First scheduled pax 747 service to AUS right? Historic.

Can someone get a picture of it?

Saw it on final approach (I’m about 3 miles north of the threshold). It’s one of the oneworld liveried aircraft (G-CIVI).

It came in on 17R (the spotting area is adjacent to 17L), so there might be some disappointed spotters. The airport will probably post photo/video on Facebook.

I tried listening on LiveATC but when I tuned into the AUS tower frequency I never heard him. Captain Scott Bateman flew today’s flight. He’s very prolific on Twitter under the handle @Jumbo747Pilot. I’m sure he’ll have something to show or say.

Sorry they aren't the best pictures but it really shows the size of it compared to the 737 in the foreground.

skyspa wrote:

Sorry they aren't the best pictures but it really shows the size of it compared to the 737 in the foreground.

Love it. That one of the 744 at the gate is awesome.

I know it’s just a seasonal thing and probably won’t happen again, but it’s cool. I’m working on my dissertation and I can see the planes landing on 17R outside my window. The BA flight landing is always a neat benchmark for my afternoon writing progress—and if today’s was any indication, the 744 landing is a lot harder to miss than the 789!

khowaga wrote:

It’s not a competition. This isn’t a zero sum game. AUS can grow, and DEN can grow. These things can both happen and have pretty much no impact on the other.

Thanks for stating the obvious, but I never asserted otherwise.

skyspa wrote:

Sorry they aren't the best pictures but it really shows the size of it compared to the 737 in the foreground.

Nice. Hope I get to a see it up close when I am at AUS in May.

N626AA wrote:

First scheduled pax 747 service to AUS right? Historic.

Yes.

What is the best area to see landings at the big runway?

colindm wrote:

What is the best area to see landings at the big runway?

The greenwood cemetery is about as close as you will get to anything. Approach path of 17R. You could go to the other end at Richard Moya park for 35L landings but it isn't as good of a view.
You could try to goto the south terminal area to spot landings but there is a lot of buildings that obstruct your view.

skyspa wrote:

colindm wrote:

What is the best area to see landings at the big runway?

The greenwood cemetery is about as close as you will get to anything. Approach path of 17R. You could go to the other end at Richard Moya park for 35L landings but it isn't as good of a view.
You could try to goto the south terminal area to spot landings but there is a lot of buildings that obstruct your view.

Yea Greenwood Cemetery is definitely the best for watching planes land on the big runway. Its pretty cool in that your right under the flight path.

I love that cemetery for spotting. It can be a little boring between flights so keep track of flightaware or fr24 to know when the next inbounds are. I've had airport police drive up to the fence a few times and ask what I'm up to but other than that, very quiet and enjoyable.

Can someone please give an update on the AUS push for a TPAC flight? What exactly are they doing to make that happen (I can't seem to find anything about a specific push), have they talked to any carriers, what city are they pushing for (Tokyo, Seoul, etc)?

ADrum23 wrote:

Can someone please give an update on the AUS push for a TPAC flight? What exactly are they doing to make that happen (I can't seem to find anything about a specific push), have they talked to any carriers, what city are they pushing for (Tokyo, Seoul, etc)?

I second this notion

tkoenig95 wrote:

ADrum23 wrote:

Can someone please give an update on the AUS push for a TPAC flight? What exactly are they doing to make that happen (I can't seem to find anything about a specific push), have they talked to any carriers, what city are they pushing for (Tokyo, Seoul, etc)?

I second this notion

AUS was at Routes Asia(a route development forum aimed at Asian service) this year, the only other US airports there were DEN, DTW, LAS, LAX, IAD, BNA, MCO, ONT, and SEA

https://www.routesonline.com/events/191 ... tendeeList

Yeah, if Ontario (ONT) can get service to Taipei (TPE), I think AUS should have service to NRT and ICN.

With that being said, KE recently ended ICN-IAH, so the likelihood of a ICN route from AUS is lower to that degree...

FA9295 wrote:

Yeah, if Ontario (ONT) can get service to Taipei (TPE), I think AUS should have service to NRT and ICN.

With that being said, KE recently ended ICN-IAH, so the likelihood of a ICN route from AUS is lower to that degree...

