... and a paucity of available aircraft, with none scheduled in soon (I think they have some deferred 737-823s on the books, but that certainly doesn't do any longhaul destinations any good.
I see what you mean on the utilization. Thanks!
Originally Posted by WRCSolberg
To be honest, I don't think utilization is an issue. A hypothetical LAX-SYD-LAX route would depart LAX late night, 15 hours flight time, arrive early morning and then depart around noon. Relative to an -LHR flight for example, a T7 flying the OZ route would spend no more time idle on the ground than a T7 flying to LHR would. And, that's not taking into account a continuing service onwards to MEL or BNE(or from AKL) such as UA does. Now granted, it's a longer cycle time, but that comes with the territory.
I think AA's reasoning for not flying to OZ lies with their current relationship with QF, plus they have other routes on their plate right now(PEK).