DWFI

I do recall that.
PHX is substantially closer to most of those (except Williston) so I'm wondering if there is some potential for AA to start service ex-PHX.

TheBOSman

But DEN and SLC are both much closer than PHX or DFW is. That area of the country is a bit of a UA stronghold in terms of business customers. And for leisure customers, especially to PHX, G4 has a lot of that traffic now via AZA.

DWFI

I guess so. I'm not saying you are wrong (in fact I agree) and I definitely understand why the network has evolved the way it has. If LAX wasn't so gate restricted I'm sure we would see more NW US service out of there already.

I am just wondering if that's at all being considered by AA network planning and if they would consider routes like that of strategic value in the network. DL now has 3 hubs that can cover that area (MSP SLC SEA), UA has 2 (SFO DEN), and AA has none. It seems like a fairly big deal to me.

TheBOSman

It is a big area but not a particularly populous one, and a lot of it is better served out of DEN anyway, by which I mean have the passengers make their own way to DEN. DEN is only about 2 hours drive from CYS (done it), and even with UA's service to Laramie, a lot of southeast Wyoming people will just drive to DEN for the cheaper fares. This also isn't unheard of out of Casper. AA didn't even have service to BOI (larger than most of the markets you list) before the merger, only US from PHX. And AA did recently start DFW-Bismarck, ND. AA also serves LAX-RDM, although now without subsidies that is only seasonal. RDM does want a PHX flight though: http://www.ktvz.com/news/American-RD...lanes/36260354

I could see Bozeman or Billings out of either PHX or DFW, Bozeman could be operated seasonal to begin and might be more likely to succeed that way. Williston is a no chance at this point unless oil prices shoot up (Williston is partly why Bismarck was started so it would remove traffic from that).

The problem run into is the same problem DL has here in Texas: the hubs are not well-located at all for the particular business, especially compared to how well the competition is located.

GNRMatt

AA does have 2 hubs that hit all these destinations from SEA and PDX...they just call the airline that runs it Alaska. That really is their "solution" to filling this gap, at least for now.

DWFI

Maybe if they had reciprocal upgrades like AS and DL have I would be more inclined to accept this as a solution

MAH4546

Not from DCA, which can only handle pre-cleared international destinations, and where AA still flies NAS and BDA.

jsieds

that's right, thank you

eponymous_coward

Sure, I would GLADLY accept unlimited, no sticker, required complimentary upgrades on a space-available basis on AA as an AS elite (which is what I get on AS as a lowest-level elite, MVP, similar to AA Gold, except we don't have a sticker system, which I'd point out is unique to AA, DL doesn't have stickers, neither does UA).

Oh, wait, what you mean that AS would have to change to a sticker system like AA?

Say, is that a pig flying by my window?

Anyways, if AA was going to expand in the Mountain West, I suspect it would be to DFW, not PHX. But even DFW might be marginal at best.

Juanefny

I would LOVE to see ABQ-MIA. They should make it a redeye so we can catch the flights to the Caribbean and south american that leave in the AM.

Really don't know why the don't do this...

Fanjet

In addition to being beyond the 1250-mile perimeter rule. As for this new service, I'm surprised AUS-CUN wasn't added. Or even LAS-CUN.

Xero

I didn't expect AA to add point-to-point routes, even if they are Saturday only service to CUN. So the cornerstone strategy is gone and we might see more point-to-point routes in the future.

aztimm

US has had some point-to-point in the past, on Saturdays. I remember some MCO being added in the winter. It could have been a few years ago.

HP had so many point-to-point at one point it was almost like mini-hubs, at SAN, LAX, SNA, etc.

ashill

Deleted (wrong)

eponymous_coward

Because revenue management thinks not enough people would fly the route...