Is there a large Asian population in the Austin area to justify the Asian service? Just curious never been to Austin. Now regarding ONT there is a very large Asian population within 15 to 45 minutes from ONT so it's not just out of nowhere that we have the CAL service.

FX1816 wrote:

FA9295 wrote:

Yeah, if Ontario (ONT) can get service to Taipei (TPE), I think AUS should have service to NRT and ICN.

With that being said, KE recently ended ICN-IAH, so the likelihood of a ICN route from AUS is lower to that degree...

Is there a large Asian population in the Austin area to justify the Asian service? Just curious never been to Austin. Now regarding ONT there is a very large Asian population within 15 to 45 minutes from ONT so it's not just out of nowhere that we have the CAL service.

I'd like to figure out the "PDEWs" from Austin to several Asian cities. Apparently all that data is all available in the DOT/FAA website, but I have no idea how to use it or how to get there. This could give us a rough idea on how much traffic actually exists present year or last year. Whether or not it'd be "high-yielding" traffic.... well that's an area I'm not so familiar with. There's Samsung, but I'm not sure how much of an influence it has on traffic, or yields. Availability on connections at ICN would certainly boost the numbers a bit, but not everyone going to Asia would necessarily fly the one transpac route to make the trip a "one-stop" trip.

CarlosSi wrote:

FX1816 wrote:

FA9295 wrote:

Yeah, if Ontario (ONT) can get service to Taipei (TPE), I think AUS should have service to NRT and ICN.

With that being said, KE recently ended ICN-IAH, so the likelihood of a ICN route from AUS is lower to that degree...

Is there a large Asian population in the Austin area to justify the Asian service? Just curious never been to Austin. Now regarding ONT there is a very large Asian population within 15 to 45 minutes from ONT so it's not just out of nowhere that we have the CAL service.

I'd like to figure out the "PDEWs" from Austin to several Asian cities. Apparently all that data is all available in the DOT/FAA website, but I have no idea how to use it or how to get there. This could give us a rough idea on how much traffic actually exists present year or last year. Whether or not it'd be "high-yielding" traffic.... well that's an area I'm not so familiar with. There's Samsung, but I'm not sure how much of an influence it has on traffic, or yields. Availability on connections at ICN would certainly boost the numbers a bit, but not everyone going to Asia would necessarily fly the one transpac route to make the trip a "one-stop" trip.

^this.

The city had out a thing (it was posted here IIRC) about international service incentives; Tokyo and Seoul were the two Asian destinations that they were pushing for.

That said, IIRC when BA announced LHR — this was in early fall 2013 (they announced the route about 8 months before it started) the PDEW between AUS-LON was in the 60s. There were comparisons to Asian destinations and I want to say that the highest Asian destination was in the 20s, maybe low 30s.

As others have said, Asia isn’t Europe. The PDEW from AUS to destinations in Asia other than NRT and ICN are very very low (single digits), whereas that is not the case with Europe and destinations easily connected to via Europe (India in particular).

Granted, the AUS market is rapidly growing and the stats may well have changed since BA’s service was announced in the fall of 2013 (there were many months of lead time), but I haven’t seen statistics recently on Asian traffic out of AUS.

But, yes, I like @CarlosSi’s idea of using data to inform discussion instead of the usual a.net tendency to speculate that “there are 12 Vietnamese restaurants in a row on Research Blvd, so we can obviously support service to SGN.”

dfwneedsqf wrote:

khowaga wrote:

But, yes, I like @CarlosSi’s idea of using data to inform discussion instead of the usual a.net tendency to speculate that “there are 12 Vietnamese restaurants in a row on Research Blvd, so we can obviously support service to SGN.”

I mean we just got an H Mart so time for a flight to Korea

Who needs to go to Korea? We have H Mart!!

khowaga wrote:

But, yes, I like @CarlosSi’s idea of using data to inform discussion instead of the usual a.net tendency to speculate that “there are 12 Vietnamese restaurants in a row on Research Blvd, so we can obviously support service to SGN.”

