Apr 7, 2016, 6:11 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
AA Hawaii Service
Changes since merger and going forward
AA operates Hawai'i service withChanges since merger and going forward
West Coast - Airbus A321H ETOPS (similar to A321S, may be weight restricted)
PHX: LUS ex-“East” Boeing 757-200* (new 75H) with 12 F recliner seats and 176 Y including MCE (ten of these will be used going forward). Seasonal flights with the Airbus A330-300.
DFW , seasonal ORD Hawaii Flights are operated with lie flat Business seat, Boeing 767-323ER; 777-200ER / 772 seasonal variations may occur.
*The LUS B75H "West" models) have been returned to their lessor. (Thanks to TWA884 - see here.)
Changes to Hawaii service since merger, late 2014 on (consolidated)
Sep 5, 2014, 9:16 pm
#46
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
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I'm really not looking forward to my flights to HNL to/from DFW in November. Watch them yank the tablets and Bose headsets on those just like they did on my JFK-Seattle flts in August.
Sep 6, 2014, 3:19 am
#47
Join Date: Feb 1999
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Posts: 1,857
And what they also seem to leave out, is that F tickets are a lot cheaper than what they used to be. Pre-deregulation, an F ticket was 50% more than full-fare Y. Then, in the 90's, we began to see "instant upgrade" fares. But even then, that was off of a full-fare Y ticket. Now, we have F tickets (or A/I/P) that can be had for around $900 RT between west coast cities and east coast cities. Which isn't that much more than middle bucket coach fares. Are people willing to go back to F having a 50% fare premium over Y in order to retain that delicious meal on a 2hr flight served on a linen-lined tray?
Did that fare drop back to 2013 prices, or even cheaper prices when the systemwide meal downgrades happened on September 1st? No.
As a betting man, I'd be willing to bet on almost 0 routes that had better meals pre September 1, First Class fares have not dropped at all.
And speaking of meal quality in F when F fares were 50% more than full Y, the meals in domestic F were of a better quality pre-deregulation.
The September 1 meal cuts in F were to trim expenses and sort of balance out what US offered on comparable flight lengths-- though some US flights did see a better meal offering since the merger. But some pmAA customers such as myself view the meal cuts as greed and a further race to the bottom for AA.
Back on the topic of the cuts in F on the DFW/ORD-Hawaii flights, the little things like the candied pineapple chunks in the nut mix and the premium sweet butter in the ramekin--a higher quality butter than the packets--helped make the flights extra special. I really hope these little "extra" touches aren't gone from the flights for good.
I'm not saying an action like this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back for our flying with AA, but frankly this stinks.
I guess we should have expected crap like this with a merger with an airline whose former stock symbol was LCC.
Last edited by Max M; Sep 6, 2014 at 3:34 am
Sep 6, 2014, 4:23 pm
#48
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
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Sep 6, 2014, 9:58 pm
#50
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Usually in SAN or Central Europe.
Programs: AA:EXP/1MM. Accor/Radisson:Silver; HH:Gold; ICH:Plt Amb.
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Sep 7, 2014, 11:33 am
#51
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: LAX; AA EXP, MM; HH Gold
Posts: 31,789
Exactly. Even with AA's "overly generous" meals, new AA earned $1.9 billion just in the first six months of 2014. As the newly cheapened HPdbaAA meal policies didn't take effect until 2/3 of the way thru the third quarter, the cheapskate routine won't be able to harm the third quarter profits. As to 2015? We'll see next year.
Sep 9, 2014, 1:42 pm
#52
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
Has anyone else been on either the OGG/HNL - DFW flights since the change other than OP? I am particularly interested in the tablets and bottled water availability.
I haven't booked yet and will wait for more data before I do!
Sep 9, 2014, 10:46 pm
#54
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Sep 10, 2014, 6:13 am
#55
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: DL: Silver; AA: EX PLAT; UA: Silver; HY: DIA; HH: DIA; MR: TIT
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Sep 10, 2014, 9:10 am
#56
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
People are on here complaining about ice cream, which I personally find absurd, but if it matters to them, then it matters.
Sep 10, 2014, 11:20 am
#57
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: DL: Silver; AA: EX PLAT; UA: Silver; HY: DIA; HH: DIA; MR: TIT
Posts: 1,708
Yep. I drink an absolute ton of water in the air. I don't want to have to cart 4 bottles on board with me, as I expect it to be provided in first class.
People are on here complaining about ice cream, which I personally find absurd, but if it matters to them, then it matters.
People are on here complaining about ice cream, which I personally find absurd, but if it matters to them, then it matters.
Sep 10, 2014, 1:40 pm
#58
Join Date: Oct 2003
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I flew UA on my last Hawaii turn, and they did not offer headsets or tablets LAX-OGG or LIH-LAX either.
Sep 10, 2014, 3:40 pm
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Have you flown with a DL JFK-based crew recently? The ones on my last flight were plain obnoxious, so much so that a rather impatient Diamond member outright told one of them: "I'm Diamond and take this flight every week. I will write to Delta because this level of service is unacceptable. Cancel my drink, I'll buy my own when we land." Priceless. Then again, AA also has bad crews on this route frequently.
Sep 10, 2014, 7:07 pm
#60
Join Date: Jan 2009
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I've flown LAX-LIH and DFW-OGG both this year. The west coast flight did not offer headsets, tablets or extra water bottles. The DFW-OGG flight offered all three.