....One of the MANY things that WILL kill 'Song', will be the F/A's, they, being of Triangle Upbringing and their SpoiledChildren mindset, will alienate PAX, just because they have to work the Greyhound Bus version of DL.... Bryant Petitt Cumming, GA OK, so I copy some of Charles' runtogether wording.... --- lafrance@verizon.net wrote: > Delta's Song Could Rock JetBlue > Lisa DiCarlo, 01.29.03, 2:15 PM ET > > NEW YORK - It took Delta Air Lines more than three > years to answer JetBlue Airways' assault on its > business in the busy Northeast-to-Florida corridor, > but now its hand has finally been forced. Delta's > discount carrier, called Song, will launch in April, > but will JetBlue be singing the blues? > > More on David Neeleman > > > Tear Sheet > > Add to Tracker > > > More on JetBlue Airways > Tear Sheet > > > > > The new Delta (nyse: DAL - news - people ) > subsidiary will mimic JetBlue (nasdaq: JBLU - news - > people ) in that it will fly single-class planes > direct from the Northeast to several cities in > Florida. According to Song spokesperson Stacy > Geagan, Delta will "gut and rebuild" existing 757s, > "so they look and feel like new." > > The planes will have a mixture of paid and free > digital services such as satellite television, MP3 > audio, video-on-demand and videogames. JetBlue > heavily promotes its free satellite television and > leather seats; Delta will have both. > > The two most important factors for the target > audience of leisure travelers are price and > convenience--in that order. Song's flights will run > from $79 to $299 each way, on par with JetBlue. It's > possible that Delta might have an edge in the > convenience department, since it will fly out of all > three New York airports, whereas JetBlue only flies > only out of JFK International. Furthermore, JetBlue > has no presence in Boston and offers service to only > one Florida city from Washington, D.C. Song plans to > offer service to Florida from both Boston and > Washington. > > JetBlue was able to snag market share on the > Northeast-to-Southeast routes by offering lower > prices. But it also benefited when Delta cut back > flights to Florida and other cities after the terror > attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. For example, Delta had > replaced some direct routes to Florida with flights > that inconveniently stopped at its massive Atlanta > hub. > > From a cost standpoint, JetBlue still has the edge. > Because it was launched only three years ago, > JetBlue does not have the long-standing > inefficiencies of its larger competitors. For > instance, most of JetBlue's ticket sales are made > directly over the Internet, and it has always issued > electronic tickets only. > > Like every other airline, labor is the biggest > expense for JetBlue, but its pilots and machinists > do not belong to a national union. For 2002, labor > costs represented more than 40% of sales at Delta, > compared with about 25% of sales through the first > nine months of the year at JetBlue. Delta will not > pay lower salaries to pilots of its new subsidiary, > leading some to wonder whether Song can really be > competitive on costs. > > "They're going to use senior Delta pilots because > they don't want to alienate their unions," says Ray > Neidl of Blaylock and Partners. > > "We are a subsidiary of Delta, and we will respect > our contract with Delta pilots," says Geagan. > "They're the best in the industry." > > Neidl says that if any company can succeed with a > discount "airline within an airline," it is Delta. > "They're giving [Song] a separate identity and > already have had a moderately successful experience > with Delta Express." > > Delta will spend about $65 million to launch Song, > which will eventually replace Delta Express. Song > will indeed have a separate identity from its > parent. For starters, Song's Web site looks more > like JetBlue's--that is, they're both uncluttered, > with lots of white space and large, bright > lettering. > > JetBlue executives will no doubt be asked about how > they plan to combat Song, when they report the > company's fourth-quarter numbers tomorrow. JetBlue, > which went public in April, is expected to report > earnings per share of 20 cents, up 2 cents > sequentially. > > If Delta is to succeed, Song must be noticeably > different, and it already appears to be on that > path. But the changes inside the airplane's cabin > should be more than esthetic. Stand in line at any > JetBlue terminal and you're likely to hear people > actually complimenting the airline on its service > and generally friendly attitude of its workers. > > Rebuilding planes and offering direct flights will > be the easy part. Rebuilding the total customer > experience is what could make Song sing. > > > > > > > Roger > EWROPS __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com