I mean we just got an H Mart so time for a flight to Korea

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

southwest1675 wrote:

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

At least in my opinion, AUS or RDU would get transatlantic service before BNA does. AUS and RDU both have economic ties to East Asian countries with both AUS and RDU being located in hi-tech corridors. DL also already has a focus city at RDU along with nonstop service from RDU to East Coast destinations other than its hubs or focus cities. DL also already has codeshare agreements with several East Asian carriers in the SkyTeam alliance, including CI, MU, CZ, and KE. I think that RDU would likely get TPAC service before AUS does with DL already having a focus city at RDU and with DL having codeshare agreements with SkyTeam alliance partner airlines in China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

We have an H Mart?

khowaga wrote:

CarlosSi wrote:

FX1816 wrote:

Is there a large Asian population in the Austin area to justify the Asian service? Just curious never been to Austin. Now regarding ONT there is a very large Asian population within 15 to 45 minutes from ONT so it's not just out of nowhere that we have the CAL service.

I'd like to figure out the "PDEWs" from Austin to several Asian cities. Apparently all that data is all available in the DOT/FAA website, but I have no idea how to use it or how to get there. This could give us a rough idea on how much traffic actually exists present year or last year. Whether or not it'd be "high-yielding" traffic.... well that's an area I'm not so familiar with. There's Samsung, but I'm not sure how much of an influence it has on traffic, or yields. Availability on connections at ICN would certainly boost the numbers a bit, but not everyone going to Asia would necessarily fly the one transpac route to make the trip a "one-stop" trip.

^this.

The city had out a thing (it was posted here IIRC) about international service incentives; Tokyo and Seoul were the two Asian destinations that they were pushing for.

That said, IIRC when BA announced LHR — this was in early fall 2013 (they announced the route about 8 months before it started) the PDEW between AUS-LON was in the 60s. There were comparisons to Asian destinations and I want to say that the highest Asian destination was in the 20s, maybe low 30s.

As others have said, Asia isn’t Europe. The PDEW from AUS to destinations in Asia other than NRT and ICN are very very low (single digits), whereas that is not the case with Europe and destinations easily connected to via Europe (India in particular).

Granted, the AUS market is rapidly growing and the stats may well have changed since BA’s service was announced in the fall of 2013 (there were many months of lead time), but I haven’t seen statistics recently on Asian traffic out of AUS.

But, yes, I like @CarlosSi’s idea of using data to inform discussion instead of the usual a.net tendency to speculate that “there are 12 Vietnamese restaurants in a row on Research Blvd, so we can obviously support service to SGN.”

Bwahaha yup. Frankly I’m surprised it was only 60 PDEW (that’s new to me) yet the plane since the route started always had decent load factors.... although I should recall this is a yearly average and some months are pretty calm for all airlines (February) and busier during others.

Perhaps 3x weekly on the most days traveled /may/ not be a bad idea in the future, for starters, but I wonder if airlines (not including leisure/LCCs) like to start such routes on low frequencies. Last I checked, Seoul had about twice as many PDEWs compared to Tokyo (This was 2011 statistics....).

CarlosSi wrote:

We have an H Mart?

We do! It just opened.

CarlosSi wrote:

khowaga wrote:

As others have said, Asia isn’t Europe. The PDEW from AUS to destinations in Asia other than NRT and ICN are very very low (single digits), whereas that is not the case with Europe and destinations easily connected to via Europe (India in particular).

Granted, the AUS market is rapidly growing and the stats may well have changed since BA’s service was announced in the fall of 2013 (there were many months of lead time), but I haven’t seen statistics recently on Asian traffic out of AUS.

But, yes, I like @CarlosSi’s idea of using data to inform discussion instead of the usual a.net tendency to speculate that “there are 12 Vietnamese restaurants in a row on Research Blvd, so we can obviously support service to SGN.”

Bwahaha yup. Frankly I’m surprised it was only 60 PDEW (that’s new to me) yet the plane since the route started always had decent load factors.... although I should recall this is a yearly average and some months are pretty calm for all airlines (February) and busier during others.

Perhaps 3x weekly on the most days traveled /may/ not be a bad idea in the future, for starters, but I wonder if airlines (not including leisure/LCCs) like to start such routes on low frequencies. Last I checked, Seoul had about twice as many PDEWs compared to Tokyo (This was 2011 statistics....).

