Originally Posted by
Xero
DL still does not consider LAX a hub even if it has more flights than SEA (a hub). In my point, I am going by what what I feel is defined as a hub (not AA's marketing department considers hubs).
I think that we accept that DL's definition of hub does not mean that city pairs always include a hub as DL does interesting flights from LAX to other non hub cities and has significant premium operations there.
AA is a bit more strict. There is something special happening at LGA, but that seems about it. I assume AA dropped BOS capacity and its JetBlue relationship for legitimate profit reasons, but it becomes self-fulfilling. The less important certain cities become like BOS, the less demand that appears to happen with its remaining routes. For example, I am not even finding the regular frequency of PHX-BOS as we get into December. Maybe it is seasonal, but I am not sure.
Qatar is getting nervous that without robust connections in BOS, it will not fill the plane. JetBlue certainly offered more than AA in terms of feeder options.
I don't know why things get troubling when non hub cities have significant AA volume, but either too much happens and causes a meltdown or competition gets very stiff and causes a different type of meltdown. I don't expect the hub term to get added to new locations anymore as it is not needed and the flight commitments are really weak. There is also little patience given to build an audience or customer base so I think we will see flight routes come and go with much more frequency.
Rasheed