United vs. Southwest Airlines’ Flight Planning Strategies, Explained

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United vs. Southwest Airlines’ Flight Planning Strategies, Explained | WSJ Booked

Рет қаралды 487,101

Күн бұрын

United Airlines flies 988 routes globally with around 30,000 departures every week. How do airlines choose where to fly when they have so many flights every week?
It turns out legacy airlines like American and Delta and low-cost airlines like Southwest and Spirit use different models when planning their route networks. WSJ asked United’s global network planning expert to explain how airlines plan and manage their routes.
0:00 Meet Patrick Quayle, a global network planning executive
0:27 The hub-and-spoke network structure
2:50 The linear route system, point-to-point
4:45 When to update route networks
Booked
Your trip may be booked, but there are hundreds of people and processes that help you travel to where you need to go. From airport logistics to cruise ship procedures, WSJ’s Booked peels back the curtain on the travel industry, guiding viewers behind-the-scenes through the lens of industry experts.
#Flights #Travel #WSJ

Пікірлер: 281

@paragtech97 Жыл бұрын

I like when people are enthusiastic about their work.

@savagecub 5 ай бұрын

Likely it’s too much adderall !

@slipperyslope3912 6 ай бұрын

This is the kind of guy you want working for your airline, crunching complex logistics. Keep this guy at all costs, he's oozing with passion.

@fray3dendsofsanity Жыл бұрын

As much as airlines can screw up and get things wrong, it's amazing how much they are able to get right managing these thousands of flights per day

@TheSysrocked Жыл бұрын

What a great informative video to watch! No Drama, No Bull. Just straight to the point.

@simong9163 Жыл бұрын

Or is it "point to point"? :)

@muhammed5667 Жыл бұрын

Concise and succinct oration Mr. Quayle. Good production by WSJ as always!

@mikentx57 Жыл бұрын

I cannot imagine anything more complex than running an airline. You have to plan out routes. Plan on seasonal changes. Plan on things like a big rush for the Super Bowl. make sure if you have a change what plane flies a route because you need a bigger or smaller plane. That you have pilots for it. Most people do not know that a pilot is certified to fly just one type of an aircraft at a time. So a pilot of a Boeing 737 cannot one day fly an Airbus 320. Even though they are the same size of aircraft. Plan on constant ongoing maintenance on aircraft that is performed at many airports. Plan crew schedules (this is a huge complex deal) There are strict rules about rest and days off. Plan on ongoing crew training. Book hotel rooms for lay overed crew. Keep tract of luggage. Find lost luggage. Buy fuel. Plan the exact route each flight will fly. Taking in account weather and winds. Have dispatchers that monitor flights in real time. All of this is just scratching the surface of what they really have to do every day.

@kilo_skywalker Жыл бұрын

this is literally my dream job

@creativemindplay Жыл бұрын

Literally?

@kilo_skywalker Жыл бұрын

@@creativemindplay yes

@thomas_delaney Жыл бұрын

I interned in this department for Delta in college. It is a strategic nightmare for the 90% of people who run the data, but seems great for the 10% who call the shots. It was a very rewarding experience though.

@javierperezjr563 Жыл бұрын

@@thomas_delaneywhat r u majoring in?

@RK-bx1by Жыл бұрын

Same. I want to work in this area some day.

@piphastings6734 Жыл бұрын

Great job Patrick. I've always been impressed with you and this just gives me another reason to be impressed. Thanks WSJ.

@diorcolon8543 Жыл бұрын

He has my dream job!

@aznpridebuhhd Жыл бұрын

As a scheduler and planner (diff industry), really enjoyed this video!

@cellpat2686 Жыл бұрын

I work at one of their hubs and can say that convenience costs both the passenger and the provider. They can't fly those big routes they have if this type of model is not used. From one Pat to another, good job Pat.

@jaxonmattox9267 Жыл бұрын

Southwest is not a LCC, it is just a normally priced carrier that offers the quality of a LCC

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

I agree they are not an LCC. They are actually legacy around since the 70s and show that in cost structure. They don't charge for bags or snacks etc so it often makes sense because the total all in price can be lower.

@Cheese797 Жыл бұрын

"Low Cost Carrier" is defined as "low cost to operate per seat mile" and has nothing to do with the cost to the consumer. Southwest is absolutely a low cost carrier by definition. But by public perception, most certainly not!

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

@@Cheese797 Absolutely NOT true. Southwest's cost per seat mile are now not much lower than that competition in the big 3. Pretty much similar actually. LCC is just a term thrown around at this point and it doesn't apply to WN by any means at this point.

