Memphis and Aviation...You Know You Want it...

[northernbizzkit1]

Northwest has announced an order of up to 50 Boeing 787s. Over on the airliners.net community, it is buzzing with route possibilities for Northwest with this news. Assuming NWA remains in Memphis (should Southwest enter our market, it is going to be quite nasty due to NWA being EXTREMELY territorial), there is the possibility of:

MEM-Rio de Janeiro

MEM-Argentina

MEM-London Gatwick

MEM-Paris

MEM-Sydney (NWA apparently in talks to re-open routes to Autralia)

And, as many have stated:

MEM- Tokyo-Narita

The last one is what many say is the definite one, citing the fact that the 787 is an airliner that can make it from almost any two points in the world. After Narita, I feel that MEM-GTW (Gatwick) and MEM-Paris are the next two on the list to add to Memphis's international routes. Furthermore, many on the airliners.net threads and forums feel that Northwest will shift a few routes to Memphis upon the arrival of 787s. Should NWA not pull out of Memphis altogether when and if Southwest arrives, it is also the opinion that Memphis will be saturated with flights by Northwest to counteract Southwest's flights. This is great! The A330 is poised to start flying the MEM-AMS route later on in the year, and the 787 can only be a big benefit to Memphis.

[sleepy]

The advantage with a 787 is it can hold as few as 215 passengers and fly halfway around the world nonstop. As you say, that gives small hubs like Memphis an opportunity for more international service, as opposed to DC-10's and 747's which hold up to 400 passengers.

I know the daily DC-10 that NWA flies to Amsterdam is pretty solidly booked, but I think many of those passengers are transferring on to other European destinations. So maybe if they went to a smaller 787 instead, Memphis could pick up a route to two European cities instead of one.

Really, though, I think the most realistic route of those you referred to is the Tokyo-Memphis thing. At least that's one that's been talked about for years by the airport commission and by NWA, particularly with the Japanese auto presence in the South.

Plus, the Japanese love Elvis.

[northernbizzkit1]

The advantage with a 787 is it can hold as few as 215 passengers and fly halfway around the world nonstop.  As you say, that gives small hubs like Memphis an opportunity for more international service, as opposed to DC-10's and 747's which hold up to 400 passengers.

I know the daily DC-10 that NWA flies to Amsterdam is pretty solidly booked, but I think many of those passengers are transferring on to other European destinations.  So maybe if they went to a smaller 787 instead, Memphis could pick up a route to two European cities instead of one.

Really, though, I think the most realistic route of those you referred to is the Tokyo-Memphis thing.  At least that's one that's been talked about for years by the airport commission and by NWA, particularly with the Japanese auto presence in the South.

Plus, the Japanese love Elvis.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Quite true. At the same time, Northwest has had a large base in the Orient for years, so it is quite rational in that NWA wants to link the Tokyo and Memphis hub. As you stated, the 787 make this much more possible with the fact that it is a smaller plane (although the latest round of upgrades at MEM has made it where an A380 can fly in both for FedEx or a passenger airline...even though it would mean MANY connections for Memphis to have a NWA A380 flight). As I said before, the 787 is going to help Boeing and the international base at hubs like Memphis.