Originally Posted by
miguel0881
But that shouldn't affect DCA-RDU since DCA isn't an AA hub, right? I'm actually more concerned about DCA-BNA, which I use more frequently.
Here is the relevant contract provision:
Other Commuter Air Carriers shall carry passengers on behalf of the Company only into or out of the following airports: DFW, ORD, MIA, SJU, SFO, LAX, LGA, STL, JFK, and BOS.
It appears that non-owned commuter carriers (including Eagle once the spinoff is complete) are permitted to fly any routes so long as one end of the route (and only one end) is on the list above. Essentially, non-owned commuters are to feed one of the hubs/focus cities listed, and no others. By my reading, DCA-RDU and DCA-BNA could be problematic. I'm not certain that they are prohibited, but my quick glance at the contract leads me to suspect that they are.
Other provisions of the contract prohibit the non-owned commuters from flying between these cities (guaranteeing that all of these routes will be mainline if flown at all): DFW, ORD, MIA, JFK, SFO, LAX, LGA, STL, BOS, and SJU.
Of course, just like BOS-JFK can be solved by three mainline flights, so too could the DCA flights.