@nntflow7058 Жыл бұрын

To be fair, Southwest offer more if not the same seat pitch for their passengers compared to Premium Airlines. And they provided free 1 checked in bags.

@michaelmcguire7687 Жыл бұрын

@@nntflow7058 Southwest offers 2 checked bags free, plus one overhead, and one personal underseat.

@mtunofun1 Жыл бұрын

I have the unique quirk of living in between a major hub and and medium sized airport, SFO and SMF. Although SMF is slightly closer, I prefer to use SFO because of the availability of more direct flights and lounges. But if SMF has a direct flight, I do like flying out of there. It’s a very lovely airport for size city it has and never crowded.

@joeeichinger Жыл бұрын

Best part about flying in/out of SMF is getting to see the red rabbit

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

Yeah it just depends are where you going. SMF if direct quick flight makes sense but it can't really get you to many places.

@iscloudy3922 Жыл бұрын

I live in Fresno and we usually drive all the way up to the Bay Area, usually to San Jose to fly since it’s just so much cheaper and there’s more options.

@anotheran Жыл бұрын

Customer prefer point to point but if we had to go transoceanic like described, you're mostly stuck having to get to a hub for that bigger plane. During severe weather systems, Southwest needs to temporarily pivot to a hub stoke system to be able to get everyone to where they need to go. you need more aircraft to service the same number of airports if you did a point to point for each one (which southwest probably doesn't do).

@Utuber8282 Жыл бұрын

Very informative! Thanks!

@Love2Cruise Жыл бұрын

Southwest shouldn’t be lumped in “Low-cost” carriers group anymore. I live between a UA hub and a WN hub. Their fares are comparable, and sometimes UA’s are even lower.

@nn123654 Жыл бұрын

Flights to hubs are almost always lower than a low cost because there is excess capacity. Depending on where you live your route might also get Essential Air Service subsides from the US Federal Government that pay for part of the cost of a ticket, these go almost exclusively to legacy carriers usually on their regional jets to rural areas.

@bcnwagwu Жыл бұрын

Low Cost model doesn't necessarily mean low price. Its just a model with a very specific definition that includes things like; single aircraft/engine type, point to point scheduling etc. They may not be the lowest fare.

@drmode Жыл бұрын

At SW, you don’t get nickled and downs with fees

@BrosephtheAsian Жыл бұрын

I see your point but sometimes UA will purposely have a route go in the red to drive out another airline that can’t afford to lose money on that route.

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

@@BrosephtheAsian Well that's part of it, but more it's called network effect. What they are really looking at is they need the feed to a given hub to drive overall profitability to connect the traffic. They operate as global network so one flight taking a loss isn't that important in many cases since they make it up elsewhere having the connectivity. UA has found a way to profitability coexist say at DEN vs Southwest and Frontier. They offer something neither of the other 2 can in terms of network. Same is true for also DL out of ATL.

@logantrigg6037 Жыл бұрын

Such an interesting video and so well explained

@KeemBeckford 6 ай бұрын

The way he describes things and. Breaks it down is really interesting.

@markanthony1004 3 ай бұрын

I love videos like this. I fly a lot for work and I found I’m very much interested in airlines and airports

@VikramKrishnan404 Жыл бұрын

Sponsored by: United Airlines The point-to-point model may have exacerbated Southwest's issues, but the reason their network failed is their antient IT infrastructure, not the point-to-point model. This video is doing its viewers a huge disservice by not highlighting this.

@Sanyu-Tumusiime Жыл бұрын

it was pretty unbiased tho. they mentioned pros and cons. they did say point to point was cheaper but i agree with you on the ancient IT stuff. they should've mentioned that

@PlaneSpottingBerlin Жыл бұрын

nice behind the scenes!

@Bdbabsfbbs 5 ай бұрын

He’s so cool, like the kind of guy that would make you want to do his job when you’re older

@randomkevinislasok Жыл бұрын

Love United!!

@marinhopaais426 Жыл бұрын

What a fantastic job!

@sng1867 Жыл бұрын

Thanks to the old Wendover Production videos, I very much was able to keep up with this video, and understand what the dude is trying to explain. Generally speaking, point-to-point is superior because travelers make travel plans based on cost. Point-to-point model/airlines therefore allow travelers to take advantage of this. The Airbus A380 was built for hub-to-spoke, and now it is being phased out.

@martinlanz2944 Жыл бұрын

The A380 is build for slot-restricted hubs like LHR adding another condition and reason why its not comming back for many airlines.

