Well, with regards to not competing on 'competitive' routes -- I would say that is on the bottom of things that I would care about. If it's well served, then enjoy the options and the low fares that usually come with that. Personally, I think AA's domestic schedule and route network is a real strength. For flyers such as myself (who do, sometimes need to go from a tiny airport in the middle of the country to a city like El Paso), nothing really beats what AA provides. I only have one regular route that is a bit of an annoyance on AA, but half the time AA is notably superior in its network and schedule, and most of the other half its at least on par with a competitor. Serving cities like El Paso well is an easy punchline to brag about it, but materially this is a real strength for some of us and that schedule has commanded some high pricing from me (I think my last trip to El Paso was $900 round trip, but it was such an easy, perfectly timed schedule with several backup options if I needed them).

The uneven soft product is definitely the thing to tackle. Most journeys are relatively good through and through, but the bad ones were real bad. AA needs to get a handle of the nasty divas in their ranks somehow.