Originally Posted by FWAAA

JFK is slot constrained all day long, and slots between about 3pm and 9pm are tight. Slots outside that busy window are available for the asking, as there are quite a few hours where there are fewer movements than permitted by the slot system.

That said, what many frequently overlook are the approximately two dozen AA domestic departures in that 3pm to 9pm timeframe to cities other than SEA, SFO, LAS, LAX and SAN - in other words, cities within the LGA perimeter. AA has been sitting on the slots it received in the slot swap with jetBlue, using them for flights to BWI and RDU. Why? The plan was to bring down costs and then begin new long-haul flights from JFK. Well, that time is now, as the AA bankruptcy is complete and AA is more efficient.

IMO, new AA needs to begin flights to China from JFK while there is still a surplus of available China frequencies. I was of the opinion that new AA needed to re-start the JFK-NRT flight but JAL announced the other day that it would begin double-daily service with a new 787-8. As you point out, most flights to Asia from JFK don't depart during the prime-time European departures bank of about 3pm to 9pm.

AA has a huge new terminal that is underutilized at JFK and has been squatting on quite a few prime-time slots. The expanded SFO/LAX frequencies will use three or four of them, last time I counted. NYC is home to most of the O&D to many of the second-tier European destinations flown by US from PHL and CLT. From JFK, you don't need hundreds of CRJs to fill a flight to VCE or LIS. You fill it mostly with local traffic in NYC and you fill the remaining seats with SEA, SFO, LAS, LAX and SAN connecting traffic (cities that already have AA JFK flights and always will as they're outside the LGA perimeter).