@torquetography2758 Жыл бұрын

Mr.Quayle just explained my future dream job!

@craigos5674 Жыл бұрын

new A321 LRs are also being used for long sectors over oceans

@calvinallan2208 Жыл бұрын

As a aviation nerd he's my dream buddy😍

@DarkLordDeimos 5 ай бұрын

Nothing against this guy, but it is hard to trust Southwest when they are partly to blame for the Boeing 737Max disaster. Pushing for the 737Max to be considered "the same" as the standard 737 in order to reduce training and re-qualification.

@iseewood Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, point-to-hub add 2-3 hours of travel for those of us not in a hub city compared to point-to-point. It’s why I almost never fly the big 3 legacy carriers now days.

@contactkashif Жыл бұрын

Quayle has a very cool job,

@Gazma_Muzaale Ай бұрын

a whole ton of information and knowledge mushed into a 6 minute video

@zenthorp Жыл бұрын

this is so informal, i've always been curious about the analytics of flights through the day, how hub / flow is managed etc 😀#WSJ

@AC-ni2jt 5 ай бұрын

Why not do it easier and efficiently and ask directly your customers where they need to fly? Just add a section for people to choose what route they prefer instead of that they bought while purchasing every flight ticket. For example I bought a flight ticket Edinburgh - Bucharest, while in added section i choose that i prefer to be opened a route Edinburgh - Iasi. In this case the company will see much better customers preferences and after a period of time will have clear idea what changes they might do.

@jsheav 4 ай бұрын

I love point to point. I will pay more for a direct flight rather than connect through a hub

@bwayobrian3381 Жыл бұрын

Always love Yr informative content...big love🎉

@Kushpatel9047 5 ай бұрын

Never realized southwest was considered low cost airlines when their prices emerging from my city are always higher than legacy airlines. I don't live near a hub.

@TypeOneSpotter Жыл бұрын

I want those models!

@___beyondhorizon4664 Жыл бұрын

I fly southwest because ut allows 2 free check bags, so i don't stress out on packing. I packed my camping 🥾 gears to Bryce canyon in August 2020 with my hiking poles inside my luggage 🧳😅 when i had to change my flight ✈️, they didn't charge me any fees. My flight with Spirit last month was a total nightmare,🤬😡 its a ling story! I didn't have a choice because southwest seats were sold out during cherry blossom festival! Sothwest doesn't seem to offer red eye flight from BWI to CA

@ross8036 Жыл бұрын

Gotta love that Bryce Canyon sky

@20applewhite Жыл бұрын

Good information ℹ️ℹ️ℹ️

@ctbt1832 Жыл бұрын

I like point to point. Hub and spoke usually cost too much and United airlines is one of the more expensive ones to fly.

@johnmoore5553 Жыл бұрын

You can’t put southwest with spirit and frontier, they aren’t even comparable.

@amardave84 5 ай бұрын

"They can't fly transoceanic" JetBlue and Airbus, "hold my coffee!"Lol 😂

@craigos5674 Жыл бұрын

a new route Fiji to another USA city is apparently going ahead soon. How do you find out which city that would be & when & how frequently ? Presume airline would have to apply a long time before flights actually operate.

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

I would just google that.

@BookofProverbs Жыл бұрын

Love these thanks WSJ

@danielGorski77 Жыл бұрын

thank you!!

@girishkumarv3280 Жыл бұрын

Great information

@Lulzmango Жыл бұрын

"hub and spoke is a better experience" Says someone who thinks making a connecting in ORD to ATL isnt terrible

@Tgoo89 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting 😎

@marioman9632 5 ай бұрын

I’m sure some people don’t like hub airports because thats another flight they have to take, but I live right by a major hub airport that goes basically everywhere. Sooooo I’m fine.

@stefanossmitty3318 Жыл бұрын

I’m still confused about why southwest is considered “low cost.” Their fares are always as high as legacy airlines, if not higher.

@NolanSnoeyink Жыл бұрын

Has to do with cost structure of the airline, not necessarily the cost the consumer pays for the tickey

@stefanossmitty3318 Жыл бұрын

@@NolanSnoeyink good point! Definitely somewhat of a misnomer.

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

Southwest is actually a legacy carrier themselves. They have been around since the 1970s pre deguation. But what they do well is overall value prop in no change fees, baggage fees etc. They know their target market and focus on that. They offer high frequency in their key markets

@jay23201 Жыл бұрын

How do get a job like this? I always wanted to become a commercial airline pilot but due to a health condition I can't and since I still love planes this would literally be my dream job.

