Yeah I miscounted, forgot the 2x LAX. I recall it was 5x daily for a long time (DFW, LAX, ORD, JFK), with SJC-NRT and flights to KIX/NGO in the mid-2000s. So I guess now we're not too far off from where capacity to Japan was mid-2010s, albeit with fewer gateways. JL has more service to the US now than it used to, e.g. BOS and SAN.

I'm just thinking that if AA isn't planning to bring its Japan flying back to prepandemic levels, a market they served decently for the last few decades, restoring service to the more recently added destinations like HKG seems less likely.

With a shortage of AA widebody frames, it's anyone's guess (although United seems to be happy with their SFO-HKG loads) so *IF* American succeeds in freeing up a pair (can't come from the seasonal European flying ones unless it's from a to be discontinued route) and can justify the costs with some cargo, they'd still have to staff up locally to support a single daily or 5x weekly.

Where previously low margin routes like this might have been viewed as necessary to be competitive, today's more cost discipline/easy fruit focus may mean that there isn't a lot of appetite for low margin, high cost hauls like this to come back until pax numbers really return for that market. HKG is still significantly depressed when it comes to pre-covid passenger numbers.

Meanwhile, AA has 15 a332s sitting around that they're still paying for.

I always had the impression that DFW-HKG being a fairly high margin route, with very high J fares and it was practically impossible to clear a SWU. Just look at what CX can manage to charge on their US flights nowadays…

LAX-HKG, OTOH, has always been quite leisure oriented and probably lower margin

but do they have any 332 drivers, mechanics, spares, etc?

Why would they crank up this costly route that requires 2x active 77Ws when they could just send another single 77W to LHR from some other US hub? 🤦🏻‍♂️

All attainable. They have LAA a330 staff.

despite Alan Joyce flat out saying that it's cheaper to fly 2 789s back to back than one a380, they pulled that lumbering dinosaur out and started to fly it until projedt sunrise and new deliveries come along. Other airlines have similarly returned to service aircraft for the short term to tide over the rebound in travel. Only AA retired a chunk of their fleet and are now standing looking stupid while everyone else is ramping up capacity. Heck, airlines are wet and dry leasing aircraft all over the place.

I'd like to see AA bring back a HKG route. Either DFW or LAX. Who knows, maybe they'll try SEA as it's their new supposed Pacific gateway.