UAL pulling out of New Zealand / Australia?

[brucek 38]

I hear from friends in New Zealand that the papers are full of this in the past few days, can anyone confirm? I'm unsure about Australia.With Qantas poised to take over Air New Zealand, that will leave a very uncompetitive situation (one airline effectively) on this route. I was in New Zealand for the Holidays, and pax loads (on UA) were full to the extent that they were looking for volunteers to take the next day's flight. Maybe low yields for the cost structure of the flight down there are the motivating force?Bruce.

[brucek 38]

Thanks-I flew back on a UA B777, although I'm not sure on the load restrictions the 777 has on that route. The captain did tell us that we were about 1 hour slower than the B744 on that same routing, but that could be ETOPS, as well as the fact that nothing can come close to the 74 for speed (maybe the MD-11?).It was pleasing to see among the flight crew of 4 on this flight, a female captain and one of the 3 1st officers. It's good to see the fairer sex getting some exposure in flight crew here in the US.Bruce.

[Guest Scott Campbell]

If you want to see something really freaky, go look at the Mojave dresert these days. There are rows and rows of brand spanking new aircraft lined up - including brand new and older 747-400's, a large number being United.If anyone wants new, mostly new, and older aircraft, go spec out the desert and McCarran (Las Vegas) and make an offer.It was only three yeats ago airlines were falling all over themselves to buy new aircraft. Now that's extremely poor planning.I wonder if GE Capital will stay in business these days (since they own a large number of the aircraft and lease to the airlines).But I digress from the topic. Given that United flies only one flight to and from Australia a day, I'd think it's not a great idea to scrap the routes (especially since they're so valuable to own). The 777-200LR's are about half as expensive to fly, fly a lot further, but not as fast or as high as a 747-400OB. Still, the 777's are a lot quieter and more comfortable. If you look at the comparison images below, you can see that the layout of the aircraft are virtually the same. Obviously the 744 has more seats, but not more cargo capacity.[table][tr][td valign=top]http://avsim.com/flightdeck/temp/B772Ia.gif[/td][td valign=top]http://avsim.com/flightdeck/temp/B744.gif[/td][/tr][/table]

[ChrisJake 0]

its true about New Zealand. according to United they will be pulling out of Auckland as of March 2003 after serving it for 17 years. i have heard nothing about Australia.chris

[Guest Scott Campbell]

Chris,I don't know, but given the choice between United and Air New Zealand, I'll take ANZ any day. I did that 14 1/2-hour United flight from SFO to SYD, and 13-hour flight back, and I'll never do it with them again. The return was the worst flight I was ever on, and I still get flashbacks today.

[Guest]

Hi,[br] Yes, it's been confirmed, United is bulling out of all NZ operations, to help ease their money problems[br]Ash

[ChrisJake 0]

Scott, how come it was so bad?personally, i've never been on a flight THAT long. last summer i was travelling to LAX and was in ORD to connect to a UAL 777. our flight ended up being 3 hours late and after waiting in the airport, getting on the plane, getting back off the plane, and knowing there was a 4 hour flight ahead of me yet...i was getting a bit anxious. the guy boarding right in front of me gave the ticket agent the wrong ticket. she politely told him that "this is the one you want to use on your connecting flight to Auckland" now...as much as i'd love to see NZ, i couldn't imagine getting on another flight for 13 hours after all that.chris

[Guest Scott Campbell]

Chris,There was all sorts of bad things that went on on the return flight, from incredibly rotten flight attendants, to the seat controls (light, sound) not working, to a fully-packed flight, to not getting a seat with any kind of leg room (13+ hours with no leg room, think about it), to a screaming kid right in front of me, to...well the list just goes on.It took exactly 24 hours from the time I left my front door until I got off the plane in Sydney. That's with a stop in San Francisco. That just isn't fun. Going was okay since the plane wasn't full and I had an entire row to myself so I could stretch out and sleep. But coming back...:-erksI want a Space Plane! ;-)