As I read this thread I started to have a sense of "doom", like the slow drip of the whole AA system (and perhaps much of the entire flying world as well) becoming something completely unfamiliar as payments for luggage, food, seat asignments, etc. are added, and destinations are now being slowly removed from the map. Fortunately, I'm nearing the end of my heavy travel days, but things are becoming much more depressing with each passing day. As each city is removed from the schedule more pressure is placed on the substitutes, resulting in more crowding and inconvenience, and of course reduction in upgrade potential.
