Originally Posted by
whlinder
UA runs from competition. AA has hubs at both ends (DCA & MIA), WN has major ops at both ends (BWI & FLL), and the other carriers have significantly lower costs. Global traffic in/out of South Florida can flow through EWR, ORD and IAH. UA won't fight hard for the local DC market.
The niche United could have hoped to plausibly serve -- intl traffic coming from Europe/Mideast heading to FL -- increasingly heads straight to Florida from abroad.
Look at the proliferation of longhaul flights to Miami (and FLL, in the leisure market) in recent years. That international growth, as much as anything occurring with domestic carriers, kills off marginal routes like IAD-MIA/FLL.