There is nothing inherently wrong with running tight banks. The underlying premise for doing so was sound, and AA has been scheduled that way before. Unfortunately, AA isn't yet running like a well-oiled machine post merger, and it was an idea that was ahead of its time. US, for its various faults, ran a pretty tight little operation over its last few years. Frankly, they were more dependable than I ever remember AA being...at least since the "on time machine" days.

Throw in some merger drama, not everyone singing from the same sheet of music, and a schedule that was probably aggressive for any airline, much less one still working its way through a merger and we got what we got. I've got some faith that they'll clean things up, and a little piece of me can't help but wonder if that "interim wage hike" while IAM-TWU gets to a contract might help too.