Yeah, it was connecting traffic to other destinations that boosted BA's service (also cargo) - still is. That's why I kind of worry that the long-rumored AMS route could have a negative effect on the BA service. There was someone who insinuated they had O&D stats on the route but never actually produced them - but it seems like a high percentage of passengers are connecting through LHR; I just don't know if there's enough O&D to both AMS and LON for all the connecting traffic to be successfully divided between them and still have both routes be viable.

I think the low PDEW outside of Korea and Japan is one of the reasons why TPAC is taking longer to materialize. Although there was a user a while back who insisted KE should drop DFW (daily) and start AUS 3x week instead

jplatts wrote:

southwest1675 wrote:

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

At least in my opinion, AUS or RDU would get transatlantic service before BNA does.

Did you mean transpacific? AUS, RDU, and BNA all have TATL service.

khowaga wrote:

jplatts wrote:

southwest1675 wrote:

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

At least in my opinion, AUS or RDU would get transatlantic service before BNA does.

Did you mean transpacific? AUS, RDU, and BNA all have TATL service.

I did mean transpacific, and I think that RDU would get transpacific service before AUS or BNA do since DL already has a focus city at RDU, since DL already has codeshare partners in East Asia, and since DL already has nonstop service to East Coast destinations other than ATL, BOS, LGA, or JFK from RDU.

southwest1675 wrote:

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

I would guess BNA out of those three. But I doubt any of them will see TPAC service anytime soon. Hubs like PHL, CLT & MIA don't even have TPAC service.

IndyHoosier wrote:

southwest1675 wrote:

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

I would guess BNA out of those three. But I doubt any of them will see TPAC service anytime soon. Hubs like PHL, CLT & MIA don't even have TPAC service.

BNA will not get TPAC service before AUS.

I hate to say it but I think that TPAC service is unlikely in the near future unless something big happens (eg. Amazon HQ2 in Austin or a Delta focus city/hub).

But I think that Austin does have an advantage over RDU and BNA as Austin is a fast growing city with a growing finance and technology industry. And SXSW/F1 provide airlines to dip their toes in the water and test the water.

Although maybe that's just me being overly-optomistic.

FA9295 wrote:

Yeah, if Ontario (ONT) can get service to Taipei (TPE), I think AUS should have service to NRT and ICN.

....?????

Do you have **ANY IDEA** of the scope and economic influence of the Asian (particularly Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino, and Vietnamese) community within the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding areas?

Austin isn't even a speck by comparison.

3rdRockTrekker wrote:

IndyHoosier wrote:

southwest1675 wrote:

I wonder out of AUS, RDU, and BNA, who would get TPAC service first?

I would guess BNA out of those three. But I doubt any of them will see TPAC service anytime soon. Hubs like PHL, CLT & MIA don't even have TPAC service.

BNA will not get TPAC service before AUS.

And as a Nashville resident, I agree 100,000%.

By the way, how would a potential AUS-ICN flight on Korean Air affect the flight out of DFW?

I recently spoke with someone who is "in the know" with what's going on behind the scenes at ABIA. I honestly can't say much as I promised that I wouldn't divulge information. All I will say is there is an airline that may begin trans Pacific non stop service to Austin but it will be in a couple of years.

JDawgboy512 wrote:

I recently spoke with someone who is "in the know" with what's going on behind the scenes at ABIA. I honestly can't say much as I promised that I wouldn't divulge information. All I will say is there is an airline that may begin trans Pacific non stop service to Austin but it will be in a couple of years.

How many years? And did he/she say anything about the rumored DL buildup?

ADrum23 wrote:

JDawgboy512 wrote:

I recently spoke with someone who is "in the know" with what's going on behind the scenes at ABIA. I honestly can't say much as I promised that I wouldn't divulge information. All I will say is there is an airline that may begin trans Pacific non stop service to Austin but it will be in a couple of years.

How many years? And did he/she say anything about the rumored DL buildup?

ABIA have been courting KE for ever. But, yeah, I think it will be a while, especially since they pulled out of IAH.

But, yeah, where’s all the DL announcements? SPILL IT!

Wouldn't one be more interested in the LATAM services that could take place to AUS? With geography and economics in mind, AUS would serve as a great thrice weekly from the legacy LATAM airlines, specifically with the city's car racing repertoire.

tkoenig95 wrote:

Wouldn't one be more interested in the LATAM services that could take place to AUS? With geography and economics in mind, AUS would serve as a great thrice weekly from the legacy LATAM airlines, specifically with the city's car racing repertoire.

