Originally Posted by
FlyMeToTheLooneyBin
UA has many routes out of ACV, to Crescent City, Redding, Sacramento, SFO. From those cities, it goes to other places, like Texas and beyond.
With AA's only route to LAX, it's going to be a tough sell to the residents to make that leg far south unless AA makes the flights fairly frequent.
A big problem with ACV is the many delayed or canceled flights due to the weather conditions: fog.
Let me identify an elephant that is in the room: Frequent flyer loyalists in the Eureka/Arcata area. There is little doubt that the reservoir of mileage plus loyal-flying folks there far exceeds those of the AAdvantage program. One could debate me, but I still truly believe that, after seeing UA haul most of the flying in and out of there for decades.
So, IMHO, that will have a significant effect on flying decisions of the locals. Unless AA comes in at realistic prices (not unthinkable given how UA has enjoyed high prices here) UA will not suffer ill effects and will have an advantage that the nearest major connection hub (SFO) is dominated by UA, as it has for decades.
Sum up: Hope AA has run the numbers and looked at all the factors and assumptions. They could well be swimming upstream here. Look for UA to lower its prices to compete as needed. Nice for pax, yes. If that's the case, what will trump for the deciding pax? Undoubtedly the pax's long-standing FF program.