Disney Airline?

Hopman said:
I think Disney has a reason: To become verticaly intergrated on the guest service front. They already have their own shuttle service from the airport to get you to their hotels.

I fully agree, but again, at what cost? I can see them chartering some flights out of Chicago, DC, and NYC to Orlando, but I don't expect them to fly Dayton to Atlanta rounds anytime soon. I don't see it as practical at all for them to build an airline as much as it is to buy the planes, front end the customer service, and then have Southwest or someone fly, maintain, and deal with all the other bull****.

It wouldn't be Southwest. They already have that deal with SeaWorld.

Jeff said:
If I was a significant Disney shareholder, I'd wonder why they'd want to enter such a horrible industry.

I agree with that. From a company standpoint, it doesn't make much sense. Heck, I work in the aviation field, and we're starting to see the trickle down from the lack of orders to the big guys.

From a Disney fan perspective though, I'd be interested to see how it plays out. I would definitely be interested in it if it provided savings to me on flying to and from Orlando.

^ Me too. I'd probably go more than once or twice a year, then. ;-D

I'm surprised even a company with deep pockets like Disney would want to get into the airline business. The whole industry is reeling from fuel-related losses. If costs go much higher, it's going to be a slaughter.

Actually, if they raised prices in one sector of their business, they could afford to lease, say, twenty to thirty planes, and operate that part of the business at a loss.

For example, it is no secret that Disney makes a lot of profit off it's beverage sales. Soda costs almost nothing to make. Raise the price on it fifty cents across the board. While you're at it, raise the water prices too so soda drinkers don't suddenly become water drinkers. Take that extra profit and throw it against the losses incurred by the airline.

Then, offer lower fares to Disney World and Disneyland as long as you are staying at a Disney Resort Hotel. Anyone NOT staying at a resort hotel pays the normal airline fares and is still welcome to fly. This would get more people into the park, further offsetting any operating losses on the airline, and bringing more profit to Disney as a whole.

It also plays to the whole "Disney Experience". The whole goal of Disney has been to keep visitors on THEIR property for their entire stay. Want to see a movie? Yeah, we have a theater for you. You want to see animals like at a zoo? Yeah, we have a whole park full of them. You're hungry? Oh, we have tons of restaurants for you. You want us to take your luggage right to your hotel room? Sure, why not?

So, many visitors as of late have been taking advantage of the whole Magical Express deal, where they ferry your luggage for you and cart you to your resort via bus from the airport. You are in Disney hands the moment you step off the plane. Why not have the visitors in Disney hands when they step ON the airplane, in their own home airport? Want a cocktail on that flight? Pay Disney instead of Southwest airlines. Want a blanket or a pillow? Pay Disney instead of Northwest. Want to check in bags that we are going to cart to the hotel for you? Yeah, pay us so we can offset the cost of transporting your heavy ass luggage to the hotel.

^ That is EXACLY the point I was going for. Plus, they can use the SW model of flying into smaller airports when possible (example: Manchester, NH instead of Logan in Boston. Manchester is about 45 minutes from Boston.)

Smaller airports do not always mean cheaper flights. I have a friend who worked for Midwest Airlines and he said that flying into John Wayne near L.A. cost too much in all the hassles and red tape they had to go through to fly into there. Now, if they were smart, they would use the Southwest model of buying fuel, especially now that oil is creeping back below 100 again. Southwest saved a boatload of cash by buying fuel options at ridiculously low prices, prices they are paying now for fuel, vs the real cost for aviation fuel right now.

SWA was basically exempted from the fuel hikes from about '04-'06 (more or less) due to their: 1) incredible luck, or 2) incredible foresight. Everybody in the airline biz now is paying pretty much the same high prices for fuel. For awhile, I was paying "CCI pricing" for flights... ;) Smaller airports generally mean higher prices for flights....the overhead has to be spread among fewer customers...

I agree with Hopman, the whole reason(if it even really exists) for Disney to enter the airline industry is to have complete control over the Disney vacation, starting with as soon as you get to the airport. Think about it, with a Disney airline, and shuttles directly to WDW, you would never be interacting with anyone who is not a Disney employee(excluding TSA of course). With this, you are in Disney's hands for your entire vacation, a perfect way to keep you from going to anywhere other than the Disney property. No in flight magazines promoting other Orlando destinations, etc. If this is actually true, I could definitely see this working for Disney.

^ Now if they could only find a way to hide the non-Disney billboards on the bus ride over from Orlando International. I took the turnpike on the way back from Kennedy Space Center last weekend, which is the same road that the buses use to get from the airport to Disney and every single billboard was for Universal Studios and one of it's attractions.