All this talk about extra capacity - Baloney!!!

[shon7]

Just tried to book a ticket from ORD-DEL for December - response I got - everything is booked till January. Anyway, this has me thinking about all this talk of airlines shovelling extra capacity on routes. Apparrently not since there just are no seats available for this itinerary.

So my question is:

1). How is capacity restricted for carriers on routes apart from Landing and Take Off rights. Because I know for sure (I think) that VS adds extra flights on some of its routes during peak times.

2). Have any airlines tried chartering/outsourcing capacity to other carriers during peak times. Am thinking of a business model like Atlas Air/ Polar Air but only with passengers not cargo.

3). Can an airline operate flights only during peak season to some destinations and not during other times in the year?

Lastly, if there are routes that are overbooked surely there is room for more capacity - so bring out the A 380. I think we are all ready for it.

[Scottie Dog]

When you say that all flights are full until January, I presume you mean that you have been unable to obtain a cheap ticket.

I have just had a look at general availability and would agree that flights are very full but there is space available if you are prepared to pay! Depends on the exact dates of travel of course.

All low fares around the Christmas/New Year period naturally, as a result of demand, have been heavily booked for many months at the cheaper fares. It would be illogical for airlines to invest many millions of $ for special equipment which is likely to be only full at peak times of travel.

Hope you manage to find something in the end!

Scottie Dog