Originally Posted by kebosabi

Logistic wise, this would require lots of headaches since majority of the US airports are big hubs for the major airlines, and said majors hold big stakes at the terminals they serve.

In the case of AA @ JFK for example, all AA flights domestic or international arrive and depart from Terminal 8. However, AA's fellow oneworld partners such as BA is located at Terminal 7, while JL is located at Terminal 1.

In the case of a person flying LHR-JFK on BA and connecting to JFK-YUL on AA, in order for int'l-to-int'l secured area to work, either BA has to move to Terminal 8, or AA's international flights have to move to Terminal 7.

Likewise, a person flying NRT-JFK on JL and connecting onwards to JFK-EZE on AA, in order for int'l-to-int'l secured area to work, either JL has to move to Terminal 8, or AA's international flights have to move to Terminal 1.

With AA having invested so much at JFK T8, it is doubtful that AA will move their international flights to accomodate transit passengers from BA or JL. Their main priority is for domestic pax connection to int'l flights at JFK. And with so many domestic flights that uses up the gates at T8 by AA, I doubt there's any room for BA and JL would be able to co-locate their flights over to T8 either, at least not at this present moment.

In order for int'l-to-int'l transit to be made, there has to be a lot of changes done like these which from the airlines POV, is not worth the extra cost.


This is even more apparent when comparing the airport configuration structure between the US and the rest of the world. Most airports in the world, segregate terminals with "international flights" and "domestic flights." By segregating them, it allows for int'l-to-int'l connections and a more controlled airport environment.

In the case of say, YVR; all international flights depart out of the international terminal while all domestic flights depart from the domestic terminal. At YVR, Air Canada's international flights to NRT, ICN, LAX, etc. all depart from the international terminal along with other foreign carriers. Air Canada's domestic Canada flights are flown out of the domestic terminal.

The US however, does not; they are more configured to jumble up "all United flights at LAX depart at Terminal 7 domestic or international, all Delta flights at JFK depart at Terminals 2, 3 or 4 domestic or international" and this has to do with the airlines holding big stakes at the terminals that they use at every US airport. So in a place like LAX, all AA flights, whether it's a domestic flight to DFW or an international flight to NRT, they all depart from T4. They don't segregate AA's NRT flights to depart from a dedicated single international terminal as with other foreign carriers.


Trying to convince all the US airlines that from this day forward, that their own international flights will also have to depart from one single dedicated international terminal as with other international carriers, will be a futile attempt, let alone considering how many major airports there are in the US that serve both domestic and international flights.