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

you would have to have good degree in analytics and interview.

@CS-np2oo Жыл бұрын

Or....apply for an entry level position. Ramp. Reservations. Ticket Agent. Then apply internally once you've gained some experience of operations. WORKING at a hub definitely will help you get it a bit faster. If you have a degree...it will certainly help. In my experience...having that experience would certainly help. In my opinion. I've had co-workers with the degree...but absolutely no clue how the day to day operations worked. This coming from from someone who started as a Rampart, but ended up as a Dispatcher. Everyone's road will be different, I will say that. I found working on the Ramp and Baggage Service ( in a hub ) helped me IMMENSELY when I got to NOC. I had seen so many different situations. Those in small airports have a ton of experience too because many times they do EVERYTHING. Ticket counter. Ramp. Bagge Service. All in the same shift. At least they used to. ✈

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

@@CS-np2oo Not worth the low pay to go that route. There are plenty of better other ways to learn.

@CS-np2oo Жыл бұрын

@@johniii8147 We're all ears!

@CS-np2oo Жыл бұрын

@@johniii8147 Thats why I said everyone's road is different 🤷‍♂️

@CliffordCruiser Жыл бұрын

United Airlines, Fly the Friendly Skies!

@kinocchio Жыл бұрын

Here for the motion graphics

@javierperezjr563 Жыл бұрын

How do I get a job in route planning like this? This is so cool

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

Have the background in education (usually at least a masters degree) and have a good understanding of the industry. It's basically a math problem you're solving.

@chelsea7xhf Жыл бұрын

@@johniii8147 for an entry level job, probably need to learn optimization, start with excel, then learn airline specific software program.

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

@@chelsea7xhf It's a lot more than that.

@anniedownum451 Жыл бұрын

No one told me about this at the career fair lol. Sounds like fun to me

@mrrobertwolfiii1079 2 ай бұрын

Appreciate the no blame.

@nicholasking7120 4 ай бұрын

Point to point is the future of commercial aviation

@user-ni6py2qv4q Ай бұрын

Maybe not. As long as international flying is still the main breadmaker for many of these airlines, adopting hub-and-spoke would make more sense for them.

@docMurk 3 ай бұрын

Is that a Boom supersonic model in the background? Anyone else notice??

@blip-hn6is Жыл бұрын

IT should be a professional job right now. they can special into one specific role like healthcare, finance, airline or ai

@daanishhydri Жыл бұрын

Amazing 😍

@sdspivey Жыл бұрын

At MCO, there is almost always Frontier and Spirit planes just sitting in the corner of the air field.

@Da__goat Жыл бұрын

Anything is possible when you beat up passengers when you overbook the plane

@jacobocaj5778 Жыл бұрын

Hey about some legroom and better business class product

@MattGaskinsYT Жыл бұрын

This is a great video and very accurate from my perspective, and I used to work in treasury for a major airline.

@lsfcdallas 4 ай бұрын

Nice work

@rich-tp2dx 5 ай бұрын

Actually very nice to hear an exec that didnt just run a promo the whole time

@CJWJR 3 ай бұрын

The hub and spoke model is so annoying for those of us who don't live in a hub city, especially when we don't have a point-to-point carrier at our local airport.

@kanzaki0001 Жыл бұрын

Nothing complicates travel more than connecting flights internationally

@seebaasn Жыл бұрын

Love point to point solution. Keep travelling with Ryanair for decades - paying lower prices and saving so much time for not changing planes at e.g. FRA, CDG or AMS

@kjjones8627 Жыл бұрын

Southwest is NOT a LCC

@camdenmounts1473 Жыл бұрын

5:45 where is that airport? Is that a plane museum in left foreground?

@MC-xt6xf Жыл бұрын

Pretty sure that is Atlanta. Lots of Delta action.

@chintanpatel2229 Жыл бұрын

It is Atlanta

@wez123123123 Жыл бұрын

I support “the hub” 😂

@andreynazarouk Жыл бұрын

This is cool but imagine how much simpler, straightforward, cheaper, and consistent if this country built out its rail system

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

Nah we are to spread out for that.

@benmirault5933 Жыл бұрын

This isn’t Europe. The US is the third largest country in the planet. Look at Russia, Canada, China, big countries rely on air because rail simply isn’t efficient with such great distances. Many American states are bigger than most European countries, so just because European countries can do rail doesn’t mean the US can/should.

