Carol_Hill said:
Right. With some small exceptions, airlines these days fly nonstop flights between their hubs on bigger planes, and then smaller planes to the smaller destinations.
Hi Carol,
You are exactly correct.
One of the ways Southwest keeps its fares low is by operating one type of aircraft - the Boeing 737. There are different varients like the 737-200, 737-400, etc., but they all are varients of the same type and have common aircrew and maintenance training requirements and proceedures so all employees can work on all their aircraft.
This was part of their plan for success, along with focusing on making flying easier for their customers with free bag check and no reserved seats...
What makes their expansion into the Caribbean market possible now is the purchase of newer streched 737-xxx models with greater range.
Their acquisition of a rival carrier a few years that flew a different type of aircraft caused a "disturbance in the force" for a while but they are moving beyond that now...
