United Airlines is attempting to accelerate change at Aspen Pitkin County Airport (ASE) in Colorado using what I call “aircraft diplomacy” in hopes that a more premium aircraft will force long-stalled airport modernization.
United Airlines Uses E-175 As A Tool Of “Aircraft Diplomacy” In Aspen
It has now been widely reported that United Airlines has pulled its CRJ-700 and placed E-175 aircraft into its schedule to Aspen from many hubs:
- Denver (DEN) – from December 3, 2024
- Houston (IAH) – from December 3-18, 2024
- Los Angeles (LAX) – from December 19, 2024
- San Francisco (SFO) – from January 7, 2025
This comes as big news because it was widely thought that ASE could not support Embraer 175s or any plane larger than the Bombardier CRJ-700.
So what changed? As View From The Wing points out: nothing at all. But United is using its larger and more luxurious regional aircraft (you feel much more like you are on a mainline jet when flying an E-175 than on CRJ-700 thanks to wider seats and larger overhead bins) as a tool of “aircraft diplomacy” to try and force ASE to make runway upgrades that have long been resisted.
In fact, many in Aspen suffer from the “do as I say not as I do” NIMBY syndrome and do not want an aircraft at all, let alone larger planes flying into town.
But Enilria reports that United has admitted it actually does not have permission to operate the larger aircraft…yet. Instead, the larger aircraft are “subject to FAA approval” (which is not something you typically see for US domestic routes).
And that FAA approval centers on a long-standing battle between whether the airport must accept larger aircraft since it has already taken federal grants over the years (i.e. it would be too late to say, at this point, no more federal money). While the FAA has been “gentle” thus far, perhaps a push from United is what is needed to push Aspen into making what appear to be very minimal upgrades needed to accommodate the E-175.
CONCLUSION
United’s shrewd placement of the passenger-favorite E-175 on several Aspen routes starting in December is an act of “aircraft diplomacy.” With Aspen and the FAA currently stalled in upgrade negotiations, United hopes this move will push the needle toward progress.
Will United’s E-175 ploy work?
Do you think this could work in the long run?
UA ought to be booted out for being a party crasher .
LOL
@Matthew – United has just gutted premium cabin award redemptions again, with yet another massive devaluation to their program.
Go take a look at any award redemption, you’ll see.
I saw it and will address today.