@andreynazarouk Жыл бұрын

@@benmirault5933 China absolutely depends on rail rather than air, look at a picture of their rail systems, and both Canada and Russia have such concentrated populations in few cities that they wouldn't benefit much from a system

@benmirault5933 Жыл бұрын

@@andreynazarouk For long distance, no, China is just like the US. China uses rail to get from one close city to another but the Chinese air industry is huge because people fly for long distances, just like the US. China isn’t Europe, US, Russia, Canada arent Europe either. There is a reason these countries don’t have rail networks like Europe does and believe it or not, the reason isn’t just that these countries are stupid and you’re so much smarter. They’re simply too big and there is no way around that.

@cxa340 6 ай бұрын

Sure, but rail has to be state subsidized since it runs at an extreme loss. Look at Spain or Germany where the rail network is not okay expensive, often more expensive than flying, but also requires state subsidies If we offer rail a subsidy then we should offer an air subsidy

@Al-Akram92 5 ай бұрын

And this is why I'll always pay more to fly with AA, Delta and United over Southwest, Spirit, and Frontier.

@spangriel Жыл бұрын

I wonder how AI is going to impact planning and jobs like this. My guess is there will be software solutions that do all the planning by themselves even considering external factors like weather very soon.

@Gary-vv5gt 6 ай бұрын

Don’t think it’s going to be pure ai, sometimes ai even fails and need a human mindset. Likewise human needs ai as much as ai needs humans

@hunterrodriguez6802 Жыл бұрын

Tell him to contact Ryan Serhant

@alasdairmacmillan5359 Жыл бұрын

most interesting

@abhisheksukhani9124 Жыл бұрын

Funny, he used '350' seat aircraft (2:06) while talking about 777-300ER which seats 386. Iykyk

@fahimhussain1918 Жыл бұрын

Overbooking is a real problem but he probably didn’t mean anything by it probably

@___Truth___ Жыл бұрын

he looks underpaid

@fessysquared1350 Жыл бұрын

Southwest been real quiet since this dropped

@chromebomb Жыл бұрын

are those M&Ms?

@aerotheepic Жыл бұрын

5:52 "and have it operate seamlessly" as someone who flies frequently, this has literally never been my experience

@johniii8147 Жыл бұрын

Most times it does. Most just remember when it doesn't.

@RIVvideos 6 ай бұрын

Ill always go with direct flights

@AlonsoRules Жыл бұрын

Running an airline is not easy

@Lzrdman91 5 ай бұрын

I just wished United would fly more routes out of Phoenix

@neutralcommenter7800 6 ай бұрын

"Complexity and planning" i.e., a computer program.

@Noah.Fleshman Жыл бұрын

MCI-HNL nonstop it fits the hub and spoke model, use a 787, 2-3 weekly flights you’d fill that entire aircraft. You could easily do the same thing MCI-ADD nonstop…

@cxa340 6 ай бұрын

Hahaha no The yield on HNL would be too low to fill an MCI-HNL nonstop, besides the opportunity cost of using an entire 787 on just MCI-HNL. Instead UA does better to connect pax via IAH, SFO, LAX, or DEN for HNL. ADD? LOL There are not even 10 passengers per day on MCI-ADD, besides that being a very long flight that would need 2.5 planes

@GcpMC 5 ай бұрын

Problem with Hubs is if weather occurs unlike point to point, everything is affected. If IAH has a ground stop, SW still has Hobby, it always annoyed me in TX having to fly to IAH or DEN. Point to point has pros like hub, but this video is clear bias lol. If I want to go to Vegas SW has many more departure stations than having to go to DEN or IAH… I can take off from Lubbock if I wanted 😂

@shad3_king554 5 ай бұрын

San Antonio “smaller city”??

@marym7104 Жыл бұрын

Within 7 hours!

@marym7104 Жыл бұрын

Within 22,000 views!

@DrivingAway1 4 ай бұрын

I sure do prefer direct flights

@ab3040 Жыл бұрын

Real title: "How United doesn't manage 30,000 flights"

@pydiboy 5 ай бұрын

Since when is SW low cost....

@joeharris3878 5 ай бұрын

Why would anyone fly commercial?

@johnlemay6515 Жыл бұрын

all that and you think United would be better

@davidbonnichsen2901 Жыл бұрын

The idea that southwest is a low-cost airline anymore is completely not true. They are as expensive, if not more expensive than United these days. If I could get a nonstop United flight out of BWI to FLL I would immediately switch airlines despite having top tier status with LUV and companion pass.

@mrrobertwolfiii1079 Жыл бұрын

One year for whole year.