It was JFK-ZRH-JFK; I left AA when they discontinued their n/s service (forcing a connection in LHR or PHL) . I was originally booked in bc on 12/29. International connections are a "big deal" for me.
I can't speak to why international connections are a big deal for you, but if the flight got cancelled on the day you wanted to fly and it's a sufficiently big deal for you to avoid an international connection, it seems like you probably should have cancelled the vacation altogether.