getoffthe grid

It appears that SFO-CUN (Saturday only) on VX gone from schedule March 3, with LAX-CUN off schedule before that. Are these flights seasonal? Will re-introduction of Cancun flights from California later in 2018 be part of the 30 new AS destinations in 2018?

Without these flights, back to connecting through SEA where current schedule would require overnights.

Eastbay1K

CUN tourism has dropped substantially ... I suppose even more from the US West Coast than from the East. I wouldn't be surprised if the flights are gone for a while, if not removed from the schedule altogether.

beckoa

And AS has dropped LAX-CUN before. They *may* have operated SFO-CUN as well, so they'd have access to more historical numbers as well (load and fare).

getoffthe grid

I don't disagree -- but UA somehow manages three N/S flights a day next Spring from SFO. At least maintaining the LAX-CUN flights (a straightforward connection from SFO) would preserve Cancun as a viable destination for supposedly coveted California travelers on the post-April 2018 AS system.

Eastbay1K

AS used to have SFO/CUN several years ago and canned it.

UAPremierExec

I wanted to chime in. A friend works at a large tour operator, and they've received notice that some hotels are going to be closing WINGS for "remodeling" over the next year.

This is 'normal' in the business when 1 or 2 hotels in a region do it, but apparently a LOT of hotels are going to be shuttering parts of their properties for "renovations". Same "renovations" in the DR or Bahamas that would take 3 months are told "about a year".

Yeah. Hotels are like lemmings. Once 1 comes up with an evil plan, they all latch on to it.

It also doesn't help the lady who got raped and posted it on Trip Advisor is making the news again. People are second guessing visiting the Yucatan.

jacobguo

Wait what happened to Cancún? Irma?

jsguyrus

I think "Mexico" happened to Cancun. Crime and the ongoing alcohol issues.

UAPremierExec

jsguyrus got it.

things that would be on CNN & MSNBC headlines for days occurs regularly there. Shootings, robbings, etc. And rapes.

the hotels only WISH a hurricane would come and damage their properties. At least they they can file a claim and get some money.

QXflyer

This is slightly off topic, but important to note:

The whole "crime happened in Mexico" is a little bit of conjecture, projection, and incited fear.

From the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Miami Herald: "Cancún’s murder rate is 20 people per 100,000 inhabitants and Los Cabos’ is 14 people per 100,000 inhabitants, the equivalent rates for some big U.S. cities is significantly higher: 52 people per 100,000 inhabitants in Baltimore, 50 in Detroit and 20 in Washington, D.C." Violence that did occur in Mexican resort cities was often the result of gang territory disputes, something that tourists would very rarely [read: never] be involved in.

Though the CUN/SJD murder rate has risen in recent years, it is still significantly lower than that of major U.S. cities, and we don't see travel advisors warning us against WAS or DTW. It is had for me to comprehend how even after the LAS and MCO shootings, people still view Mexican tourist destinations as "dangerous."

jsguyrus

US State Department Travel Advisory: Quintana Roo (includes Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, and Tulum): U.S. citizens should be aware that according to Government of Mexico statistics, the state of Quintana Roo experienced an increase in homicide rates compared to 2016. While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Shooting incidents, in which innocent bystanders have been injured or killed, have occurred.
https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...l-warning.html
I think you need to be aware that crime reporting in Mexico is significantly less rigorous and prone to being less than accurate.

Eastbay1K

The point is that no matter how much one may compare and contrast, and have an intelligent discussion on the subject, the simple fact is that tourism is way down, and there is likely a glut of aircraft and hotel capacity.

QXflyer

Agreed. There is definitely a perception that Mexican resort destinations are dangerous, which is affecting travel.

QXflyer

Even if only a third of homicides are reported, SJD and CUN are still only just as dangerous as many major American cities. Even further, tourist deaths (something that would certainly highly publicized) have been practically nonexistent as the violence is almost wholly contained within or between gangs. By comparison, there were more than 500 tourist casualties from gun violence in October in Las Vegas alone.

I think you need to be aware that the propagation of misinformation is one of the reasons AS has pulled out of CUN. In many cases, Mexican resort destinations are no more dangerous for tourists than those in the U.S.

getoffthe grid

Various perceptions of crime and dangerous conditions aside, United is still running three non-stops a day from SFO. AS/VX doesn't even maintain a weekly flight year round, even from SEA. The reality is that the soon to be combined AS/VX operation is simply not competing from SFO -- purportedly one of its new California "hubs" -- to an international leisure destination served by AA, UA, DL, WN, B6, NK and F9 from their hubs and focus cities. Southwest and Frontier are even adding non-stops from multiple destinations this winter and next spring, contrary to perceptions of reduced demand.