brp

I was just in touch with the SJC AC. This is true, and 9/17 is the last day, as reported. They did have a 5-year agreement, but it was not at a fixed rate. It seems that the real culprit here is, as noted above, the city on San Jose for their rates. Probably not as much fault to AA here as they seem to have been pushed into a corner on the rent.

I did ask if there was anything we could do but, as I expected, it's a done deal. I'm still going to write to the city of San Jose, and AA,as there's always a chance (albeit slim) that it could come back.

It also seems that some airlines actually receive profits from concessions while others just pay rent. Negotiation policies/skills/desires undoubtedly play a role in this.

Sad, indeed. For us,and even moreso for the fabulous staff there.

Cheers.

Majuki

Let the record state that mentioned this on two other threads - view exhibit A and exhibit B, and perhaps I jinxed it by saying so. At the beginning of the year, I actually purchased a membership, rather than continuing to enter on my AmEx, because I thought it would help the case. I guess I was mistaken. If AA questions why I'm not going to be renewing my AC membership, this will be the reason. I can still get in on my AmEx, and with a 3G card, who needs the Internet access provided by the club?

What's next? The end of the SJC-ORD flight? It seems like all signs point to Dallas as being the only AA metal flight in a year. As I said in one of the above posts, I chose SJC for the AC, the ORD flight, and the EQMs available on the AS flights.

There is also the proximity issue since I live in Santa Clara. It's a question of a 5-minute drive versus a 45-minute one. However, if I'm going to SFO, I might as well go all in and switch to UA. I've heard of success stories with people getting a status match to mid-tier. Also, a RCC membership would allow me into all of these lounges. A paid AC membership only gets me into ACs, which I get via the AmEx anyway, and QF lounges, which I can access on status. So, again, what's the point of keeping my membership or even continuing to fly AA?

Krazyglue

Sounds like the same reason the SEA AC was closed a few years ago. 3 gates, 12 flights and the city raised the rent.

I only fly through SJC maybe twice a year but this makes me think about renewing my AC membership. What city is next?

All American Flyer

I think that the city of San Jose's decision to increase the rent on an already tenuous agreement was extremely unwise and goes directly to AAerSTL's point about how cities such as MCI/AUS are able to maintain ACs despite being less affluent communities and having similar AA capacity. The city is so caught up in excitement over Terminal B and AS expansion that they probably reckon that they don't need any sort of significant AA presence. We can certainly fault AA for abandoning many of its Frequent Flyers but it seems that the city is more to blame in this case. The city of San Francisco has given AA significant incentives for building its new Admiral's Club and moving to Terminal 2. It really is bizarre to think that not seven years ago, AA flew to JFK/BOS/HNL/DFW/ORD/SNA/SAN/LAX/NRT (and more!) from SJC.

As for Majuki, I don't think that anyone can fault you for switching to UAL (if that's what you decide to do). Though especially in rush hour traffic, the drive from Santa Clara to SFO can be extremely arduous and time-consuming. At least you will be able to get mostly direct flights (though probably with fewer UGs)

msv777

Very sad, indeed! I hope this isn't the first step in AA pulling out of SJC all together. I'm not sure how profitable they will continue [if they even are] to be given the higher landing fees at SJC.

Frontier Airlines recently pulled out of SJC siting the same reason - high landing fees/lack of profitability. Skywest is another example - they pulled out in June. Same story.

This is incredible sad news for bay area AA loyalists.


Cheers.

WChou

Bummer. One of my favorite AC. Sounds like my once a month visit to the airport will be spent in the terminal now. The city seems to have a real love/hate relationship with the airport. The politicians always seem to talk about how great it is to have an airport and throw a ton of money into improvements. On the other hand, the charge huge fees, impose rigid curfews, cut public transportation access, and cave to NIMBYists.

worldwidedreamer

SFO has more nonstops, lower fares and lounges from every network airline except for US---AA has no similar competitive reason to offer a lounge at SJC. I hope that SJC offers a common lounge to compete with SFO.

Majuki

I'm too heavily invested in AA to switch anytime. I'm on track to make EXP by the end of the year and well on my way to lifetime status - both thanks to FT and reading the posts on this forum ^. The renovated SFO AC will soften the blow a bit, and I understand that this was an issue over the rental price. The larger concern is about AA's long-term commitment to the Bay Area. They've left us west coast folks stranded.

A consolation prize would be AS opening a Board Room, even if it means a hike down to the opposite end of the airport. At least the terminal renovation has brought in some real food options. Two years ago we only had a Burger King in terminal A for food options, and the terminal itself was overcrowded and dreadful. With the service cutbacks, you can head down the open area around gates 1-4 and have all of the space you need.

msv777

Agreed. Although the City of San Jose is trying but have a huge challenge ahead of them.

A presentation from a City Council Study Session back in March has some interesting facts/projections:

http://www.sjc.org/about/newsroom/20..._comp_pres.pdf

Cheers.

brp

Not gonna happen, unfortunately. Apparently this was tried as well...but none of the other airlines want to pay a share.

Cheers.

tom911

I'm one of those (did it last year). Send me a PM if you want a copy of the UA challenge letter, which is essentially an up-front status match contingent on putting some miles on UA in a fixed period. A little different than what AA does.

msv777

I think it would be a safe bet that if AS were to open a Boardroom, that they would most likely use the existing AA AC space.. hence AS gates would move down into the current AA range.

Cheers.

Xero

I remember that the people over at the AS forums were talking about how SJC needs a board room, and maybe they could share with AA. Looks like they are getting their own board room now and we AA flyers are left out.

WChou

Thanks for the link. I actually went through the entire presentation. All I can say is, "Wow!" I always heard that SJC is becoming expensive to operate out of and this had led to cuts but the info from the link paints a pretty ugly picture. Sounds like the entire management team needs to be canned and fresh blood be brought in. The "fixes" seem to be the usual "short term gain/long term pain" ideas. Sure it will prop up finances in the short term but it will simply lead to more airlines and passengers defecting to SFO. At this rate, SJC will become the Bay Area's largest general aviation airport for execs in their Citations, Gulfstreams, Falcons, Hawkers, and Bombardiers. If the FBO monopoly there didn't charge and arm, leg, and testicle, it would be a blast to land a Cessna 172 on 30L.

demkr

Very sad news--this is one of the nicest AC's in the system.