There’s not a lot of business or VFR traffic between AUS and Latin America. Look how long it’s taken to get a flight to MEX that looks like it might stick around—this is, by my count, the fourth attempt in two decades. I don’t actually know why Volaris is still around, given that the subsidies ran out after 12 months and the load factors on their 2x week flight to GDL are atrocious.

Maybe if someone can produce the PDEW we can have a realistic conversation, but I just don’t see it, tbh.

Does anyone expect the 60 minutes piece to significantly affect Allegiant's AUS service?

colindm wrote:

Does anyone expect the 60 minutes piece to significantly affect Allegiant's AUS service?

Hahaha.......no

I did ask about DL but unfortunately he refused to talk about it. He really didn't want to spill any specific details regarding Delta. Make of that what you will.

What is clear is the port is playing catch up. This 9 gate expansion can't come soon enough. He indicated demand for gates is outpacing supply but that much is quite obvious to all of us. It is highly likely that we will see terminal construction for several more years, so the rumors about the next expansion beginning once the 9 gate addition is complete looks valid. If I get a chance to chat with him in the future I'll try to dig for more information.

JDawgboy512 wrote:

I did ask about DL but unfortunately he refused to talk about it. He really didn't want to spill any specific details regarding Delta. Make of that what you will.

What is clear is the port is playing catch up. This 9 gate expansion can't come soon enough. He indicated demand for gates is outpacing supply but that much is quite obvious to all of us. It is highly likely that we will see terminal construction for several more years, so the rumors about the next expansion beginning once the 9 gate addition is complete looks valid. If I get a chance to chat with him in the future I'll try to dig for more information.

“The ink isn’t dry yet.”

Yeah, the terminal is packed. Expansion now!!

JDawgboy512 wrote:

I did ask about DL but unfortunately he refused to talk about it. He really didn't want to spill any specific details regarding Delta. Make of that what you will.

What is clear is the port is playing catch up. This 9 gate expansion can't come soon enough. He indicated demand for gates is outpacing supply but that much is quite obvious to all of us. It is highly likely that we will see terminal construction for several more years, so the rumors about the next expansion beginning once the 9 gate addition is complete looks valid. If I get a chance to chat with him in the future I'll try to dig for more information.

1. Is the person you're supposedly talking to an ABIA employee?

2. Why would an airline be in talks about a new route with an airport in private? Even if it hasn't been finalized going public isn't going to hurt anyone?

http://www.internationalmeetingsreview. ... ure-104357

Delta and Korean Air are making a TPAC joint venture.

Austin International routes (Red is year-round, orange is seasonal):
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=aus-lhr/lg ... 2212&DU=mi

Did I miss anything?

Does anyone have any good aerial photos of AUS?

colindm wrote:

JDawgboy512 wrote:

I did ask about DL but unfortunately he refused to talk about it. He really didn't want to spill any specific details regarding Delta. Make of that what you will.

What is clear is the port is playing catch up. This 9 gate expansion can't come soon enough. He indicated demand for gates is outpacing supply but that much is quite obvious to all of us. It is highly likely that we will see terminal construction for several more years, so the rumors about the next expansion beginning once the 9 gate addition is complete looks valid. If I get a chance to chat with him in the future I'll try to dig for more information.

1. Is the person you're supposedly talking to an ABIA employee?

2. Why would an airline be in talks about a new route with an airport in private? Even if it hasn't been finalized going public isn't going to hurt anyone?

There have been long rumors about a mechanic facility at AUS, and/or a focus city. Those would be more likely to be need negotiation and secrecy.

I don't have any inside info, but I think Delta is very interested in expanding in AUS.
It does not have to be all at once.I think they will get as many gates as they can for now.
See how that goes, and maybe somewhere down the road, if AUS meets their expectations, they may be thinking HUB. Which could possibly lead to much more of a footprint there

colindm wrote:

Austin International routes (Red is year-round, orange is seasonal):
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=aus-lhr/lg ... 2212&DU=mi

Did I miss anything?

That's cool, thanks for sharing! Looks like you missed SJD (San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico).