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

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

[@paragtech97]

I like when people are enthusiastic about their work.

[@savagecub]

Likely it’s too much adderall !

[@slipperyslope3912]

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.

[@TheSysrocked]

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

[@simong9163]

Or is it "point to point"? :)

[@muhammed5667]

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

[@fray3dendsofsanity]

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

[@kilo_skywalker]

this is literally my dream job

[@creativemindplay]

Literally?

[@kilo_skywalker]

@@creativemindplay yes

[@thomas_delaney]

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]

@@thomas_delaneywhat r u majoring in?

[@RK-bx1by]

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

[@mikentx57]

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.

[@piphastings6734]

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

[@diorcolon8543]

He has my dream job!

[@aznpridebuhhd]

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

[@jaxonmattox9267]

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

[@johniii8147]

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]

"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]

@@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]

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]

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

[@bwayobrian3381]

Always love Yr informative content...big love🎉

[@logantrigg6037]

Such an interesting video and so well explained

[@mtunofun1]

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]

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

[@johniii8147]

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]

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.

[@KeemBeckford]

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

[@Utuber8282]

Very informative! Thanks!

[@cellpat2686]

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.

[@zenthorp]

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

[@BookofProverbs]

Love these thanks WSJ

[@anotheran]

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).

[@markanthony1004]

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

[@torquetography2758]

Mr.Quayle just explained my future dream job!

[@randomkevinislasok]

Love United!!

[@marinhopaais426]

What a fantastic job!

[@danielGorski77]

thank you!!

[@calvinallan2208]

As a aviation nerd he's my dream buddy😍

[@PlaneSpottingBerlin]

nice behind the scenes!

[@girishkumarv3280]

Great information

[@sng1867]

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]

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

[@Bdbabsfbbs]

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

[@Love2Cruise]

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]

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]

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]

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

[@BrosephtheAsian]

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]

@@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.

[@daanishhydri]

Amazing 😍

[@lsfcdallas]

Nice work

[@craigos5674]

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

[@MattGaskinsYT]

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

[@20applewhite]

Good information ℹ️ℹ️ℹ️

[@craigos5674]

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]

I would just google that.

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

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]

Gotta love that Bryce Canyon sky

[@sdspivey]

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

[@TypeOneSpotter]

I want those models!

[@jsheav]

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

[@docMurk]

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

[@Tgoo89]

Very interesting 😎

[@contactkashif]

Quayle has a very cool job,

[@ctbt1832]

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

[@iseewood]

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.

[@nicholasking7120]

Point to point is the future of commercial aviation

[@kanzaki0001]

Nothing complicates travel more than connecting flights internationally

[@Kushpatel9047]

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.

[@camdenmounts1473]

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

[@MC-xt6xf]

Pretty sure that is Atlanta. Lots of Delta action.

[@chintanpatel2229]

It is Atlanta

[@AC-ni2jt]

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.

[@kinocchio]

Here for the motion graphics

[@jacobocaj5778]

Hey about some legroom and better business class product

[@shad3_king554]

San Antonio “smaller city”??

[@VikramKrishnan404]

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]

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

[@alasdairmacmillan5359]

most interesting

[@Lulzmango]

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

[@marioman9632]

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]

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

[@NolanSnoeyink]

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

[@stefanossmitty3318]

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

[@johniii8147]

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

[@rich-tp2dx]

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

[@javierperezjr563]

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

[@johniii8147]

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]

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

[@johniii8147]

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

[@Da__goat]

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

[@janseger8550]

What is the best route from Phoenix to Greenville South Carolina least flight time, non stop flights?

[@johnsamoilis6379]

Sky Harbor airport is a hub for AA. My guess if their is a non stop it will be an AA flight

[@jay23201]

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]

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

[@CS-np2oo]

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]

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

[@CS-np2oo]

@@johniii8147 We're all ears!

[@CS-np2oo]

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

[@johnmoore5553]

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

[@wez123123123]

I support “the hub” 😂

[@kjjones8627]

Southwest is NOT a LCC

[@abhisheksukhani9124]

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

[@fahimhussain1918]

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

[@blip-hn6is]

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

[@amardave84]

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

[@waynefernandes9455]

Who is the reporter who did this story?

[@fessysquared1350]

Southwest been real quiet since this dropped

[@anniedownum451]

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

[@CliffordCruiser]

United Airlines, Fly the Friendly Skies!

[@Lzrdman91]

I just wished United would fly more routes out of Phoenix

[@spangriel]

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]

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

[@chromebomb]

are those M&Ms?

[@RIVvideos]

Ill always go with direct flights

[@Al-Akram92]

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

[@AlonsoRules]

Running an airline is not easy

[@sax_cy]

great job explaining the route optimization models...just hope there was a customer friendly and really excellent airline that flew these routes....just not United which is a blemish on the US airline industry. No US airline (probably Jetblue to an extent) even comes close to it's asian counterparts

[@pydiboy]

Since when is SW low cost....

[@ab3040]

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

[@DarkLordDeimos]

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.

[@debbyfrederickesq9486]

👍🐝

[@neutralcommenter7800]

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

[@sportsMike87]

It was southwest ancient scheduling software

[@GcpMC]

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 😂

[@Noah.Fleshman]

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]

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

[@marym7104]

Within 7 hours!

[@hunterrodriguez6802]

Tell him to contact Ryan Serhant

[@Itsme-fn9mc]

I always assumed it was a computer that decides this

[@qbi4614]

United is a LCC by international standards, about the same customer service as South West.

[@johniii8147]

Not true at all.

[@qbi4614]

@@johniii8147 Yes John, I agree Delta and American are in the same boat. I have been traveling to the USA each year for about 12 years and had hi expectations as this is the birthplace of flight and the manufacturer of most aircraft. I have come to understand that air travel in the USA is a miserable experience that the USA public accept because the don't know any different.

[@johniii8147]

@@qbi4614 No that's called unrealistic expectations. You get what you pay for or don't pay for. You have plenty of options to upgrade your experience but you actually have to pay for it. US carriers actually make a profit so they know what they are doing.

[@qbi4614]

When you swim in a bucket of poo all your life, you don't know there is something different out there

[@johniii8147]

@@qbi4614 Well that's a whole nother issue.

[@DrivingAway1]

I sure do prefer direct flights

[@marym7104]

Within 22,000 views!

[@joeharris3878]

Why would anyone fly commercial?

[@futureqweenofmoderation6024]

I want his job

[@davidbonnichsen2901]

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.

[@iali00]

Better experience? Have you been to Europe, Middle East, or Asia? They all have far better legacy carriers.

[@andreydiaz937]

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

[@johniii8147]

Nah we are to spread out for that.

[@benmirault5933]

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.

[@andreydiaz937]

@@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]

@@andreydiaz937 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]

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