airliners proposed by US Airways are 70+ seats (depending on variant). Also, the E

- 170/175s have carry

- on space much closer to mainline jets, and

– importantly

– have economy

- c lass seats that are as much as an inch wider than those on even Boeing 737s, and much wider than the seats on the narrow

- cabin CRJ

- 700s. These factors are not inconsequential to levels of consumer preference, and hence, ridership.